The 0-Subscriber monetization blueprint that still pays me

Hi Friend 👋

March is really the beginning of the year for me. At least that’s how it’s been for the last two years. It seems that Jan/Feb are months I spend in planing and strategy mode before coming out of hibernation with the first signs of spring.

Now I feel super fired up for a news season of content with a strategy that should allow me to be even more consistent than last year. This is also partly inspired by my convo with Luc Forsyth, I just published. He is one of the few creators who actually stuck to the consistency blueprint and after two years of weekly uploads hit 100k subscribers.

Now let’s dive into how any creator can make money without reinventing the wheel.

💛 Valentin

New in Orbit:

Luc Forsyth - What a Netflix DP learned on YouTube

Making money with 0 subscribers

When I started my creator journey, I had zero subscribers, zero followers, and no idea how to make money. I was just passionate about D&D and had too much time on my hands. But with my fourth video published, I figured something out—a strategy that earned me my first internet money and is still generating revenue even though the channel has been dormant for a year.

The beauty of this system is that it is simple, repeatable, and now I’ve seen it work in almost every niche. I call it

The Zero-Subscriber Monetization Blueprint.

Here’s how it works.

Step 1: Improve an existing product

Instead of creating something from scratch, I just improved something I was already using to fit me better. In the case of my first channel, that meant creating a better character sheet for Dungeons & Dragons. I created it because the official version didn’t work for me, and I shared how I created it in the hopes other players might also appreciate it.

💡 Take a moment and think about something you’ve created to solve a personal frustration. Chances are, others have the same problem and would be happy to pay for a solution.

Step 2: Create content about it

To get initial traction, I shared the video of why and how I created it in relevant subreddits and Facebook groups. This showed me people cared about it but one video isn’t enough.

Here’s the content loop I used to build momentum:

1. The Origin Story Video – Why I made the product.

2. The How-To Video – How to use it effectively.

3. The Customization Video – How to adapt it to your own needs.

Each one was inspired by feedback I got from people using it. With every video, the value of the product was reinforced while reaching different types of viewers.

This turned a static product into a story and creates a natural binge loop. People don’t just want to know what it is; they want to know why it exists and how it can help them.

By putting those on the sales page, multiple viewers went through the loop, giving the YouTube algorithm very clear signals of who was interested in my channel.

Step 3: Make it accessible & shareable

I uploaded the character sheet to Gumroad with a “pay what you want” model. Most people typed in zero, but some, without any prompting, chose to donate. The most anyone ever paid was $20 for a product that is available completely for free.

This works because:

1. You remove friction from the buying process.

2. You let people decide what it’s worth to them.

3. You capture email addresses for future engagement.

And by being something people use on a table with other people, it becomes a point of conversation, naturally bringing interested people into the content/product loop.

Step 4: Make it easy for people to contact you

One of the reasons this character sheet became as popular as it is, is because it exists in 10 languages. Not because of me, but because passionate players voluntarily translated it and sent it to me. This opened it up to a much wider audience, created a sense of ownership for contributors, and set it apart from most other offerings.

None of this would’ve happened if people couldn’t find my email or if I didn’t respond to them.

The Results?

Without an audience, without ads, and without traditional marketing, this simple strategy led to my first digital product sales, email subscribers, and engaged community members.

And even though I have not published anything on this channel in a year, it still gets views and generates revenue.

And it’s repeatable for any niche. Take MrAlexTech, for example. He solved some frustrations for himself in DaVinci Resolve and is now making a living from his best-in-class plugins. But just like the Cardboard Cleric, he started with 0 subscribers and free products.

So if you’re starting from zero, try this.
And when you do, hit reply. I’d love to see what you create.

My favorite content this week

Bonus Content:
Have you discovered #EuroTok yet? A trend I can definitely get on board with.

Which creator stood out to you this week?

🚀 Mission Report

February was quite an interesting month. I got to spend most of it in Spain, sharing a house with a few creators and digital nomads. This experience is worth it’s own article or video for now let’s say I really want to create more in person experiences where solo creators can get together.

1 The plan for February was to open up the Orbit Community.
After a test phase with some friends. We had a soft launch in the last week of February and now we have the first 14 members inside. Creating a online co-working space for creators.

2 A video production house reached out to me earlier this year to collaborate on the coming videos. In particular they showed me some very compelling podcast intros. So we did our first test. You can see the result of it in the conversation with Luc Forsyth - please let me know what you think.

3 That video also has the first brand integration with Riverside.fm (Code: Orbit) one of my absolute dream partners. Instead of doing a bit to camera like every other skippable ad read I opted to create a little song highlighting some of the features.

4 After a lot of debate with myself I finally committed to hosting a monthly meetup in Vienna. Every last Thursday of the month. If you are in town hit me up.

5 Lastly I also invited new creators to come on the show and I already got a handful of amazing people signed up for the next season.

But who would you love to see on the show?

In case you missed it:

⬅️ Last week I shared my lessons from moderating the Colin and Samir subreddit

➡️ Next week we explore another strategy to make money with a small audience

Do you want to talk about your monetization and content strategy with people who understand what you’re talking about? Join the Creator Orbit Community.
A co-working space for Solo Creators.