Happy Wednesday!
I'm building a private community called TKOwners for people who want to turn all these insights into real businesses. We have a slack channel where we drop insane AI tools and possibilities everyday. If you're serious about staying ahead of this AI revolution, check it out at tkowners.com. It's where the hundreds of action-takers hang out.
Also- right now I'm looking for someone who can manage my brand deals and keep the content machine running. If you're organized, a strong communicator, and want to work behind the scenes at The Koerner Office- apply here. Based in DFW preferred.
Okay let’s get into it because, until yesterday, I'd never shared this publicly before.
I make between $10,000 and $35,000 a month in profit on Facebook sharing content that is mostly not my own. I do this legally, ethically, and it only takes me about three hours per week.
Why have I kept quiet about this? Honestly, because I didn't want anyone to steal it from me. But then I thought, what the heck, Chris, that's not your brand. Law of abundance, right?
So I'm going to show you exactly what I do, exactly how you can do it, and why this opportunity even exists in the first place. And if this interests you and you want to take action- I show my process in action in this YouTube video.
Facebook Pays Creators (way more than Instagram does)
Facebook has 2.1 billion daily active users.. but they don't have enough creators publishing good content that these two billion people can consume on a daily basis. The supply and demand is completely imbalanced. Therefore, they need to pay creators to make good content.
Anyone can make money doing this.
(Instagram? Plenty of creators, plenty of users. They don't need to pay anyone. So we're not talking about Instagram today.)
And here's what makes Facebook different from the other short-form platform. Facebook Reels is the only place where you can link to your thing in the top of the comments. You can't do that on YouTube Shorts. You can't do that on Instagram. Only fb.
And because of that- I get over 500 email subscribers every single day just from that one link.
Subscribers directly to this newsletter- to give you guys content like this. (Because on top of fb paying, newsletters are where you can make real money. If you’re not gathering emails, you need to be.)
beehiiv is’t just a newsletter platform. They've built an entire creator infrastructure to help you monetize: an AI website builder, a built-in ad network that pays you for your emails, podcast integration, and a link-in-bio tool…
And now they let you sell digital products, coaching, and paid subscriptions directly to your audience. If you're tired of fighting your current platform or ready to start pulling in more money, check out beehiiv today. You'll thank me. My readers can use www.beehiiv.com/chris for 30% off three months.
Okay, back to the Facebook Playbook:
As humans, we no longer share our daily updates on FB with our friends. People use Instagram now and FB is all algorithmically driven.
But old habits die hard. That's why over a quarter of the planet is still using Facebook every single day, even though the people who used to post on Facebook are no longer posting. And Facebook, being a trillion dollar company that sells ads, needs eyeballs. They need a reason for people to keep logging in every day.
So they pay people like me and you to make sure that happens.
Okay, Here's my approach. I see a reel or a video on the internet and I add value to it. (This is called fair use and it is protected legally if you are adding enough insight or commentary to make the video your own.)
In my case, I see an interesting concept, invention, or business, and I give my spin on it. My take. How I‘d grow that business. How I would make it better. What businesses I've started that might be similar.
Let me be very clear. I’m not saying you go steal other creators' content, download it, and repurpose it. There's a lot of people doing that, and sometimes Facebook catches them, sometimes they don't. We are not about that.
Whoever you are, you have a unique insight in your brain that you can use to add value to this world.
My Process:
I use Instagram as my research platform. I created a fresh account that nobody knows about, and I started searching for content in my niche. Maybe you're a mailman. Maybe you love crocheting. Start searching for stuff about that. I don't care how weird it is. It's not too niche. There are people who care about it.
When I find something interesting, I click directly on the number of likes to see how many views it has. For the business niche, a viral video typically has 500,000 to 5 million views. If the background video is already proven to be viral, I just need to not screw it up. Don’t do lame reaction style videos where you’re just going "hmm." That's not protected under fair use. That's not helpful or innovative. You want to add real insights.
Every video needs a retention hack. There needs to be a reason for the person to stay until the end. You need a good hook and you need a reason for them to keep watching. Start looking out for these on videos you watch.
For editing, I use CapCut. Their green screen effect is the best out there. I edit my foreground video first, cutting out all the dead space because every millisecond counts. Then I upload the background video, add my edited footage as an overlay, remove the background from my footage, mute the original video's audio, and shrink myself down into the corner. Add captions, export, and upload to every short-form platform.
Never cross-post. Even when you post to Instagram or Facebook, there's a toggle button asking if you want to share to the other platform. Say no. I promise you, your reach will be significantly diminished if you use that feature. Do the harder thing, the more manual thing, and upload natively to every single platform. I've tested this. Other people have tested this. I don’t know why, but you will get a lot more views on your content if you post each individually.
The Numbers
I get paid about 25 cents per thousand views on my short-form videos. That's pretty high because I'm in the business and finance niche. If you're posting about gaming or unboxing videos, it's going to be less.
Some of my most recent content took me five to ten minutes to make. I paid an editor about $10 to edit it. And each made me anywhere from $500 to $2,000.
The dark side of building your online presence: the more content you create, the more visible you become and the easier it is for bad actors to find your personal information. Your phone number. Home address. Your family members' names.
I keep seeing stories like this: "Someone called me, my ex, his girlfriend, my cousin, and my parents asking for me. He knew everyone's names and even my workplace."
Your data doesn't vanish when you leave a job or move. It's collected, archived, and sold. Unless you delete every exposed detail online, scammers can get it through data brokers, genealogy websites, and even your social media. That's where Incogni comes in. It tracks down and removes your personal data from any site and keeps removing it. Even when you move or change jobs, your info disappears for good. If you're going to put yourself out there as a creator, protect the stuff that should stay private.
Try Incogni here and get 55% off your annual subscription with code CHRIS55. (Not CHRISS55- sorry about that incorrect code a couple weeks ago)
How to Get Monetized
It doesn’t happen immediately. You do have to wait for an invite. Their monetization program is still pretty new. But once your content starts getting picked up by more people, they see that you're consistent, that you're not getting flags on your account, and that you're adding enough value to qualify as fair use, you'll get an email from Facebook asking you to apply.
Again- the real money: It's not in relying on platforms that could shut you down without notice. It's in acquiring email addresses. Use a simple landing page through Carrd or beehiiv, link to it in the top of your comment on every single post, and watch your list grow.
This newsletter that youre reading went from 96,000 subscribers to 250,000 in 12 months. Almost all of that was organic growth. And most of that organic growth came from that one link under every single Facebook post.
Forget about the platforms everyone else is fighting over. I mean use them too, if you already have content, but the money's on Facebook and it's only getting better.
And again, if this interests you, and you want to take action- I show my exact process in action in this YouTube video. Sometimes it’s easier to watch these kinds of things than read them.
Go check it out and start making content today!
Have a great rest of your week!
Chris
P.S. I share deep dives on business ideas and complete playbooks three times a week on YouTube and every podcast platform.
