How I Made My First $100 Online (Step by Step)

How I Made My First $100 Online (Step by Step)

My first $100 online came from a $12 Notion template.

Eight sales. About two weeks from idea to final sale. And it completely changed how I thought about what was possible.

I want to walk through exactly how it happened — the decisions, the timeline, and what you can replicate starting today. Not because it's a rags-to-riches story (it isn't), but because $100 is the milestone that proves this works. Once you know you can do it once, you can do it again and again.

Step 1: I Picked a Product I Already Had

The biggest mistake I see beginners make is trying to create something from scratch for a hypothetical buyer. That's backwards.

I started by asking: what have I already built that someone else might pay for?

At the time, I was using a Notion template to track my freelance clients, invoices, and project status. It worked well. I'd spent maybe 4–5 hours building it originally.

I didn't invent anything new. I cleaned up what I already had, added some documentation, and turned it into a product.

Total time to create the product: about 3 hours of cleanup and polish.

Step 2: I Wrote a Description That Focused on the Problem

Most product descriptions are product-focused. "A Notion template with 5 databases and 12 views." That's what the product has, not what the buyer gets.

I wrote about the problem instead: the stress of chasing invoices, losing track of where projects stood, the mental overhead of freelancing without a system.

Then I described the template as the solution to that specific problem.

Short, specific, outcome-focused. That's the formula. If you want to go deep on writing copy that actually converts, I've written about how to write a digital product description that sells.

Step 3: I Published on MadeThis

I listed the template on MadeThis.com because the setup was fast and the checkout just worked. No fighting with integrations, no confusing settings. I uploaded the file, wrote the description, set the price at $12, and the product was live in about an hour.

The store looked professional immediately, which matters more than most people admit. A buyer who lands on a credible product page is much more likely to trust the product itself.

For context on pricing the platform itself, the MadeThis pricing page has current tiers.

Step 4: I Found My Buyer Where They Already Were

I didn't have an email list. I didn't have a big social following. I had Reddit.

Specifically, I found two subreddits where freelancers and designers hung out. I searched for posts where people complained about the exact problem my template solved. Then I answered those posts genuinely — described my system, mentioned I'd packaged it into a template, linked to the product page.

No spam. No "buy my product" pitches. Just helpful answers that happened to include a relevant link.

Within the first week, I had 6 sales. By week two, 8. That was $96 — just shy of $100. The 9th sale pushed me over.

The Honest Timeline

• Day 1: Cleaned up the template, wrote the description
• Day 2: Published on MadeThis, tested checkout
• Day 3: Found the relevant subreddits, answered my first post
• Day 5: First sale ($12)
• Day 10: 6 total sales ($72)
• Day 14: 8 sales ($96), almost there
• Day 16: 9th sale — $108 total

Two and a half weeks from idea to $100. Not passive income yet. But proof of concept.

What Made This Work

Looking back, a few things mattered more than others:

The product solved a real, specific problem. Vague products don't sell. "A productivity template" is vague. "A Notion client tracker for freelancers who hate chasing invoices" is specific.

The description talked to the buyer, not about the product. Every line in my description was either describing their pain or describing their life after they had the solution.

I found buyers who already had the problem. Reddit search is underrated for this. Go where frustrated people are, offer something useful, include your link naturally.

The platform didn't get in the way. MadeThis handled checkout, delivery, and receipts automatically. I made money while I was sleeping by day 5. That was a new experience.

What I'd Do Differently

One thing: I'd price higher. $12 was too cheap. With the benefit of hindsight, this template could have sold at $19 or even $27 and I'd have made more money with fewer sales.

Underpricing is the most common first-timer mistake. There's a whole post on how to price your digital products correctly — worth reading before you set your first price.

The Part That Changed Everything

When that first sale came in, I was away from my desk. I got an email notification on my phone from MadeThis. Someone had bought my template while I was out.

I'd done zero work that morning. The system had handled the payment and the file delivery automatically.

That's when it clicked. This wasn't about the $12. It was about the model.

If I could make $12 without being present, I could make more. I could make more products. I could optimize the listings. I could find more buyers.

Your first $100 is a mindset shift, not just a revenue milestone. Once you know the steps work, everything changes.

Start with a product you already have. List it somewhere that handles the checkout for you. Find the people who already have the problem you're solving.

If you're ready to build yours, MadeThis is where I'd start. The setup is fast, the tools are good, and it gets out of the way so you can focus on what you're actually selling.