I used to buy courses like lottery tickets.
Drop $500. Never log in. Move on to the next one.
Did this for 3 years straight. Thousands of dollars. Zero results. Zero relationships.
Then I figured out a hack that changed everything.
Everyone tells you to "provide value."
That's great if you're already successful. But what if you're at level zero?
When you DM someone offering "free help," you're actually creating work for them. They have to evaluate your offer. Figure out how to use you. Manage you. Most people at a certain level will just ignore you. Not because they're rude. Because your "free value" costs them attention.
If you can't even give someone something for free, you have to go lower.
You have to go negative.
"Negative value" means paying them.
And I don’t mean a gift card (althought I have seen people succeed by randomly venmoing their prospect hahaha)
The real hack is becoming their star student.
In 2021 I joined a community for $50/month
Then I did something nobody else was doing. I showed up to every single Zoom call. When there was awkward silence after "anyone have questions?" I was the guy who raised his hand. Every. Single. Time.
This does 3 things simultaneously: 1st, you familiarize your face. They start recognizing you. 2nd, you actually learn because you're engaged. 3rd, and this is the part nobody talks about, you make THEM look good. A dead Zoom call is embarrassing for the host. An engaged community member is a gift.
This is the value.
Usually the person who participates most gets the best results anyway. You're being accountable. You're asking questions. You're doing the work. Success compounds.
But the #1 thing that you’re aiming for:
When you become someone's star student, they WANT to show you off. You become their testimonial. Their case study. They bring you on their podcast. Feature you in their content. Introduce you to their network.
You get free exposure to their entire world.
This is exactly how I ended up co-hosting a podcast with someone I originally paid $50/month to learn from. Started as a customer. Became a case study. He even referred me my first $4k/month client.
Here's your playbook for this week:
Find one creator you respect who has a paid community (even $5-10/month works). Join it. Show up to every call. Ask thoughtful questions. Be active in the chat. Do the work they assign. Document your results.
P.S. i don’t have one so this is not a shill - go out and ACTUALLY implement this
In 90 days, you won't just have learned something. You'll have built a relationship with someone who was previously "unreachable."
Now here's the part most people miss...
You can't cold DM Jeff Bezos. But you CAN pay a couple hundred bucks to get into the community of someone building a real business on X. And if you do the work, become their success story, you get something money can't buy: genuine relationship with an influential person who actively WANTS to help you succeed.
Stop treating courses like lottery tickets. Start treating them like relationship investments.
The ROI on being someone's star student is infinite.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Marcos
P.S. After writing this it's probably one of my most valuable newsletters for beginners ever. So if you made it this far, I would love if you replied to this email with ONE topic you wish I would write a newsletter about. I'll be sure to add it to the queue.
