My Productivity Database Now Has 60+ Users
A money lesson about sharing your tools.
Honestly, this was just meant to be a Notion Database for me.
I had a zillion productivity tactics, tips, and strategies, and I needed to condense them. The idea was that I’d have a running list of techniques that I could refer back to when I needed to prioritize some dimension of my life — and that might have related to procrastination, decisions, sleep, or fitness.
Whatever it was, it had a home in the database if it worked for me — and I put some real effort into making it accessible too.
I categorized each tactic, wrote a little explainer just in case I forgot the thinking behind it, and rated it out of five — five being what I used frequently and one being what I might neglect more often than not.
And this was just something I did — it wasn’t meant to be anything more.
But then I launched a little guidebook on dealing with the “What do I do with my life?” problem for people that might have gone through what I had. And this article isn’t about that book, but it was my first digital product, and it made me think about what mattered to me.
And what mattered, especially at the time, was giving people access to resources that would help them in life.
And here I was, sitting on a resource that might do just that, and I was hoarding it for myself.
I Immediately Published It For Free
And people still paid me.
The database was something I already had and didn’t want to charge for — I just wanted people to use it. And the reason I didn’t directly link to it but instead made it a free “purchase” is because I wanted to know who was really interested.
Going to a link is easy; it takes commitment to give out your email.
And I’ve now received 60 emails and about $50 in a pay-what-you-want system since launching.
And you might see a small figure there for emails and earnings, but I see 60 highly engaged people who care about bettering themselves. And the fact that a decent portion decided to pay for it tells me a lot more.
Here’s what:
- I’ve created value, and I’m onto something here.
- I’ve got 60 people saying, “Hey, we’re into this; let us know if you have anything else like it.” — 60 potential customers.
- I’m more invested in making this database above and beyond expectations.
So essentially, what’s happened is that deciding to publish something for free has given me insight, built a targeted audience, and earned me money — all while being a net positive for society (I like to think).
And the best thing is, you’ve likely got something like this just sitting in your Google Drive.
Everyone Has $1000 Sitting In Their Hardrive
And that might be $1000 in cash, value, entertainment, education, or promotion.
It could be:
- A list of rules you’ve set for yourself that you refer to now and then.
- An essay you wrote that got an A+, but your professor only ever saw.
- A zip folder of 12+ graphic design artifacts you made for a class that one time.
- Some cool jazzy beats you made when you were getting into electronic music.
It could be anything, but whatever it is, it’s one click and a title away from being used by dozens, hundreds, if not thousands of people.
So list, publish, or share them.
Your music might be perfect for a great creator’s next vlog. Your designs might fit a blogger’s website style. That essay you wrote may go viral.
I had no idea if anyone would care about my productivity tactics, and I would never have if I didn’t publish it.
You don’t know until it’s up — so go on and hit publish.
Talk soon.
✌🏼 Sah
I hope you enjoyed that one. Keep up with my shenanigans here; I post maybe 2–3 times a week.
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