The 30-Day Sprint: From Zero to Your First Online Income
Part 4 of What I Would Do If I Had to Rebuild My Income from Scratch
This is the final article in this series. In Part 1, I covered what I wouldn’t do. Part 2 was my step-by-step plan. Part 3 broke down which decisions actually matter and which ones are just distractions.
Now I want to give you something you can actually use. A 30-day action plan that takes everything we’ve talked about and puts it into a real timeline. This is what I would do if I had to start from scratch and wanted to see my first income as fast as possible without cutting corners or burning out.
Before You Start
You need three things figured out before day one:
First, your income path. Are you doing affiliate marketing, services, digital products, coaching, or something else? If you’re not sure, download the AI Monetization Map and spend 30 minutes getting clear. Everything else depends on this decision.
Second, pick your platform. Where are you going to show up consistently? For me that would be Instagram, but pick the one you’re most comfortable on and know you’ll actually use. One platform only.
And finally, your metric. What’s the one number you’re going to track? Email subscribers, discovery calls, or sales? Pick one and commit to it for the full 30 days.
Once you have those three things, you’re ready.
Days 1-3: Foundation
Set up your profile on your chosen platform. Your bio should be clear about who you help and what you talk about, and use a clean headshot for your profile photo. Don’t overthink this. Done is better than perfect.
Create your freemium if you don’t have one. A freemium (sometimes called a lead magnet or freebie) is something valuable you give away for free in exchange for someone’s email address. This should solve one specific problem for your audience. It could be a checklist, a guide, a template, or a resource list. Keep it simple. You can make it better later. Right now you just need something that provides real value and gets people on your email list.
You need a way to capture those emails. Mailchimp is free to get started and works fine when you’re just building your list. It also has landing pages built in, so you can host your freemium offer there too. Set up a simple signup form, connect it to your freemium delivery, and you’re good to go.
If you want a dedicated landing page outside of Mailchimp, you have options. Linktree, Stan Store, or a simple website in Canva Pro with an embedded link all work. The goal is just to have somewhere to send people when they click the link in your bio.
The all-in-one solution I personally use: I’ve been using Captivation Hub for all my needs for the last 3 years. It’s $97/month if you use my link and get my discount. It’s an all-in-one software that can handle everything we’ve listed here: landing pages, email capture, funnels, all of it. But just know you can easily get started for free or close to free with individual tools. Don’t let the tech slow you down.
Days 4-7: Content Foundation
Batch your first two weeks of content. Best practices say post three times a day, and that’s what I would do. Sit down and create enough content to cover that for at least a week. For Instagram, this might be a mix of reels, carousels, and static posts. Whatever format you’re comfortable with.
Don’t try to make it perfect. You’re going to learn more from posting and seeing what resonates than you ever will from planning. Get the content created and scheduled.
Set up a simple system for tracking your one metric. This can be as simple as a spreadsheet or even a note on your phone. You just need to be able to see the number and watch it move over time.
Days 8-14: Show Up and Engage
Start posting. Follow your content schedule. Whatever you committed to, whether that’s three times a week or daily, stick to it.
This week is also about engagement. Spend 15-30 minutes a day responding to comments on your posts, commenting on other people’s content in your niche, and having real conversations in DMs when people reach out. This is how you build trust when nobody knows who you are yet.
Pay attention to what’s working. Notice which posts get more engagement and which ones fall flat. You don’t need to overanalyze, just notice.
Days 15-21: Double Down
By now you should have some data. Look at your posts from the first week. What performed best? Make more content like that.
Check your freemium too. Are people signing up? If they’re not, you might need to make the offer clearer or the freemium more compelling. If signups are happening, keep doing what you’re doing.
This week, increase your engagement time if you can. The more conversations you have, the faster you build trust and grow your audience. Every interaction matters when you’re starting from zero.
Keep posting consistently and don’t let the momentum drop.
Days 22-30: Push and Evaluate
This is the final push. Keep showing up and engaging with people. Track your numbers.
If you’re doing affiliate marketing, make sure you’re actually recommending products in your content. Not in a salesy way, but naturally. Share what you use, why you use it, and include your link.
For services, make sure people know you’re available. Post about what you do, talk about client results if you have any, and make it easy for someone to reach out and hire you.
If you want to eventually sell a digital product but haven’t created it yet, use this week to figure out what it should be. Pay attention to the questions people are asking you. Are the same problems coming up over and over in your comments and DMs? That’s a signal. The product your audience actually wants is usually hiding in the questions they keep asking you.
Day 30: Review
At the end of 30 days, sit down and look at your numbers. Whatever metric you chose, what’s the number now compared to when you started?
Don’t judge yourself harshly. The goal of the first 30 days is to prove to yourself that you can show up consistently, build something from nothing, and start to see traction.
If your number moved at all, you’re on the right track. Now you just need to keep going.
What Happens After Day 30
You do it again. But this time you have data. You know what content works and what your audience responds to. You have a system in place.
The first 30 days are the hardest because you’re building everything from scratch and you don’t know if any of it is working. After day 30, you’re just optimizing and scaling what’s already started.
Most people never make it past day 30 because they quit when they don’t see immediate results. If you’re still showing up at day 31, you’re already ahead of most people who started with you.
Keep going.
This is Part 4, the final article in the “What I Would Do If I Had to Rebuild My Income from Scratch” series. If you found this helpful, share it with someone who’s trying to build something online.
Still figuring out which income path is right for you? The AI Monetization Map walks you through a 10-minute decision matrix that helps you figure out which of the seven income paths actually fits your skills, your schedule, and your life. It also includes a 30-day action plan so you’re not starting from scratch. Download it and get clear on your path.
Want to Collapse This Timeline Even Further?
Everything I just walked you through in this article? There’s a way to do it faster.
We have an AI solution that helps you create optimized social media profiles that actually convert. It creates the perfect profile images. It will give you ideas for a valuable freemium and help you create the whole thing start to finish in about 30 minutes. It streamlines content creation so you’re not staring at a blank screen trying to figure out what to post. And that’s just the beginning.
If you’ve been reading this series and thinking “this sounds great but I don’t know how I’m going to find the time to do all of this,” this is the answer.
We’re hosting a live training called AI Revolution Secrets where we walk through everything: how to build your first AI digital clone, how to use AI to create content in your voice, the seven hidden income streams most people don’t know about, and how to save 10-20 hours a week starting immediately.
This isn’t theory. This is the exact system I use to run my business. And I want to show you how to set it up for yourself.
The training is free. It’s 90 minutes. And it will change how you think about building online.
Register for the next AI Revolution Secrets training here.
See you there.