January last year I had one skill: I could explain things clearly.
No audience. No email list. No product. Just an iPhone with iOS 18.2 and a Gumroad account I'd forgotten about.
$18,200 later, the system is simple enough to fit on one page.
The Formula
Apple Intelligence creates the raw material. You publish it. The internet distributes it forever.
Most people consume AI content. A small number of people package it, price it, and publish it. That gap is still wide open.
Where the Money Came From
1Product type Platform Annual2──────────────────────────────────────────────────3Prompt packs + templates Gumroad $6,8404Weekly newsletter Substack $4,3205Long-form guides Medium $2,1906One ebook Amazon KDP $3,0607Notion template bundle Gumroad $1,8308──────────────────────────────────────────────────9Total $18,240
Four platforms. All free to publish on. Apple Intelligence wrote 80% of the first drafts.
Step 1: Create the Product With Apple Intelligence
The fastest product to ship: a prompt pack. A PDF of 30-50 tested prompts for a specific use case, $7-15 on Gumroad.
Takes 3 hours to build the first one.
Open Notes on iPhone. Use Writing Tools to draft your intro. Then use this in Claude or ChatGPT to build the actual content:
1Create a prompt pack for [specific audience] who want to [specific goal].2Include 30 prompts organized into 5 categories.3Each prompt: ready to copy-paste, no editing needed.4After each prompt: one line explaining what it produces.5Tone: practical, direct. No filler sections.6Format: Category header → numbered list of prompts with descriptions.
Then paste the output back into Notes and run Writing Tools → Proofread.
For an ebook (longer product, higher price):
1Write a complete outline for a 5,000-word guide titled: [title].2Target reader: [describe precisely].3Structure: introduction + 6 chapters + conclusion.4Each chapter: one main argument, 2-3 supporting points, one actionable takeaway.5The guide must be completable in a single afternoon of reading.
Run the outline past Writing Tools → Make More Concise. Then generate each chapter separately:
1Write Chapter 2 of this guide: [paste chapter title and bullet points].2Length: 700-900 words.3Tone: [your voice — conversational/authoritative/direct].4Open with a specific example or number.5Close with one clear action the reader takes immediately.6No summaries at the end of the chapter.
Step 2: Publish and Price It Right
Gumroad listing (this is your sales page):
1Write a Gumroad product description for: [product name].2Buyer's problem: [one sentence].3What's inside: [list 5-7 specific items].4Who it's for: [one sentence, specific].5Who it's not for: [one sentence — filters out bad buyers].6Price anchor: mention what solving this problem costs otherwise.7CTA: one line, direct.8Total length: 120-150 words. No hype words.
Pricing:
Prompt pack: $9-15 Template bundle: $19-27 Ebook: $12-19 Newsletter: $8-12/month or $79/year
Undercutting hurts you. A $4 prompt pack signals low value. A $12 prompt pack with a strong description converts better at every price point I tested.
Substack setup prompt:
1Write a Substack About page for a newsletter called [name].2Topic: [describe in one sentence].3Who publishes it: [your background, one sentence, specific].4What subscribers get: list 4 specific things, each under 10 words.5Publish schedule: [weekly/biweekly].6Tone: direct, no mission-statement language.7Under 100 words.
First welcome email:
1Write a welcome email for new subscribers to [newsletter name].2Open with: what they just signed up for, in plain terms.3Include: one piece of value they can use today (a tip, a resource, a prompt).4Close with: what's coming next week.5Length: 150 words max. Tone: like a message from a person, not a brand.
Step 3: Medium Partner Program
Medium pays per read. Long-form, practical guides perform best.
One guide I published in month 4 made $340 in 90 days. I spent 2 hours writing it.
Article idea prompt:
1I write about [your topic] on Medium.2Suggest 10 article titles that:3- Have high search intent (people actively looking for this)4- Can be answered with a practical how-to structure5- Are specific enough to be useful, broad enough to get traffic6- Avoid listicles and "X things" formats7For each title: one line on the search intent behind it.
Article structure prompt:
1Write a complete Medium article on this topic: [title].2Structure: hook (2 paragraphs) → problem (1 paragraph) →3solution with 4-5 concrete steps → each step has a real example →4close with one sentence takeaway.5Length: 1,000-1,400 words.6Tone: [your tone]. No fluff intro. Start with a specific observation or number.
Run the draft through Apple Intelligence Writing Tools on Mac (works in any text field) → Rewrite for clarity.
Step 4: Grow Without an Audience
Reddit is free distribution. Post one genuinely useful comment per day in 3 subreddits related to your topic. No links. Just value.
After 2-3 weeks of this, start dropping your Gumroad link once per week when directly relevant.
Prompt for Reddit comments:
1I want to write a helpful Reddit comment in r/[subreddit].2Someone asked: [paste the question].3Write a reply that:4- Answers the question directly in the first sentence5- Gives 2-3 specific actionable points6- Sounds like a real person, not a consultant7- Is 80-120 words8- Does not mention any product or link
Cross-promotion between platforms:
Every Substack post gets a condensed version published on Medium. Every Medium article ends with "I cover this in depth every week at [Substack link]."
Every Gumroad product page links to the newsletter. Every newsletter mentions the latest product once per month.
One piece of content, four platforms, compounding.
X/Twitter (if you have any following):
1Turn this 1,000-word article into a 10-tweet thread.2Tweet 1: bold claim or surprising number from the article.3Tweets 2-9: one key point each, max 2 sentences per tweet.4Tweet 10: CTA linking to the full article.5No filler tweets. Each tweet must stand alone as useful.
The Timeline
Month 1:
Publish one Gumroad product. Write first 4 newsletter issues. Post on Reddit daily. Revenue: $0-80.
Month 2-3:
Publish first Medium article. Add second Gumroad product. Revenue: $200-400/month.
Month 4-6:
Substack hits 200 subscribers. Start paid tier at $8/month. Gumroad gets repeat buyers. Revenue: $600-900/month.
Month 7-12:
Publish the ebook. Stack platforms. Write consistently. Revenue: $1,200-2,500/month.
The compounding starts around month 4. Before that it's just planting.
The One Rule That Changed Everything
Publish before it feels ready.
My first prompt pack had 28 prompts instead of 30. The formatting was slightly off. I published it in 11 days and made $340 in the first month.
The second version I spent 3 weeks "perfecting" made $190.
Ship fast. Improve based on buyers, not on your own anxiety.
comment "PUBLISH" and I'll send the full template bundle I used to start.
first 50 only.
