I post around 300 times a year. 4 types of those posts are the reason I can charge what I charge.
👋 Welcome back to Content to Commas. If your posts get shared and your inbox stays quiet, I need you to read this one to the end 😉.
This issue sat in my Notion for a while, because I was trying to think of how best to communicate this but I think the issue finally makes sense.
Content can get you paid directly and indirectly … let me teach you the difference and how it works.
This issue is the four types posts that get you paid, what each one has to do, and how to do them all without trying too hard.
📍 In this issue:
four posts, four jobs
the post that does the most selling on my feed
a way to make financial news simple
Let’s lock in.

a message from our friends @ The Daily Upside*
Bad news is good business. We never bought in.
Every morning, financial news follows the same script. Headlines panic, coverage catastrophises, and somewhere inside the noise is the story that actually matters — the one that tells you where the opportunity sits, not just where the fear is pointing.
Most sources have stopped looking. The alarm is easier to sell.
The Daily Upside was created by Wall Street insiders for readers who crave real insight over recycled anxiety. Five minutes of global business and finance, before the noise sets the agenda — just the facts, context, and analysis your decisions need.
Join 1M readers — including managing directors and principals at some of Wall Street’s largest institutions — who trust The Daily Upside to filter through the chaos.
The upsides are always there. We’ll find them before breakfast.
🧠 Useful is where the bar starts
and look, "be useful" is still not wrong.
I've built a 10K+ person newsletter on it. But being only useful and never asking anyone for anything may not close deal or gain the client 100% of the time.
Last year I told you every post needs a job. This is the version for when the job is getting paid.
Going to make this painfully simple ↓
🧾 1. The receipt
Think of your receipt post as your recap, your “can't believe this just happened”, your “here how this project came together”.
How to know what to charge for is a tip. How I 3X'd my rates without burning bridges is a receipt. Same-ish topic with different jobs.
Even while I'm on paternity leave, I have potential clients reaching out wanting to work because of posts from monthsss ago that are still working while I'm resting.
[that’s crazy! a post from 5 months ago can bring the right people to your doorstep/inbox]
You have googled yourself before, so why wouldn’t someone wanting to work with , buy from, or hire you. LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, whatever's public. What they find either backs up your price or gives them a reason to push back. The receipt is what you want them to find.
Think of those receipts has screenshotted wearing a costume.
→ Watch rule three in my 5 cheat codes video, it's this exact post
→ Pick your level of building in public
🪞 2. The mirror
The receipt proves you did it.
The mirror does what it sounds like … is the reflection post.
You're also allowed to be your own case study.
Most of my mirrors are me: the “L” I turned into $20K at Cannes or The Year-One Newsletter Audit (steal this).
The mistake is doing a version of "we worked together and it went great” or being the overly humble where they wonder … “did you really work on this???”
These are some examples of how you can generate indirect revenue.
By showcasing your work, you’re positioning yourself as someone who can offer these services to others.
To take it a step further, you might end with a note like, “I’m currently seeking more clients to collaborate with on similar projects.” This way, your posts can become direct avenues to earning more.
People pay for the after. The mirror is the only place they get to see it.
🙋 3. The “yeah…but”
This is the one almost nobody writes, which is exactly why the people who write it eat.
Humans aren’t meant to agree 100% of the time, so you being a “yes man” isn’t helping you.
The “yeah…but” posts names an objection or an unpopular opinion (a real one, not the fake one for clicks) and I promise you, when you do this outreach becomes inbound.
My Substack video is a yeah-but post.
The objection was "should I be on Substack?" and I answered it once, in public, so I'm not answering it in DMs for the rest of the year. The "too saturated" issue is another one.
The “yeah…but” post is the cheapest sales rep you'll ever hire. It costs you one afternoon and never asks for commission.
🚪 4. The door
Somewhere in your last 30 posts, one of them has to say what you sell or provide, who it's for, and how to get it.
simply put … “closed mouths strave” … I mean um … “close mouths don’t get fed”.
Show the work, talk about what you do, and say “hit me up if you’re looking for something similar”
Since I'm asking you to build one, here's mine: I help creators and founders turn content into income, through this newsletter, the Content to Commas course (waitlist is open), and 1:1 work.
That's a door.
→ Turn 10 people into $3,000 is a door for a paid cohort, and I mean a whole issue of one
→ Your first $1K is closer than you think
These are four types of posts that can help you make money.
They encourage people to contact you, make deals happen more smoothly, and make incoming opportunities feel natural.
I'll see you next Saturday, my friends! 👋
Was this issue useful?
📌 ICYMI…
Each week, I share content on social, branding, and growth strategies. Catch up in case you missed anything.
Posts You Missed…
⭐ LinkedIn just added me to their new Entertainment Community: hand picked by the LinkedIn team, and my take on why a creator → Read the post
💼 1,029 roles you won't find on LinkedIn: September Surge is here, so I built a job board for this community, updated weekly with roles from company sites and Slack groups the algorithm never surfaces → Grab the board
💰 Make Money With a Small Audience (3 Plays Nobody Uses): the cohort, the contributor, and the go-local play, and none of them are digital products, affiliates, or ads → Get the 3 plays (your t=3s link)
🎬 LinkedIn helped me build a 6-figure creator business: I sat down with their VP on what's working there right now → See what works
🎙️ Yapping in Cannes about my "overnight" success: a walk-and-talk with @emilianofilm on the mindset behind it (spoiler, it took years) → Watch the yap
Keep Reading…
🤖 Stop using AI as a chatbot: where this stack started in February, and the one-tool, 7-day test I still stand by. Read where it started →
🛠️ boring = freedom: if you repeat it, systemize it. The invoicing and calendar fixes I made before any agent existed. Steal the systems →
🎯 Focus is a serious flex: the $50-an-hour test for what to hand off, whether that's a tool, a VA, or now an agent. Run the $50 test →
🕵️ How to Ethically Cheat Social Media: five cheat codes for the feed, including the Hook Vault. Take the shortcuts →
👀 The invisible work behind every great month: the relationship work behind my best December, and none of it ran on its own. See the invisible work →
⏰ How to Spend Money to Buy Time: three tiers of buy-back spend, from $200 life admin to a fractional CFO. Do the buy-back math →
Worth every penny…
The tools, equipment, and systems that power my content.
🤖 Stanley: My content teammate just got a major upgrade. What started with LinkedIn now helps me create for X, YouTube, and Instagram too. → Try Stanley Free
🐝 Beehiiv: Newsletters, podcasts, digital products, and now community. One of the easiest places to build your media empire and home to Content to Commas → Enjoy 20% off for 3 Months
⌨ Lovable: Describe the app or landing page you want, and it builds it. No code. Build with Lovable →
💾 Notion: Where all of work for content & business lives. Get Notion →
🎤 Wispr Flow: My most used tool, hands down. Writes about 10x faster than typing. First month free with my link → Try Wispr Flow
🧠 Granola: The AI best notepad that sits in on my calls. I cannot talk enough about it → Try Granola
🗺 Poppy AI: My content whiteboard. It knows my brand and can help me brainstorm with a visual template. → Try Poppy AI
💬 Manychat: The machine behind every "comment X and I'll send it" post. It turns comments into DMs, DMs into links → Build the flow
📊 Gamma: AI presentations and one-pagers. Elite. Elite. Elite. → Try Gamma
Resources Built For You:
The LinkedIn Growth Pack: 8 AI skills that write, grow, and plan your LinkedIn. The system behind everything I post → Get the pack ($79)
The Viral Instagram Carousel Pack: 5 Claude skills built on my exact carousel method → Grab the bundle ($29)
The Brand Deal Tracker (Notion CRM): Every pitch, deal, and deadline in one board. Name your price → Track your deals (free)
The Content Repurposing OS (free AI skill): Turn one piece of content into a full distribution plan → Steal the skill

Brandon Smithwrick, Creator of Content to Commas
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