E-books Are Dead. Do This Instead to Make Real Money Online- A Full Guide

Build AN automated system that works all the time.

9 min readApr 21, 2025

I will say something bold: If you’re still creating e-books hoping to make money online, you’re wasting your time.

Don’t get me wrong. E-books can be helpful. They’re great for building authority or offering a freebie.

But if you want to make money consistently — like, actual income that pays your bills and stacks in your sleep — there’s something way better you should be doing.

The Problem With E-books (And Why They’re Not Sustainable )

Most people treat e-books as a fast-rich scheme.

Writing, formatting, designing, and publishing take a lot of time.
They often sell for cheap — $5, $10, maybe $27 if you’re fancy.
You only get paid once — no recurring income unless someone buys again.

Even worse, people download them and don’t even read them. Ouch.

Let me guess — you’ve probably made one, shared the link everywhere, and… crickets?

Been there. Done that.

Now let me tell you what works instead.

Do This Instead: Build a Digital System That Pays You Every Month

If you want real money from digital products, you need to switch from “one-time e-books” to “automated digital ecosystems.”

What’s that?

It’s a simple system where:

You give away a freebie (like a checklist or mini-guide).
You collect emails.
You offer a mini digital product or bundle that solves a real problem.
You automate the whole process using a free tool (I’ll show you below).

This is how creators are making $1,000+ per month on repeat — even with small audiences.

Let me show you some quick examples:

@thesheeo on Instagram makes over $5k/month with digital bundles + affiliate marketing.
Reagan Rose runs Digital Productive and made $1,500 in his first month just selling a $17 product with an automated email funnel.
Amandeep, a freelancer, used a free funnel to turn a lead magnet into a $300/month passive product.

Step-by-Step: Build a Money-Making System (Without Fancy Tech)

Here’s the good news: You don’t need to be a tech genius or designer.

You just need 3 things:

1. A free lead magnet

Forget 30-page e-books. Instead, make a 1-page checklist, cheat sheet, or Notion template.

Examples:

“PCOS Daily Routine Checklist”
“Freelancer Instagram Bio Swipe File”
“Beginner Affiliate Tools List”

Use Canva or Google Docs. Keep it simple. You can always use ChatGpt to help you with your product creation.

2. A low-ticket product that solves a problem

This could be:

A $9 Notion template
A $17 guide + email swipe bundle
A $27 mini-course (recorded on your phone)

You don’t need to overthink it. The key is to solve a pain point, not be perfect.

My first ever digital product (LinkedIn Bio GUIDE) was a simple Word DOC.

3. A free funnel that runs 24/7

This is where everything happens. I recommend using Systeme.io (it’s 100% free and beginner-friendly).

It lets you:

Build landing pages
Set up email sequences
Sell products (even accept payments)
All for $0/month (no joke)

Set up your funnel once and let it sell without actively doing anything.

But keep in mind that you’ll need a business email, and @gmail.com emails are not working anymore for email marketing.

If you don’t own a business email, you can get one from GoDaddy or Namecheap.

I have explained in detail about funnel building, email sequences, and even freebie creation in my go-to affiliate marketing checklist. (best for beginners)

- How Does This All Work?

Let me break it down for you, step by step.

The first thing you need is a freebie page. A freebie is just a small, valuable thing you give away for free — like a checklist, a guide, or a template — in exchange for someone’s email. It’s your way of saying,

“Hey, I’ve got something helpful for you!”

You can check my freebies for reference:

You can easily create this freebie page using Systeme.io. It’s beginner-friendly, gives you free funnels, and doesn’t require any tech skills.

Seriously, it’s just drag-and-drop.

After that, you’ll want to create a freebie that helps people. Make something simple but powerful — something that solves a small problem or helps your audience take their first step toward a bigger goal.

Whether it’s a tiny checklist or a quick-start guide, the point is to deliver real value.

When people see that your free stuff is awesome, they’ll trust you, and they’ll be way more likely to check out your paid offers too.

- What Happens After the Freebie?

Okay, so you’ve got your freebie page up and running. People are downloading your awesome freebie, and your email list is growing — yay!

Now it’s time to set up something called an email sequence. Don’t worry, it’s just a fancy term for a few emails that go out automatically.

Start with a welcome email to say hi and introduce yourself. Then, follow up with 2–3 more helpful emails that give your audience little tips, free resources, or insights related to the freebie they downloaded.

Here’s the trick:
➡️ At the bottom of those emails, add a gentle call-to-action (CTA) — like a button or a link.

That CTA can either be:

Your affiliate link (if you’re promoting a product), or
A low-ticket digital product you created (think $9, $15, or $27).

My low-ticket product is a simple checklist made on Notion.

Don’t make your emails all about selling. Just a gentle nudge.

**ORIGINAL SCREENSHOT OF MY LOW TICKET PRODUCT**

And no, you don’t need to hard sell it.

If your freebie truly helped someone, they’re already warmed up and interested. So you’re not pushing them — you’re just showing them the next step they can take with you.

- How to Sell Your Paid Product

Now you might be thinking:

“This sounds amazing, but how do I actually sell the paid product and collect payments?”

Let me share what works — especially if you’re from Pakistan (like me 👋).

💻 Step 1: Use Systeme.io

You can set up your funnel and sell your product on the next page. Systeme.io even lets you add payment options.

Systeme.io is best for creating automations and funnels, but for Pakistani creators like me, the payment options are limited.

So let’s talk alternatives that worked for me.

🌟 1: BuyMeACoffee

Super simple to use. You can create a mini shop and accept payments in dollars. But sometimes their payout process is a bit slow.

and they banned my page without any prior notice, so that was a turn off for me, but until then it was my favourite.

💖 2 : Topmate.io (My Fave!)

This is the one I’m personally using — and I LOVE it.
It publishes your payment requests instantly, and you usually get your money within 2–3 days.

No minimum payout threshold, no late payments.

It’s honestly a game-changer for creators in Pakistan who want to earn in dollars and keep things smooth.

It takes 5% of your sales, but still lower than its competitors.

So you can build your sales page on Systeme.io and connect either of above mentioned options to sell your low-ticket product.

- But Wait… How Do You Promote Your Freebie?

So here’s the real question:
“I’ve built this freebie funnel, but how do I get people to see it?”

Because let’s be honest — the more eyeballs on your freebie, the more people will:
👉 Join your funnel
👉 Learn from your content
👉 And eventually buy your product

That’s why promotion matters just as much as creation.
So let’s talk about how and where you can promote your freebie to start getting traffic.

Option #1: Start Writing on Medium.com

Medium is a goldmine for writers and creators, especially if you’re just starting and don’t have a big social media following yet.

Why?

Because Medium has around 136 million monthly readers 🤯
Yup, you read that right.

That means your content has the potential to reach thousands of people — even if you’re new — as long as you’re writing helpful posts and sharing value.

Here’s what you do:

Write blog posts that solve small problems or answer questions in your niche
At the end of each post, add a call-to-action like:
“Grab my free checklist here → [Your Freebie Page Link]”

That’s it! Every blog post becomes a magnet that pulls people into your funnel while building trust with your readers.

Follow me on Medium

Option #2: Use Substack.com

Next up on your traffic-building list: Substack — and let me tell you, this one is a secret weapon for creators.

Substack is a newsletter platform where you can write about all the little (and big) pain points your audience is dealing with — and then slide your freebie right in as a helpful solution.

Here’s how it works:

You write an email or post that speaks to a problem (for example, “Why your ebook isn’t selling”).

Somewhere in that email, you drop your freebie like:
👉 “Here’s a free checklist to fix that — grab it here.”
Boom! They download the freebie and land inside your funnel.
Your funnel sends them automated, value-packed emails.
Those emails gently guide them toward your $9 product or affiliate link.
They buy. You earn. And the trust keeps growing. 💌💸

Follow me on SUBSTACK

This system runs on autopilot.

Once you publish an article on Substack, Medium, Quora, or even Reddit, it just sits there… quietly working for you for months or even years.

So every time someone finds that post, clicks your link, and enters your funnel, you’re getting fresh leads without lifting a finger.

Option #3: Quora

If you’ve ever Googled something and landed on a Quora thread, you’re not alone — millions of people are actively searching for answers on Quora every single day.

And guess what? That means your target audience is already there, searching for the exact things that you write about.

Here’s how to use it:

Search for questions in your niche.
Example: If your freebie is about “how to build a funnel that sells,” search that!
Write a genuinely helpful answer (don’t sell right away).
At the end of your answer, naturally add:
“If you want a simple checklist to set up your first funnel, I made a free one here: [your link].”
Done. That link becomes a lead magnet, and anyone clicking it gets into your funnel.

And the best part?
Your answers stay online forever, just like Medium and Substack.

Okay, so I totally get it — this might sound like a lot to take in at once. Building a system, creating freebies, setting up funnels, and promoting on different platforms… it can be overwhelming, right?

But don’t worry, I’ve got your back! 🙌

I’ve put together an exclusive Affiliate Marketing Checklist that walks you through every step of setting up your email system, creating freebies, promoting your affiliate links, and even sharing your freebies on Medium and Instagram Reels.

And to make it even easier, I’ve recorded step-by-step videos that break everything down visually. So you can follow along and understand exactly what’s going on at each stage.

As a beginner, I think that it’s a full-fledged system after which you don’t need to buy anything else.

AND the best part is that it’s only $13.

But wait… if you’d rather have some personal help, I also offer one-on-one consultations where we can meet (virtually) over a coffee, and I’ll walk you through everything — step by step.

👉BOOK a 30-minute video call with me

You’ll get all your questions answered live on a video call, and I’ll help you set up the systems that work for you.

I know there was a lot of information to grasp, so feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. I’ll be happy to help 💜

Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase.