SoloProThe business of content creation
Every solo pro is a creator.
Tools and plain advice for building an audience you own.
A plumber, a coach, a bookkeeper and a newsletter writer all do the same thing: show up in public, build trust, and turn attention into customers. It's more than picking up a camera, and it takes time. We cover the tools, the business side, and the principles that work for everyone.
Free signup on beehiiv. You also get The $200 AI Startup Kit in your welcome email.
so you don't have to.
The core idea
Own your audience. Don't rent it.
Social media is rented space. Email and your own website are yours. Use social to be found, then give people a way to follow you somewhere the rules can't change overnight.
Rented
Followers on a platform
The platform sets the reach, the rules and the price.
Owned
Your email list and site
You keep the addresses, even if you leave.
- a.
TikTok went dark in the U.S. for about a day.
On January 18 to 19, 2025, the app went offline for about 170 million U.S. users before coming back the next day. Creators couldn't reach their audience. Reuters
- b.
Meta blocked news in Canada.
A year later, Canadian news outlets had lost 85% of their Facebook and Instagram engagement. Media Ecosystem Observatory
- c.
Owned still has rules.
Since February 2024, Gmail requires bulk senders to authenticate, offer one-click unsubscribe and keep spam complaints low. Owning a list means a duty to send good mail. Google
Start here
Pick a channel
Three picks per channel, not thirty. Swipe to see them. Each links to a step-by-step setup with a checked price. See all 40 tools and workflows →
The one you own
Email & newsletters
An email list is the audience nobody can take away. Pick a send day, write something useful, repeat.
In Kit's 2024 creator survey, 27% of creators said email was their best channel for engaging an audience, ahead of Instagram (15%) and TikTok (2%). Vendor-reported, mostly Kit users. Source
Talk, then reuse it
Podcasts
A podcast is a conversation you get to use five times: the episode, the transcript, the clips, the newsletter, the blog post.
Rented, so point it home
Video & social
Social is where people find you. Make once, cut it into pieces, and always give people a way onto your list.
Socialinsider's 2025 benchmark found the average Instagram post reached about 3.5% of followers, and Facebook about 1.65%. Second-hand, an average across brand accounts. Source
Home base
Your site
Your website is the other thing you own. It holds your best work, your signup form, and a way for a visitor to become a customer.
The honest picture
Most creators earn little. We'd rather tell you up front.
4%
of roughly 50 million creators worldwide earn over $100,000 a year, by Goldman Sachs' 2023 estimate.
Analyst estimate. Goldman Sachs
46%
of full-time creators in Linktree's 2022 survey earned under $1,000 a year.
Vendor-reported, 9,576 Linktree users. Linktree
$50 to $250
is what newsletters under 5,000 subscribers typically charge per sponsor placement. Small lists earn small money at first.
Vendor-reported. beehiiv
Building something takes time. Getting rich is unlikely. Some revenue within about 6 months is a realistic goal if you stay consistent. The creators who do earn usually have more than one way to earn, and they own a way to reach their people.
Free list · Ways to earn
Need help finding a microbusiness?
12 small business ideas with real start-up costs, weekly hours, sourced examples and plain odds, including content creation and a sponsor-funded newsletter. Building any business takes time, and getting rich is unlikely.
The business side
Latest playbooks
When does a creator need an LLC?
What an LLC actually does for a creator or solo pro, the signs it's time, when it's too early, what it costs, and the steps. Plain answers with sources.
Playbook · 7 min readFive million developers and a funding drought: building from Jakarta in the AI era
Indonesia has millions of developers and far less investment than it had in 2021. What that costs, and what one developer with AI tools can still build.
Sample plan: a simple $29/month web agency for local home service pros
Build one-page websites for plumbers, cleaners, landscapers and handymen who don't have one, and charge $29 a month. Real tool costs, step-by-step build, how to land the first clients, and honest math.
Coming soon
Creator Spotlights
Short, honest interviews with solo pros who make content to get customers: what they make, which tools they use, what it costs, and what it earns. No income screenshots, no hype.
Spotlight 1
Not published yet
Spotlight 2
Not published yet
Spotlight 3
Not published yet
The first ones go out in The Solo Brief. Subscribe to read them first →
Directory
All tools & workflows
All 40 setups across 6 categories, searchable.
Short list
Best AI tools for solopreneurs
20 tools worth paying for, plus a starter stack on free plans.
Indie Makers
Small tools, built by one person
Hand-reviewed tools from independent developers.
The Solo Brief · free, every week
Build a list you own. Start with ours, free.
One practical email a week on the business of content creation: tools with real prices, the business side, and honest numbers from our own build. Subscribe and you also get The $200 AI Startup Kit, 10 AI tools a one-person business can start with for under $200. No hype. Unsubscribe anytime.
- Plain-English setups, no tech degree
- Prices checked on official pages
- A starter stack for $164 on day one
- Honest caveats for every tool
One click to our free signup page on beehiiv. The kit arrives in your welcome email.
Follow along on X @soloproai and Instagram @solopro_ai.
