Over the past few months, we’ve been speaking with creators who are doing a great job earning from what they create. There’s Passive Income Anna, who built her business organically and crossed ₦200M in two years, Felix, who hit ₦10M in sales in a single month using ads, and Juliet, who froze for nearly a year before returning and making $13K.

We also spoke to Victor, who went from painting houses to earning ₦20M+ monthly, and Elohor, who turned a failed first launch into ₦1M in sales with just 500 followers.

Different stories, different approaches, but intriguingly similar patterns. This article reveals those patterns so you can pick what fits and keep building with real insights from people who’ve done it all before.

Let’s get into it!

PART 1: Getting Clear

Insight #1 — They All Failed at First, then Used the Failure as Data

Looking at these creators now, it’s easy to assume everything worked from the start. But when they told us their stories, the first thing we noticed was how many things went wrong before anything went right.

Anna lost ₦800,000 in a Ponzi scheme and lost an Instagram page she’d grown to 113,000 followers. When she created her first product, it sold only six copies. Lucky spent ₦150,000 on ads for her first launch and made back ₦46,400; it discouraged her so much that she took a ten-month break before trying again. 

Juliet overthought her way into inactivity for almost a year. Felix didn’t trust himself enough to launch at first and Victor says he deliberately makes mistakes early because that’s how you learn fast.

These creators treated these experiences as feedback. 

When something doesn’t work, it’s frustrating, yes, but it’s also data. If your ads flopped, now you know something about your targeting or your offer. If your launch had low conversions, you learn something about your audience or your messaging. If your content isn’t landing, it’s telling you something needs adjustment.

So if your first attempt didn’t work, it doesn’t mean you’re behind. It just means you’re in the part of the journey that everyone else went through, too. Felix now spends more than a few hundred thousand monthly on ads. Lucky eventually hit ₦1M with 500 followers. The only difference between their first launch and their successful ones is that they treated the flop as a lesson.

Insight #2 — They Got Clear About Who They Were Talking To

This came up in every conversation. The people who struggled longest were trying to help “everyone.” Those who broke through got uncomfortably specific.

Lucky had 500 followers, and 450 bought her course. That’s a 90% conversion that doesn’t happen by accident. Juliet had a growing audience but no sales until she got clear on the exact problem she was solving and for whom.

Victor stopped promoting “affiliate marketing” and started talking about “making money online.” Instead of forcing everyone into one box, he became a guide pointing writers to copywriting courses, traders to forex programs.

Getting specific doesn’t shrink your potential; it stops you wasting time on people who were never going to buy. You can have 5,000 followers who scroll past or 500 who actually pay attention and buy. These creators chose the second option.

If you’re struggling with sales right now, ask yourself: Who exactly am I talking to? What are they dealing with? What did they already try that didn’t work? When you can answer those clearly, your messaging changes, and so do your results.

Insight #3 — They Sold the Result, Not the Process

These creators sell the person you become after you have what they offer. Anna doesn’t sell “learn affiliate marketing,” she sells “make money from your phone without needing a job.” Felix doesn’t sell “learn AI,” he sells “use AI to do your job better, faster.” Lucky doesn’t sell “learn landing pages,” she sells “stop wasting money on ads that don’t convert.”

See the difference? One is about the thing itself, the other is about what your life looks like after. People don’t want to learn Facebook ads or copywriting; they want the freedom, the money, options, and confidence that skill gives them. Your job is to sell that future version of them.

This is why testimonials about results work better than ones praising the course. “This course was so informative” doesn’t hit like “I made my first ₦100k two weeks after finishing” or “I finally quit my job because of what I learned.”

When Lucky talks about her first failed launch versus her successful one, this was part of what changed. First time: “Come learn Facebook ads, I’ll teach you how to make money”, which was too vague. Second time: “You’ve been running ads and they’re not working. You’re wasting money because you don’t know why your account keeps getting banned. Here’s how to fix it and start seeing returns.” People with that exact problem saw themselves and bought.

Lead with the pain they’re in right now, paint the picture of where they could be, then position your course as the bridge.

PART 2: Building the Machine

Insight #4 — One Offer, Many Paths Leading to It

A lot of creators assume they need to create more products to make more money. But the people we spoke to weren’t doing that. They were making it easier for people to reach the product they already had.

When Lucky relaunched her course, she created new entry points, from webinars, WhatsApp classes, landing pages, to Instagram lives, all pointing to the same offer.

Victor does it by being everywhere his audience might be. Instagram, TikTok, Twitter — wherever you find him, you also find the link to buy. 

Anna takes the frequency route. She posts multiple times a day because she understands everyone sees different posts at different times. Visibility is repeated access points.

Your audience has the same problem but discovers it differently. Someone might realise they need your solution from a 2-minute reel. Another needs a 60-minute webinar. Another prefers reading a guide. If you only offer one way in, you’re losing everyone who doesn’t connect with that format.

This is why people who only post on Instagram or only send emails struggle more than those who mix it up. You’re building a path to your offer; the more entry points you create, the more people will find their way there.

Insight #5: They Built Trust Uniquely and Committed to It

Anna built trust through constant visibility, from 5 to 8 posts a day, until followers felt like they knew her. Felix built it through his funnels, systems, and sales pages that looked so professional that people trusted his course would deliver the same quality. Juliet spent two years creating free content before asking anyone to pay, so her audience already knew she was good. Victor focused on systems, creating automated onboarding so students immediately knew what to do after buying.

Lucky shared something important: your audience can tell when you’re not confident. At her first launch, she was thinking, “I only have 100 followers, who’s going to trust me?” That doubt leaked into how she showed up. By the second launch, she had changed to “I know this works and I can help these people,” and her audience responded differently.

You can’t skip building trust, but you don’t have to do it like everyone else. Pick the method that fits who you are. If you’re naturally consistent, do Anna’s approach. If you’re great at systems, do Felix’s thing. If you’re patient and generous, do Juliet’s.

The mistake is trying to be all of them at once. Match your trust-building method to your personality and resources, then commit long enough for it to work. Switching strategies every three weeks won’t get you anywhere.

Insight #6 — They Plan Everything… Or at Least, a Lot of Things

Lucky used to create a course, post randomly, and hope people would buy. Once, she told her email list she’d send something daily for 30 days, then stopped after day 3 because she hadn’t written the other 27 emails yet.

Now, when she launches for 30 days, all 30 emails are written before day one. If she’s posting twice daily for four weeks, at least half of those 56 pieces are created before launch.

This is because motivation runs out, but a plan keeps you going. Without one, you hit day 5 tired, can’t think of what to post, and stop. With content already made, you just post it.

Juliet launched a mentorship program targeting 20 signups. By July 1st, she had 6 with 18 days left. She stuck to her plan, adjusted small things, and hit 22 by July 18th.

People also buy late. If you only launch for one week, you miss everyone who would have seen it in week two. Lucky had people buy on day 1 and day 30. Quitting early would’ve lost those late buyers.

Victor systematised everything he could so that things would happen without him. When someone buys his course, they immediately get an email with clear instructions on how to access it, what to expect, and where to start, all automated. That way, he’s not answering the same questions over and over, and students don’t get confused and ask for refunds because they couldn’t figure out where the course was.

This doesn’t mean everything must be perfect before starting. It means thinking through the whole process so you’re not making it up as you go. Map out your timeline, create at least half your content in advance, write emails beforehand, and stick to it even when you’re tired.

PART 3: Scaling What Works

Insight #7 — They Spent Money and Time Like It’s a Real Business

You can’t scale without investing. Every creator here chose one: money or time.

Felix spends approx. ₦400,000 weekly on ads and makes ₦2.7 to 3 million back. Victor spends ₦50,000 to ₦120,000 daily. Anna spent ₦0 on ads but made ₦200 million in two years by posting 5 to 8 times daily, every single day.

The pattern is to spend money to buy attention through ads or spend time to earn attention through content. Both work, but you can’t do neither.

If you have money, test ads, then scale what works. If you have time, commit to daily content for 90 days. Track your returns; if something’s not working, that’s data telling you what to fix.

Insight #8 — Platform Choice is as Important as the Money You Make

Victor switched platforms because Friday-only withdrawals killed his ability to scale winning ads mid-week. He needed to pull money on Tuesday and reinvest on Wednesday, not wait till Friday when the campaign’s already cold.

Juliet failed on platforms without M-PESA integration because her Kenyan audience doesn’t use cards that much. The wrong payment method meant losing sales.

And generally, bad infrastructure creates artificial ceilings. So, before choosing a platform, audit it like a business:

• Can your audience pay the way they actually want to? (Mobile money, cards, transfers)
• Can you access your money when you need to scale, not when the platform decides?
• Does delivery happen automatically, or are you manually sending links?

This is why Selar became the common thread in these interviews. It handles naira and dollar payments, automates delivery, and allows you to withdraw daily instead of weekly.

Know how your audience pays for things, then make sure your setup handles that. Test your own customer journey, buy your own product and see where friction exists.

Insight #9 — They Gave Away 80% and Charged for the 20% That Drove Results

Anna constantly shares free tips and strategies. Juliet gave two years of free content before her first paid sale. Victor shares educational content, then recommends specific solutions.

The lesson? Don’t gatekeep knowledge, gatekeep implementation. Teaching someone what to do builds trust. Showing them exactly how, step by step, and doing it with them, that’s what they pay for.

Lucky says people act faster on video than in text. If you need quick action, give video freebies, not just PDFs. Watching someone do the thing makes it feel more real and possible.

The more value you give free, the more they trust you know what you’re talking about. When they’re ready to go deeper or faster, they come to you, not someone else, because you’ve already helped them.

Conclusion

After talking to all these people, it’s clear that there’s no one path. Anna did it organically. Felix used ads, Juliet was patient, Victor mastered webinars and Lucky systematised launches. But they all did three things:

• They treated failure as data.
• They picked a lane and went all in.
• They built trust before asking for money, but didn’t wait for perfect timing.

Don’t just read this, nod, and do nothing. That’s the only way this doesn’t work. If you’re yet to set up your store on Selar, start from there.