No Followers, No Problem: The Unfiltered Story of My First Digital Sale

Table of Contents

• Method 1: I Paid for Exposure (And It Was Totally …

• Method 2: I Partnered with a Micro-Influencer

• Method 3: I Slid Into DMs (The Right Way)

• The Truth Most People Won’t Tell You

• My First Week, By The Numbers

• Final Thoughts: Build As You Go

Let me tell you a secret most “digital business” gurus won’t say out loud:

You don’t need an audience to make your first sale.

Crazy, right?

We’re fed this idea that before you launch anything, you need:

• Thousands of followers

• An email list bursting with subscribers

• Viral content on repeat

• Fancy funnels and pixel-perfect branding

Spoiler alert: I had none of that.

When I launched my very first digital product—a Notion Travel planner I’d poured hours into—my audience was… me & my mom. That’s it.

No followers.

No subscribers.

No likes.

No shares.

Still, I made sales.

I didn’t wait for an audience to show up. I found one. I borrowed one. I bought one.

And somehow it worked.

Here’s the exact play-by-play of what I did—and how you can do the same, even if you’re starting from absolute zero.

Method 1: I Paid for Exposure (And It Was Totally Worth It)

The first thing I did was look for small theme pages related to the travel niche.

I found a page with around 8,000 followers—clean content, good engagement, and active stories. I sent a message:

“Hey! Do you offer promos?”

They did.

For just $15, I got a post + story combo.

That same day? I made 3 sales.

Sure, it wasn’t life-changing money—but think about it:

• My product was $9.

• I made $27 in sales.

• I spent $15 on promotion.

• Profit: $12

More importantly? Proof of concept.

Someone—multiple someones, actually—paid for something I made.

That’s a feeling I’ll never forget. It turned the switch in my brain from “What if no one buys?” to “What if I scale this?”

If you're just starting out, here's your takeaway:

You don’t need thousands of dollars for ads—just $10–20 and a targeted page that aligns with your product.

Look for:

• Niche Instagram theme pages

• TikTok micro-creators who run promos

• Pinterest group boards (yes, people pay for pin shares too!)

Method 2: I Partnered with a Micro-Influencer

Next up, I thought: What if someone else sold this for me?

I’d heard about affiliate marketing, so I decided to test it in the simplest way possible—by DMing someone I genuinely liked.

I reached out to a girl in the productivity niche with around 12K followers. She made Reels about Notion, daily planning, and habit trackers.

I sent her my planner, told her I loved her vibe, and offered her 30% commission for any sale she made.

She said yes.

Within a week, she created a short video using my planner. She linked it in her story and bio.

Result?

5 new sales.

No pressure. No fancy contract. Just a simple conversation and a shared goal.

This one move taught me the power of collaboration over competition.

Here’s why micro-influencers are gold:

• They’re approachable

• Their audience trusts them

• They’re willing to test cool products

If you have a product, don’t be afraid to DM someone with under 50K followers. Offer:

• A free version

• A clear affiliate split (20–50%)

• Easy-to-use materials (links, images, etc.)

You’ll be surprised how many will say yes.

Method 3: I Slid Into DMs (The Right Way)