How a $1 button can stack real revenue 💸
The $2,117/month income stream
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Here’s the thing.
It’s not usually ‘big swings’ that win the game. We like to think that, it makes a good movie moment, but the reality? In life, it’s usually the little things, the tiny wins, that happen every single day that are responsible for 99% of the growth.
Today, I want to talk to you about a quiet little growth hack that’s turning small creators into a profitable business.
It’s not a funnel.
It’s not a lead magnet.
It’s not even gated content.
It’s a tip jar.
Yep, think of it on the edge of the bar, ready and waiting for people to throw a few quid in (or dollars if you’re in the US).
And today, I want to show you how creators are stacking real income from tiny $2–$5 tips — using nothing but helpful content and a well-placed link.
Let’s break it down 👇
Micro-tipping isn’t just for streamers anymore ☕
Platforms like Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee are super low-friction. No cart, no checkout page, no longform sales pitch.
They make it easy for someone to say:
“Hey, that helped me. Thanks.”
It turns out that when you give something genuinely useful — a resource, idea, template, or insight — people want to return the favour. And when it only takes 10 seconds and $3, they often do.
We’ve talked about the power of low-friction before here. It really is a game-changer, if you can make the user journey seamingless and not a total faff, you’ll get farrrrr more people converting.
Let’s run the numbers 🧮
Let’s say you post a free Notion template, checklist, or newsletter issue. At the bottom, you include:
“If this saved you 30 minutes of Googling, buy me a coffee ☕”
Even if just 2% of your audience tips you $3, here’s what that looks like:
1,000 views → 20 people tip → $60
10,000 views → 200 tips → $600
And if you post every week? That stacks. Fast.
Some creators do even better — building $1,000+/month in recurring income from these small asks. Not because they’re aggressive. Because they’re helpful, consistent, and easy to support.
Remember, media is a BIGGGG business like to the tune of $1.7 trillion in 2025. Everything you see, everything that takes your attention, has money behind it. Ads, programmes, series, films, books, blogs — hugeeeee money.
You deserve to get paid if you can capture people’s attention and creators are:
Karolyns Kakes — 100K+ subs (cake decorator) made $2,117 in a month (much of that coming from memberships).
Kevin Chee — 20K+ subs made an extra $80 adding ‘Buy me a Coffee’
Adventures With Alexa — 1.5k+ subs made an extra $145 with ‘Buy me a Coffee’
Some of this is small money, but that’s the point. If you’re just getting started, buy me a coffee, and other platforms like that could be a really easy way to get your first internet dollar.
It’s the tiny stuff that makes the big difference.
Here’s an experiment you can run today:
Everything I do is an experiment: this newsletter, my new product Smart Growth Labs — everything. The mantra is:
Build → Measure → Learn
Build a thing, set parameters of what you want to achieve, measure in a time span if you achieve the metrics you wanted to, review the entire thing — ask yourself what worked and what didn’t. Then iterate.
Here’s how you could get started today:
Share something useful — Notion template, growth idea, how-to guide
Add a Ko-fi/Buy Me a Coffee link at the end
Keep the tone casual, not salesy (“Saved you an hour? Buy me lunch 🌯”)
Be consistent — the magic happens when you build a library
Use it across channels: X, blog posts, YouTube, newsletters
You’re not begging. You’re inviting appreciation — and turning gratitude into income.
To encourage you to do the same, and to not just ‘say things’ instead of doing them. I’ve set up a Ko-Fi link where if you found this newsletter useful and it gives you some valuable insight, you can buy me a coffee, check it out:
The big unlock? You don’t need a product or offer.
You just need to make it easy for people to say thank you. And sometimes, that’s all the business model you need.
It’s perfect if you’re just starting out and want to make your first $1 on the internet.
That’s all for today
Much love,
Eve
Founder - Smart Growth Labs (BETA), Part-Time Creator Club
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