Morning,
2013. I'm watching my Udemy student count climb past 100,000.
Then 200,000. And as years passed, 400,000. Then 600,000.
I felt like I was building something real. Something that mattered.
But here's what I didn't understand yet:
I didn't own any of it.
Those 600,000 students? They were Udemy's list. Not mine.
People were searching for me. Buying from me. Looking me up. But I couldn't email them. Couldn't talk to them directly. Couldn't build a relationship beyond the transaction.
I had an "audience", per se, but it was like Udemy owned the theatre, and I was given the privilege of acting on their stage.
They owned the distribution. I didn't.
And without distribution, I didn't have leverage.
Without leverage, I didn't have options.
That's when Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income wrote something on one of his early blogs that changed how I thought about my entire business:
Build the list.
So I did. Early.
I was one of the first customers of ConvertKit (now Kit). User #449. Personally invited by Nathan Barry when it was still just an idea.
And over the last decade, that decision sustained my business through everything:
It connected me with people, brands, and partners. It let me generate millions in revenue. It gave me options when everything else fell apart.
Here's what I learned:
When you have distribution, you have leverage.
When you have leverage, you have options.
A list gives you this. Distribution. Leverage. Options.
But here's the thing most people miss:
Having a list isn't enough.
You need systems that think.
Systems that know who they're talking to. That adapt based on what people do and don't do. That pitch the right offer at the right time to the right person.
That's what I built for myself. That's what I build for my clients who pay $10k-$36k for my agency services, where we build them their own "Creator Engines".
And that's what I'm showing you on Wednesday, January 22nd at 1pm Eastern.
I'm teaming up with Shiv Chibber from Kit to walk you through my actual setup. You'll see:
- How I segment people immediately so I'm not treating everyone the same
- My welcome-to-pitch automation that adapts based on who's reading
- How I use custom fields and liquid code to personalize at scale
- The monetization strategies that generate consistent revenue
This isn't theory. It's a real look at what's working in my business right now.
Grab your spot β https://partners.kit.com/brad-workshopβ
Live attendees get exclusive bonuses. There will be a replay, but show up live if you can.
BRAD
Affiliate disclosure: This email contains affiliate links to Kit. If you click my link and subscribe to a paid Kit account, I'll receive a commission.
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