#288 · stop giving away n8n templates, sell outcomes

youtube ↗Marketing

Can you walk through your workflow for creating the Marketing Startups courses?

I start with a high‑level outline of what people need to produce economically valuable outcomes with the tool. I don’t dive deep into JSON, APIs, expressions, or functions—most of that isn’t used when building for clients. From first principles I ask what I actually need to deliver that makes people money; you barely need to know acronyms like HTTPS, HTML, CSS, or deep JavaScript. The outline becomes a simple high‑level view of the essentials that let people make money with the tool. If learners want to go deeper (they love “circle jerking” the tech), I point them to resources but don’t teach it myself. For the recent Claude Code marketing course I reviewed all marketing system deals signed over the last ~4.5 years, listed the systems, identified the bare‑bones knowledge needed to build them, ignored sub‑agents and complex permissions, and taught the 80/20 core, then pointed to other resources if needed.

course creationoutline80/20marketing

Related answers

youtube ↗AI & Automation

Max Krueger asks: How'd you learn automation if you had zero dollars to start?

Great question. I would watch all of my own tutorials—like the 'make money with make' playlist and the NAN full course playlists I've set up. Not exactly playlists, but compilations. The simplest and easiest way to get up and running with the technical skills is to watch those. I'd also watch a few of my business videos, like the 80/20 summary of automation basics in less than an hour. I watch that, and a prompt engineering video—those together form the 80/20 curriculum I'd recommend. Once you know that, you actually get out there and start making Upwork applications, sending emails, sending cold DMs, reactivating your network if you're running a previous business, making community posts, and so on. Basically, you need to put yourself in front of customers as much as humanly possible. It doesn't even matter what your skill levels are.

zero dollarslearning automationtutorialsupwork
youtube ↗Client Acquisition

As a beginner with $5,000 to invest, which community should I join to learn the basics from scratch and stay highly connected to you?

I am the most active member in both Maker School and Make Money with Make, so you’ll get direct access to me through text‑based support (no one‑on‑one video calls). Maker School is purpose‑built for beginners, teaching foundations by doing—not just templates—and I plan to add exclusive automation tutorials soon. The paid tier covers business, accountability, networking, and higher‑level templates, while the free YouTube content handles automation basics. I’m also integrating automation into Maker School to make it a one‑stop shop. Beyond the community, I advise focusing on learning core business concepts rather than a specific business model, because those fundamentals let you succeed in any model, from waste management to junk removal.

maker-schoolmake-money-with-makebeginner5000
youtube ↗Niches

What automation ideas can I build and sell to IT companies as a subscription, and how do I choose and market them as a beginner?

He explains that IT companies are service businesses and follow the same funnel as any other service business: lead generation, sales (discovery/scoping call), conversion (proposal/agreement/invoice), onboarding (kickoff call), fulfillment (building IT systems), and retention (ongoing management/managed service). Because the funnel is universal, you can adapt systems from other niches—cold‑email, speed‑to‑lead (PPC), content (SEO), automated referral/follow‑up/reactivation, proposal generator, asset generator, CRM, sales admin, webhook‑triggered kickoff calls, AI‑generated project briefs, and a template library for one‑click implementation. The key is to take a bird’s‑eye view, draw inspiration from adjacent niches, and teach the client to fish rather than give them a fish.

it automationservice business funnellead gentemplate library
youtube ↗Sales

How can I sell to or convince my ideal customer profile when I lack deep industry understanding?

Use AI to explain the typical operations of a small‑to‑mid‑size business in the target industry. Ask the model to walk you through the full customer journey—how they find the business, what documentation they exchange, which platforms they use at each stage, and what their common needs are. This gives you roughly 80 % of the knowledge needed to speak confidently on a call. Once you’re in the conversation, ask targeted follow‑up questions about pricing, packages, or specific pain points to deepen your understanding and tailor your pitch.

ICPindustry researchAI