I'll get to that at the end.
First:
I'm at Clearwater Beach with a few little Woodses this weekend.
Last night Sarah, the seven-year-old, asked for a bedtime story.
"What would you like the story to be about?"
"Starfish."
So I told the story of a talking starfish that a girl named Sarah met on the beach.
He was the only talking starfish in the world.
So he was frustrated. He would talk, and all the other starfish would just stare blankly at him.
So little Sarah offered to take him home, buy him a tank, and talk to him every day.
There were more details, and the starfish had a funny voice, but you get the idea.
I've actually gotten really good at making up stories on the spot about anything under the sun. The kids still remember my story about the talking refrigerator, which I first told close to 15 years ago.
Now it's true: I probably can't monetize bedtime stories, although being good at storytelling is massively helpful in marketing and long-form advertising.
But there are things you do all the time that can be turned into a membership.
Like the youth pastor who writes sermon outlines (because he has to anyway) and then makes them available to other youth pastors as part of a membership.
Or the math teacher who does likewise for her lesson plans.
Note: she doesn't have to be the world's greatest math expert or the world's greatest teacher. They just have to be good lesson plans.
Well, this week we finally had day one of Stu McLaren's workshop on how to build a membership -- that is, a site that generates revenue for you month after month -- and, well, it was even better than I told you.
Thanks to Samantha D., a reader who wrote to say:
Hi Tom - Just wrapping up day one and I’m gobsmacked! SO MUCH VALUE. I actually feel like I can do this!! Thanks for beating us over the head with this day after day =)
One person actually launched a membership DURING THE WORKSHOP and already welcomed ten members.
Sign up (it costs nothing) and you'll get taken to a page with a replay of day one.
But Stu does this only once a year and not for long, so do this ASAP.
Just take the number of arguments you would have had on Facebook this weekend, reduce them by one, and spend the time doing something for yourself that will be the sweetest revenge against every Facebook idiot in the world:
Tom Woods