You can create the best content.
The best carousel.
The best reel with the perfect hook.
The best blog post that took you five hours to write.
You can spend all your energy editing, perfecting every sentence, finding the perfect visual.
But if nobody is buying, you start wondering if maybe you’re not enough.
Because real talk, you’re not here just to create content. You’re not here to spend all day editing and writing just to get zero sales.
You’re not an influencer or content creator. You want to make money online with social media. You want people buying your offers. You want your content to support you, replace your 9-to-5, and let you live from what you’re doing.
To be paid to exist. To be paid to help others transform their lives.
But right now? You’re creating content and you don’t have the results you want.
And I can guarantee you can make money even if right now you’re not “viral.”
The Two Strategies Nobody Compares (And Why You’re Choosing the Wrong One)
When you have a small audience, you have two paths. Most people pick the first one without realizing it’s keeping them stuck at $500/month.
Strategy #1: The Low-Ticket Hustle
You create a small digital product. An ebook. A mini-course. A paid newsletter. Something priced at $20, $50, maybe $97.
The logic makes sense: lower price = easier yes = more sales.
So you create content to promote it. You try to go viral. You spend hours perfecting your reels. You study hooks. You analyze what’s working for other creators in your niche.
And sometimes? It works. You go viral. You get 10K views. People tell you they love your content.
You attract followers. Your DMs fill up with messages like “I needed to hear this!” and “Your content is so valuable!”
But they don’t buy your stuff.
Because you over-explain everything in your content.
Strategy #2: The High-ROI Approach
You sell coaching. One-to-one. Mid-ticket or high-ticket offers. Maybe a three-month package. Maybe an intensive. Maybe even just a one-hour audit.
You don’t focus on going viral. You focus on learning how to sell to the audience you already have.
Because when you have a small audience and your conversion rate is 1-5%, you need fewer people to hit $2K or $5K months if you’re selling a $500-$2K offer than if you’re selling a $27 product.
Do the math. To make $2,000 selling $27 ebooks, you need 74 sales. To make $2,000 selling a $2,000 coaching package, you need one client.
Most people don’t think about it this way. They think: “I have a small audience, so I need to sell something cheap that’s an easy yes.”
Wrong.
When you have a small audience, you need to increase your ROI per person. Not chase more people.
Why The Low-Ticket Strategy Keeps You Stuck at $500/Month?
My client Sarah was doing everything “right.”
She had a $47 digital product. A complete system for booking clients on Instagram. Beautiful branding. Perfectly formatted. She spent 20 hours creating it.
She created content to promote it. Carousels breaking down her framework. Reels with hooks she studied from other successful creators. She’d post three times a day.
Some posts would go viral. 5K views. 10K views. Her follower count grew from 600 to 2,100 in two months.
But her sales? Maybe three per month. Sometimes five if she really pushed during a launch.
$141-$235 per month. After spending 40+ hours creating content and engaging.
The problem wasn’t her offer. The problem was her content strategy was preventing sales.
She’d create a carousel: “5 Steps to Book Clients on Instagram”
Then she’d proceed to explain all five steps. In detail. The exact DM script. The follow-up sequence. The objection handling framework.
People would save it. Comment “This is gold!” Share it to their stories.
But why would they buy her $47 product when she just gave them the entire system for free?
She’d tell herself: “I’m building trust. I’m showing my value. Eventually they’ll buy.”
They didn’t.
Because the people who want everything for free are not the people who buy. They’re candle-sniffers. They love the smell of transformation but have zero intention of paying for the candle.
Sarah was creating content for people who would never become customers. And the more viral she went, the more of these people she attracted.
The Hidden Cost of Chasing Viral Content
When you focus on going viral to make money online with social media, you’re playing a numbers game that doesn’t work at the small audience level.
Think about it. If your email list is 200 people and your conversion rate is 1-5%, you’re looking at 2-10 sales. If you’re selling a $27 product, that’s $54-$270 per launch.
So the advice becomes: “Grow your email list! Get more followers! Go viral!”
But growing your list means creating more content. Which means more hours spent on social media. Which means more exhaustion for the same $500/month result.
And the type of content that goes viral? It’s broad. Relatable. Safe. It appeals to everyone.
But buyers don’t want broad. Buyers want specific. They want content that activates them, not content that makes them feel good.
This is how to create content that converts: stop trying to appeal to everyone. Start speaking directly to the person who’s ready to invest.
My client Jennifer learned this the hard way.
She spent six months trying to replicate the viral strategies she saw other coaches using. She’d study their hooks. Copy their formats. Post reels with trending audio.
And it worked, for getti ng views. She’d hit 5K, sometimes 8K views per reel. Her followers grew from 800 to 2,400.
But her revenue stayed at €500 per month.
Her DMs were full. But full of the wrong people.
People asking for free advice. People wanting to “pick her brain.” People saying they were “so close to buying” but needed just a few more questions answered first.
She’d spend two to three hours every day in these DM conversations. Terrified of losing the sale. Writing paragraph after paragraph. Essentially giving away her entire coaching program for free, one message at a time.
Spoiler: if you need to convince someone to buy from you, you’ve already lost the sale.
Jennifer was working 12-hour days. Creating content. Engaging in DMs. Perfecting her hooks. Analyzing her insights.
For €500 a month.
That’s €4.16 per hour.
The Shift That Changed Everything
Jennifer’s transformation started when she stopped focusing on virality and started focusing on ROI.
She added a high-ticket offer. A three-month coaching package for €1,200.
“But nobody will buy that,” she said. “I barely have 2,000 followers.”
I told her: “You don’t need 2,000 people to buy it. You need two.”
She changed how she created content. Instead of trying to go viral with broad, relatable hooks, she created content that activated her ideal client.
Content that said: “You’re spending three hours a day in DMs with people who will never buy from you. I know because I did it for 18 months. The uncomfortable truth? If someone needs that much convincing, they’re not your client. Your actual clients see your offer and think ‘finally, someone gets it.’”
That post got 400 views. Half of what her viral reels got.
But she booked two sales calls within 48 hours. Both converted. Both at €1,200.
That single piece of content made her more than three months of viral reels combined.
In six weeks, Jennifer went from €500/month to €3K/month. Same audience size. Different strategy.
She stopped creating content for the algorithm. She started creating content for buyers.
Why High-Ticket Makes More Sense for Small Audiences?
When you have a small audience and you want to know how to create content that converts, you need to understand this:
Your visibility is still growing. Your conversion skills need to grow faster.
If you’re selling low-ticket, you’re dependent on volume. You need hundreds of people to see your offer to make decent money.
But if you’re selling high-ticket? You need ten people. Five people. Sometimes just two people to have a $5K month.
And working with clients one-to-one? That teaches you things no amount of viral content ever will.
You learn:
What their actual problems are (not what you think they are)
What language they use to describe their pain
What objections come up
What transformations they really want
What made them say yes to investing
This intel is gold. Because now you can create content that speaks directly to those pain points. Content that addresses those objections. Content that promises those specific transformations.
You stop guessing. You start knowing.
Sarah made the shift too. She kept her $47 product but added a $997 intensive. One month, three calls, custom strategy.
She changed her content. Instead of giving away all five steps, she’d share:
Step one (the foundation most people skip)
Why skipping it keeps you stuck
What becomes possible when you get this right
“My clients get the complete system inside [intensive name], where we customize it to your specific business”
Her engagement dropped. Some people unfollowed. The candle-sniffers left.
But her next launch? Four people bought the intensive. Two people bought the $47 product.
$4,082 in one weekend. With 2,100 followers.
Ready to build a business that actually pays you?
The “Anti-Burnout Business Model” breaks down both strategies, when to use low-ticket vs. high-ticket, how to structure your offers, and exactly how to create content that converts your small audience into paying clients. No more working 12-hour days for $500/month. Get it free here.
She didn’t need to go viral. She needed to learn how to sell to the audience she already had.
The Real Difference Between These Two Strategies
Low-Ticket Strategy:
Requires high volume
Depends on going viral
Attracts candle-sniffers
Tempts you to over-explain in content
Needs massive audience to make good money
Conversion rate: 1-5% of a large list
Time investment: 40+ hours/week creating content
Revenue ceiling: Limited by audience size
High-Ticket Strategy:
Requires fewer people
Depends on activating your existing audience
Attracts serious buyers
Allows you to hold back the “how”
Works with small audience
Conversion rate: 1-5% of a small, engaged list
Time investment: 20-30 hours/week (content + client delivery)
Revenue ceiling: Limited by your capacity and pricing
Both can work. But when you’re starting out with a small audience, trying to make money online with social media without burning out, the high-ticket path gets you to sustainable income faster.
How to Create Content That Converts (When You’re Not Trying to Go Viral)?
The content strategy changes completely when you’re not chasing viral moments.
You’re not trying to appeal to everyone. You’re trying to activate someone.
Viral content says: “Here’s a tip that might help you!”
Converting content says: “You’re doing this thing right now. It’s keeping you stuck. This is why. And this is what’s possible instead.”
Jennifer’s content shifted from: “3 ways to attract dream clients” (viral-friendly, broad, safe)
To: “You’re treating your DMs like a sales conversation. But if someone needs three hours of convincing, they were never going to buy. Your real clients? They see your offer and immediately know it’s for them. I’ll show you how to create content that attracts those people instead of time-wasters.” (specific, activating, polarizing)
The second post got fewer likes. But it booked sales calls.
This is the key to how to create content that converts: stop making everyone feel good. Start making your ideal client feel seen.
When you’re selling high-ticket, you don’t need 10K people to think your content is “valuable.” You need ten people to think “this person understands my exact problem and has the solution.”
Why You Need to Sell Coaching Even If You Want Passive Income?
I know. You want passive income. You want a digital product people buy while you sleep.
That’s the dream. And it’s possible.
But if you’re making $500/month right now with a small audience, and you want to scale to $5K-$10K months, you need to sell coaching first.
Here’s why:
1. Coaching teaches you what to put in your digital products
When you work with clients one-to-one, you see:
What they actually struggle with (vs. what you think they struggle with)
What questions come up repeatedly
What part of your process creates the biggest transformation
What they’re willing to pay for
Then you can create digital products that actually sell. Because you’re not guessing anymore.
2. Coaching proves your method works
Testimonials from coaching clients are worth more than any sales page copy. Real results. Real transformations. Real proof your method works.
This makes selling digital products exponentially easier.
3. Coaching increases your ROI while you’re learning
You’re going to spend time creating content anyway. Might as well be making $2K-$5K per client while you figure out how to create content that converts, instead of making $47 per sale.
Your visibility is growing. Your content skills are developing. During that growth phase, high-ticket keeps you profitable.
4. Coaching clients become your best marketing
A client who paid $2K and got massive results will tell everyone. She’ll tag you. Share your content. Send referrals.
Someone who bought your $27 ebook? Maybe they’ll leave a nice review.
The ROI isn’t just financial. It’s testimonials, referrals, and case studies that make all your future offers easier to sell.
Your Business Model Determines Your Content Strategy
If your goal is to make money online with social media selling $27 products, you need viral content. You need volume. You need a massive audience.
That’s not wrong. That’s just the reality of low-ticket economics.
But if your goal is to make $5K-$10K months working 20-30 hours per week with a small audience, you need a different model.
You need higher prices. You need coaching or intensive offers. You need content that activates and converts, not content that entertains and attracts.
Most people are trying to build a high-ticket business with a low-ticket content strategy. Then wondering why they’re exhausted and broke.
Jennifer was working 50+ hours per week for €500/month because she was creating content to go viral (low-ticket strategy) but trying to sell coaching (high-ticket offer).
The mismatch kept her stuck.
When she aligned her content strategy with her business model, creating activating, specific, polarizing content for her coaching offer, everything shifted.
Same audience. Different approach. €3K months.
What This Actually Looks Like In Practice?
You’re probably wondering: “Okay, but what do I actually do differently?”
If you’re currently selling low-ticket and stuck at $500/month:
Add a coaching offer. Even just a one-hour intensive. Price it at $297-$497.
Change your content. Stop giving away the entire framework. Give the first step. Show what’s possible. Create desire for the complete solution.
End some posts with: “Want the complete system? Get [product name].”
End other posts with: “Want me to customize this to your business? DM me [WORD].”
Different content for different buyers.
If you’re currently not selling anything and just creating content:
Pick one. Coaching or digital product. Start with coaching if you want to make money faster and learn faster.
Create content that activates your ideal client. Tell micro-stories. Name the pattern they’re stuck in. Show what’s possible.
Stop trying to go viral. Start trying to book sales calls.
If you’re currently selling coaching but not getting clients:
Your content is probably too broad. You’re trying to appeal to everyone.
Get specific. Talk to one person. The person who has the exact problem you solve.
Create content that makes her think: “Is this person living in my head? How do they know exactly what I’m going through?”
That’s how to create content that converts.
The question is: are you going to keep chasing the wrong strategy because everyone else is doing it?
Or are you going to build a business that actually pays you what you’re worth?
Your move.
If you are ready to get serious on how to create content that convert, you need to dowload my “Anti-Burnout Business Model” shows you exactly how to structure your offers for maximum ROI, what to charge, and how to create content that converts your small audience into paying clients, without working 12-hour days, without sacrificing your sanity.
Did you enjoy this blog post? Here are some other blog posts you may enjoy:
How to Create an Offer That Actually Sells (Without Being Desperate)
Why She’s Selling Out In Minutes While Your “Perfect” Offer Collects Dust?
