How to Get Paid for What You Know (Not How Loud You Are)

Let’s talk about the biggest lie sold to entrepreneurs today: “If you just post more, shout louder, and dance harder, the money will come.”

Bullshit.

I’ve seen too many brilliant business owners burn out trying to “out-content” everyone else, only to realize they’ve spent years building an audience that doesn’t actually pay them. They’ve confused attention with authority, and engagement with income.

Here’s the truth: You Don’t Get Paid for Being Loud. You Get Paid for Being Valuable. And value doesn’t require:

• Daily Instagram stories
• Viral TikToks
• Begging for likes

What it does require? Owning the damn conversation.

Let me show you how.

The Problem with Playing the Algorithm Game

There’s a bakery in my town that makes the best sourdough you’ve ever tasted. The owner, Maria, used to post daily Reels of her kneading dough, shots of golden-brown loaves fresh from the oven, and behind-the-scenes clips of her early-morning bakes.

She got likes. She got comments. She even got a few viral moments.

But here’s what she didn’t get: Consistent sales.

Because every time she took a day off, her engagement dropped. Every algorithm update forced her to reinvent her content. And despite thousands of followers, most of her customers still walked in because of the handwritten sign on her door that said: “Free sourdough starter with your first loaf.”

That’s when she realized, she wasn’t a baker on Instagram. She was an unpaid content creator for Meta.

So she stopped.

Not completely, but strategically. She cut her posting in half and redirected that energy into:

• A simple email list (“Get weekly sourdough tips”)
• A printed newsletter left at local cafes
• A “Bread of the Month” club signup sheet on her counter

Within three months, her revenue was up 30%—and for the first time in years, she wasn’t chained to her phone.

Why This Works (When Social Media Doesn’t)

Social platforms reward entertainment. But real businesses get paid for expertise.

Think about it:

• A fitness coach who posts daily workout clips gets likes.
• A fitness coach who writes “The 3 Mistakes Everyone Makes Deadlifting” gets clients.
• A financial advisor making TikTok skits gets views.
• A financial advisor publishing “How to Retire Without the Stock Market” gets booked.

See the difference?

One requires you to perform. The other lets you profit.

How to Get Paid for What You Know (Without Shouting)

1. The Blog That Builds Authority (Not Just Traffic)

Most people treat blogs like digital graveyards—posting once, then forgetting. The smart ones? They treat them like sales machines.

A client of mine (a business coach) stopped posting generic LinkedIn advice and instead wrote one definitive guide: “How to Fire Your Worst Client Without Going Broke.”

No nonsense. No “engagement bait.” Just pure, tactical value.

She:

• Published it on her own site (not Medium, not LinkedIn)
• Optimized it for Google (so it ranked for years)
• Turned it into a lead magnet (“Want the checklist version?”)

The result? That single post brought in over $80,000 in coaching clients, without her needing to post daily.

Your Move:

Pick one problem your customers struggle with. Write the ultimate guide to solving it. Not a social post, a resource so good people would pay for it.

Then watch your authority (and sales) grow.

2. The Newsletter That Actually Sells (Without Being Sleazy)

Email is the only platform where:

• You own the relationship
• You control the message
• No one can take it away from you

But most newsletters suck because they’re either:

• Desperate (“BUY NOW!!!”)
• Boring (“Here’s what we did this week!”)
• The golden middle? Teaching.

A florist I know sends one email a week: “How to Make Your Bouquets Last 2x Longer”, “The Flower Meanings No One Tells You”, “Why Your Grocery Store Roses Die So Fast”.

No hard selling. Just value. And yet, her “limited edition” seasonal bouquets sell out every time.

Your Turn: Start with one email. Not a promotion. A lesson. Something that makes your audience think: “Wow, I didn’t know that.”

Then, occasionally, invite them to buy.

3. The “Old-School” Marketing That Still Works (Because It’s Human)

Want to know what’s more powerful than 10,000 followers? 10 real conversations.

A financial planner I met stopped chasing LinkedIn fame and instead:

• Hosted free coffee chats at local cafes
• Printed “Ask Me About Tax-Free Retirement” on his business cards
• Sponsored one community event per quarter

Result? His client list doubled in a year, with zero viral content.

Why? Because people buy from trust, not trends.

The 30-Day Challenge to Ditch the Noise

If you’re ready to stop shouting into the void and start getting paid for what you know, try this:

Week 1: Pick Your Weapon

• Blog
• Newsletter
• Local outreach

Week 2: Create One Piece of Evergreen Value

• A guide
• A tutorial
• A case study

Week 3: Share It Where It Matters

• SEO (not social)
• Email (not DMs)
• Real life (not just online)

Week 4: Watch What Happens

• Who engaged?
• Who bought?
• What worked without begging?

The Bottom Line

You don’t need to scream louder than everyone else. You just need to speak directly to the people who matter.

Build your own platform. Own your expertise. And get paid, not for your performance, but for your knowledge.

Because at the end of the day? Silence pays better than shouting.

* * * * * *

I am UnMarketable. I help business owners get off the ‘social media hamster wheel’ and make more money with platforms that they OWN. (Read that last part again.)

Check out my books “F*CK the Algorithm, and How to Market Your Business Without Social Media. Both are available on Amazon now (along with a few others).