Making an extra $1,000 a month from a side hustle doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You don’t need a big audience, complicated funnels, or endless social media posting.
Instead, focus on solving a problem for a specific audience, packaging your knowledge into a product, and distributing valuable content consistently.
Here’s how to do it in five simple steps, using AI to streamline the process.
Step 1: Package Your Knowledge into a Digital Product (Fast & Easy with AI)
Everyone has knowledge, skills, or experiences that can be turned into a digital product.
The challenge is figuring out what yours are and how they can help others. This is where AI becomes your brainstorming partner.
Step 1A: Extract Your Best Product Idea
Start by answering these questions:
🔹 What skills, knowledge, or experiences do I have?
- What do people ask me for advice on?
- What problems have I overcome that others struggle with?
- What skills have I developed that save time, money, or effort?
💡 Write your answers down. Now, let AI help you refine them.
Use AI to Identify Your Best Product Idea
Once you’ve listed your skills and experiences, ask AI to help you turn them into a valuable product.
Try this AI prompt:
“Here’s a list of things I know about: [paste your answers]. Based on this, what are 5 digital product ideas I could create that would be easy to sell and solve a real problem for people?”
AI will generate specific ideas—for example:
- A “Beginner’s Guide to X” ebook
- A “How to Overcome Y” step-by-step guide
- A 5-day video mini-course on [topic]
Step 1B: Define Your Target Audience (AI Helps Here Too!)
Once you have a product idea, you need to make sure it’s solving a problem for the right people.
AI can help you define your audience:
Try this AI prompt:
“I want to create a [ebook/course/video] about [topic]. Who would benefit the most from this, and what are their biggest struggles?”
AI will suggest potential customers and refine your messaging.
Step 1C: Structure and Create Your Product Using AI
Now that you have your idea, AI can help you build the product faster than you ever could alone.
🔹 Want to create an ebook?
AI Prompt: “Create a detailed 5-chapter outline for an ebook on [topic]. Each chapter should solve a key problem.”
🔹 Making a mini-course?
AI Prompt: “Outline a simple 3-module course on [topic] with key lessons in each.”
🔹 Creating a video script?
AI Prompt: “Write a script for a 10-minute video explaining [topic] in a fun and engaging way.”
🔹 Need a downloadable guide or checklist?
AI Prompt: “Create a step-by-step checklist for someone who wants to [achieve goal].”
Once AI generates the structure, fill in the gaps with your personal insights, examples, and experiences.
✅ Upload your finished product to Gumroad or Stan.store.
- Gumroad is free but takes 10% per sale.
- Stan.store is $39/month but has no per-sale fees.
Pick the one that feels easiest for you!
Step 2: Start a Newsletter on Substack
You need an audience to buy your product, and building an email list remains the best long-term strategy for any online business.
Unlike social media platforms, where algorithms can change overnight and limit your reach, an email list is something you own and control—giving you direct access to your audience without relying on external platforms.
Substack makes this process easier than ever because it combines content creation and email list growth in one place. With a built-in discovery features that help people find and subscribe to your newsletter, it’s frictionless for readers.
They can engage with your content in their inbox without needing to visit a separate website, which makes it one of the fastest ways to grow an engaged audience and start selling your product right away.
How to Get Started:
🔹 Sign up on Substack and create a free newsletter based on your niche.
🔹 Write one valuable article per week (see Step 4 for what to write).
🔹 Grow your audience passively with Substack’s built-in discovery features.
🔹 Mention your product naturally in your content. Example: “If you want a step-by-step breakdown, grab my [ebook/course] here!”
Step 3: Pick One Social Platform & Repurpose Your Content (AI Does This Too!)
While Substack is a great platform for building an email list and nurturing your audience, it has limited discoverability outside of its own network.
The best ways to increase your visibility are:
(a) Using Substack’s built-in Notes—a rapidly growing feature that acts like a social feed, allowing you to post short-form content, engage with other writers, and attract new subscribers directly within Substack.
(b) Choosing one additional social platform—Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn—where your audience is most active.
Rather than trying to be everywhere, pick just one extra platform to focus on alongside Substack Notes. (You can use a scheduler to repurpose later).
Then repurpose your weekly Substack article into daily bite-sized posts, reels, or soundbites for both, which ensures you consistently reach new people and can engage with your audience, and funnel them toward your newsletter and product—without adding extra workload.
✅ One long-form article per week (on Substack).
✅ Break it into 7 daily mini-posts and share on:
- Substack Notes (for more reach).
- Your chosen social platform.
💡 How AI Helps:
- Text posts? Use ChatGPT or Claude to extract key soundbites from your article and turn them into 7 short-form posts for Notes + social.
- Video clips? Use Opus.clip to automatically break your video into 30-second clips for Reels, Shorts, or TikToks.
- Audio clips? Use Descript to pull out the best snippets and turn them into shareable soundbites.
Step 4: What to Post? Talk About Challenges & Provide Solutions
One of the biggest obstacles to consistency is not knowing what to post. Instead of overthinking the term “content creation” (which often leads to creating content just for the sake of it), focus on solving real problems for your audience.
People engage with content that speaks directly to their struggles, so the best approach is to identify the biggest challenges in your niche and consistently provide solutions.
How to Generate Endless Content Ideas
Start by making a big list of questions your audience might have. You can do this by:
✅ Thinking about common struggles you’ve faced and overcome.
✅ Looking at FAQs in your niche (from forums, Quora, Reddit, Facebook Groups).
✅ Checking the comments and messages you get from your audience.
💡 AI Prompt:
“List 20 common struggles that [your audience] faces in [your niche]. Then, suggest practical solutions I could turn into long-form content.”
Once you have a list, use AI to help turn these into engaging content.
💡 AI Prompt:
“Suggest 10 newsletter topic ideas for a Substack focused on [your niche]. Make them engaging and problem-solving.”
Your Weekly Content Plan (Keep It Simple & Repeatable)
Instead of constantly coming up with new ideas, follow a structured posting schedule that maximizes your efforts:
📌 Monday: Publish one long-form article on Substack answering a key question or solving a major problem.
📌 Tuesday-Sunday: Repurpose that article into daily soundbites and share them on Substack Notes + your chosen social platform.
📌 Daily: Engage with comments, DMs, and conversations to keep growing your audience.
How to use AI for your repurposed content
Once you’ve written your long-form post, AI can help break it down into bite-sized pieces for daily distribution.
💡 AI Prompt:
“Break down this article into 7 short LinkedIn/TikTok/Facebook posts that each provide value but leave readers wanting to learn more.”
💡 AI Prompt:
“Summarize this article into 7 key takeaways I can post as short-form content over the next week.”
By following this simple but effective strategy, you’re consistently showing up, solving real problems, and driving traffic back to your newsletter and product—without reinventing the wheel every day.
Step 5: Keep Going Until You Hit $1,000 a Month (Then Scale!)
The biggest reason most people don’t reach their income goals? They give up too soon.
Success in this strategy doesn’t come from one viral post or a single product launch—it comes from consistent effort over time. Every time you show up, post valuable content, and engage with your audience, you’re building momentum.
Some weeks will feel slow. Some posts won’t get much engagement. But if you stick with it—continuing to share, refine, and improve—your audience will grow, your messaging will get sharper, and your sales will start to come in.
The ones who succeed aren’t necessarily the most talented or experienced—they’re the ones who keep going when others quit.
How the Numbers Work
- Selling a $10 product? You need 100 sales per month (3-4 per day).
- Selling a $50 product? You only need 20 sales per month (less than one per day).
How to Improve Over Time:
🔹 Test different messaging—if sales are slow, tweak your product positioning.
🔹 Engage with your audience—real conversations lead to sales.
🔹 Add more products once you hit $1,000/month. More offers = more income.
The key is to stay consistent, trust the process, and keep improving. If you do that, reaching $1,000 a month (and beyond) is inevitable. 🚀
Common Challenges & How to Overcome Them
🚧 “I’m not making sales.”
✔ Solution: Ask yourself: Does my product solve a painful problem? If not, refine it.
🚧 “Growing an audience is slow.”
✔ Solution: Be patient, engage daily, and keep posting valuable content.
🚧 “I don’t know what to post.”
✔ Solution: Every day, post:
- A problem your audience faces.
- A tip, solution, or personal story.
- A link to your newsletter or product.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple & Keep Showing Up
This strategy works because it’s repeatable, scalable, and AI-powered.
Most importantly, it’s designed to be a fun side hustle. You’re not grinding away at something you hate; you’re sharing what you know, helping others, and getting paid for it.
✅ Extract your best knowledge
✅ Package it into a digital product
✅ Build an audience on Substack
✅ Post daily using AI automation
Do this for 90 days, and you’ll not only hit $1,000/month, but you’ll also create a flexible, enjoyable income stream that can scale to even more, all while working on something you actually enjoy. 🚀
