It’s a grind, but I’ve found that the old “sell the sizzle, not the steak”...

Gilmartin Zahir
@zahirgilmartin6538
18 hours ago

It’s a grind, but I’ve found that the old “sell the sizzle, not the steak” approach is still the real deal in 2026. I’m a writer and part-time musician, and for years I was stuck trying to sell finished products: a completed ebook or a mastered album. That just doesn’t cut it anymore. People are overwhelmed with content, and they’re not buying finished works unless you’re already famous.

What actually works for me now is selling the *process* itself. I started a paid community on a small platform where I share my raw writing drafts every week, along with voice notes explaining my editing decisions. For music, I do monthly “studio sessions” where I livestream mixing a track from scratch. Subscribers pay $8 a month just to watch me struggle and learn. It sounds crazy, but people love seeing the messy middle. They feel like they’re part of the journey, and they’re way more likely to buy the finished album or book when it drops because they were there for the birth.

I also do one-off consulting calls based on specific problems I’ve solved, like “how to get your first 100 subscribers” or “how to record vocals in a noisy apartment.” Those are $75 for 30 minutes and they book out fast. The key is being hyper-specific. Nobody wants generic advice, but they’ll pay for your war stories about that one time you fixed a hum in your recording by wrapping your microphone cable around a brick.

It’s not passive income. It’s active income from being transparent and helpful. You have to show up and talk to people. But it beats hoping a random buyer stumbles onto your Bandcamp page.