[Journey] From $0 to… Hopefully Something – My OFM + AI Experiment

[shijin]

Day 196 Update

Another strong day. Revenue keeps moving up, but today was mostly about looking at where the system can scale without adding unnecessary complexity.

Revenue
• Total: $4,562
• Subscriptions: $964
• PPV: $2,884
• Tips: $714

Subscribers
• New subs: 291
• Rebill rate: ~96%

Traffic Sources
• Instagram: ~15%
• Reddit: ~70%
• TikTok: ~10%
• Other: ~5%

Content Posted
• IG Reels: 3
• TikToks: 3
• Reddit posts: 37
• IG Stories: 45

Operations
Chatter handled most conversations. I focused mainly on reviewing workflow quality, checking repeat buyer handling, and seeing where better rules can reduce manual decision-making.

Observations

Biggest takeaway today:
Scalability depends on simple rules, not complicated systems.

The more volume increases, the more obvious it becomes that complicated workflows break fast. Simple rules for who gets attention, when offers go out, and when to stop pushing are much easier to maintain.

Another thing I noticed:
Repeat buyers still need a human feeling experience.

It is easy to turn them into “segments” and forget that they still respond to tone, timing, and how natural the conversation feels. When the chat becomes too mechanical, response quality drops.

On the monetization side:
The back-end is becoming more valuable than the front-end.</b>

Traffic still matters, but the strongest revenue is coming from existing trust, repeat purchases, and users who already understand the page. The front-end brings people in, but the back-end is where most of the money is now made.

Reddit continues to dominate buyer quality. IG still helps with visibility, but Reddit is clearly carrying the highest-intent traffic and the strongest spenders.

Another interesting point:
More structure does not mean less personality.</b>

The goal is not to make everything robotic. The goal is to give the chatter enough structure to avoid mistakes while still letting conversations feel natural.

New Focus / Tests
• Simplify chatter decision rules
• Improve repeat buyer handling without making it robotic
• Keep reducing wasted conversations
• Continue scaling Reddit while protecting quality

The system keeps growing, but the real challenge now is building something structured enough to scale and human enough to keep buyers engaged.

 

[XSMMDoctor]

The simple rules point is the real sauce here imo. Once volume goes up, over-engineered flows always look smart for like 3 days then everyone starts ignoring them lol.

For repeat buyers, one thing I’d watch is not just spend but “mood history” if that makes sense... some guys buy when pushed, some buy when they feel remembered, some disappear if the chatter sounds too salesy. Even a basic tag/note system for that can outperform fancy AI prompts.

Also Reddit carrying buyer quality doesn’t surprise me. IG/TikTok are good for reach, but Reddit users usually arrive already warmed up and with intent. Just don’t let the posting footprint get sloppy while scaling, that’s where accounts start getting messy fast.

 

[shijin]

The simple rules point is the real sauce here imo. Once volume goes up, over-engineered flows always look smart for like 3 days then everyone starts ignoring them lol.

For repeat buyers, one thing I’d watch is not just spend but “mood history” if that makes sense... some guys buy when pushed, some buy when they feel remembered, some disappear if the chatter sounds too salesy. Even a basic tag/note system for that can outperform fancy AI prompts.

Also Reddit carrying buyer quality doesn’t surprise me. IG/TikTok are good for reach, but Reddit users usually arrive already warmed up and with intent. Just don’t let the posting footprint get sloppy while scaling, that’s where accounts start getting messy fast.

Yeah I agree with this a lot. Over-engineered flows look good on paper, but under real volume they usually become noise. The chatter stops following them properly, decisions get slower, and the whole thing becomes harder to control. Simple rules actually survive when things get busy.
And the “mood history” point is very true. Spend history alone doesn’t tell the full story. Some buyers need direct offers, some need to feel remembered, some spend better when the convo is relaxed, and some shut down the second it feels too salesy. Even basic notes about how someone reacts can make a big difference.
Reddit footprint is definitely something I’m watching too. It’s strong traffic, but it can get messy fast if scaling becomes careless. I’d rather grow it slower and keep quality than push too hard and ruin the channel.

 

[shijin]

Day 197 Update

Another strong day. Revenue keeps trending upward, but today was mostly about refining user segmentation and making sure attention is being allocated where it creates the highest return.

Revenue
• Total: $4,657
• Subscriptions: $983
• PPV: $2,946
• Tips: $728

Subscribers
• New subs: 297
• Rebill rate: ~96%

Traffic Sources
• Instagram: ~15%
• Reddit: ~70%
• TikTok: ~10%
• Other: ~5%

Content Posted
• IG Reels: 4
• TikToks: 2
• Reddit posts: 37
• IG Stories: 46

Operations

Chatter handled most conversations. I spent time reviewing user notes, repeat buyer behavior, and identifying patterns between high spenders versus users who consume attention without producing results.

Observations

Biggest takeaway today:

Attention is becoming the most valuable resource in the business.

Traffic can be generated. Content can be created. Systems can be built. But attention from the team is limited. Every minute spent on the wrong user is a minute not spent on someone who actually wants to buy.

Another thing I noticed:

User behavior is becoming more predictive than user messaging.

What people do matters more than what they say.

Some users talk constantly about buying and never spend.

Others barely chat, open messages, purchase quickly, and disappear until the next offer.

Looking at actions instead of words has been producing much better decisions.

On the monetization side:

Retention improvements are now producing larger gains than traffic improvements.

A small increase in repeat buyer activity is currently worth more than a large increase in low-quality traffic.

That becomes more obvious every week.

Reddit continues to dominate buyer quality. The platform still produces the strongest intent and the highest percentage of users who convert into repeat spenders.

Another interesting point:

Most operational problems start as small inefficiencies.

Nothing breaks overnight.

A few unnecessary messages.
A few missed notes.
A few delayed replies.

Then volume increases and those tiny issues become expensive.

New Focus / Tests

• Improve buyer segmentation
• Track behavioral patterns more closely
• Reduce attention spent on low-value conversations
• Continue strengthening repeat buyer retention

The system keeps growing, but the game now is less about finding opportunities and more about protecting efficiency.

 

[affoff]

Man, I have been slowly making my way through this tread for the last couple of hours. I got to page 11 and thought I would have a break then come back later and read another ten pages.
Instead, I decided to have a quick peek at the last page, and what do I see?

Day 197
Revenue in excess of 4.5K per day

Well done mate, you are the living embodiment of what persistence can achieve. And you ain't finished yet haha.
Good stuff.

 

[shijin]

Man, I have been slowly making my way through this tread for the last couple of hours. I got to page 11 and thought I would have a break then come back later and read another ten pages.
Instead, I decided to have a quick peek at the last page, and what do I see?

Day 197
Revenue in excess of 4.5K per day

Well done mate, you are the living embodiment of what persistence can achieve. And you ain't finished yet haha.
Good stuff.

Appreciate that a lot brother
Honestly, if there's one thing this thread proves, it's that most of the progress came from showing up every day, even when the numbers were boring and nothing exciting was happening.

The funny part is that the first few hundred dollars felt harder than the last few thousand. Early on you're building everything from scratch, making mistakes daily, questioning whether the model even works. Once the systems start compounding, things move differently.
And you're right, definitely not finished yet haha. The revenue milestones are cool, but what interests me more now is building something that can keep scaling without breaking.

Thanks for following along, and good luck with your own journey too. A lot can happen if you stay consistent for long enough.

 

[shijin]

Day 198 Update

Another solid day. Revenue keeps moving higher, but today was less about growth and more about identifying hidden bottlenecks before they become real problems.

Revenue
• Total: $4,748
• Subscriptions: $1,004
• PPV: $3,006
• Tips: $738

Subscribers
• New subs: 303
• Rebill rate: ~96%

Traffic Sources
• Instagram: ~14%
• Reddit: ~71%
• TikTok: ~10%
• Other: ~5%

Content Posted
• IG Reels: 4
• TikToks: 2
• Reddit posts: 38
• IG Stories: 46

Operations

Chatter handled most conversations. I spent time reviewing conversion paths, buyer behavior patterns, and looking for places where revenue is leaking without being obvious.

Observations

Biggest takeaway today:

The biggest bottlenecks usually hide inside successful systems.

When things are working, it becomes easy to ignore small inefficiencies because revenue keeps growing anyway.

But those small leaks compound.

A missed follow-up.
A delayed response.
A buyer note that wasn't updated.

One mistake doesn't matter much.

Hundreds of them do.

Another thing I noticed:

Not every revenue opportunity should be taken.

There are moments where a user could probably be pushed into another purchase.

But protecting long-term trust is often worth more than extracting short-term revenue.

That mindset is becoming more important as repeat buyers make up a larger percentage of income.

On the monetization side:

Average buyer quality continues improving.

The traffic volume isn't growing nearly as fast as revenue.

That's usually a good sign.

It means more of the users entering the system are actually qualified and converting deeper into the funnel.

Reddit continues to dominate buyer quality by a large margin. The platform still produces the strongest intent and highest percentage of repeat spenders.

Another interesting point:

Operational discipline is becoming a competitive advantage.

Most people look for new tricks.

Very few people consistently execute simple things correctly for months.

The longer I do this, the more valuable consistency seems to become.

New Focus / Tests

• Improve buyer note quality
• Reduce small operational leaks
• Increase repeat buyer retention
• Continue prioritizing quality over volume

The system keeps growing, but the goal now is making sure growth comes from stronger foundations rather than simply more activity.

 

[Pavelll]

Hi, could you please tell me how you work with IG, Reddit, and TikTok? Do you use hacked devices or an ads browser for this? If it’s a jailbroken iPhone, what tweaks do you install on it?

How many accounts per model do you manage on each page, how many posts do you make, and how did you achieve such results? How many models do you have, and do you handle all the traffic yourself or does someone help you?

 

[shijin]

Hi, could you please tell me how you work with IG, Reddit, and TikTok? Do you use hacked devices or an ads browser for this? If it’s a jailbroken iPhone, what tweaks do you install on it?

How many accounts per model do you manage on each page, how many posts do you make, and how did you achieve such results? How many models do you have, and do you handle all the traffic yourself or does someone help you?

I don’t use hacked devices or jailbroken iPhones with tweaks. Not really my style and I don’t want the whole setup depending on fragile tricks. I try to keep it as clean and normal as possible: normal devices/accounts, natural activity, no crazy automation or spammy behavior.
For IG/TikTok, it’s mostly top-of-funnel. Short videos, stories, testing angles, and keeping the profile active enough so it doesn’t look dead. I don’t run a huge amount of accounts per model because more accounts also means more mess. A few clean accounts with consistent posting beats 20 low-quality ones.
Reddit is different. Reddit is more about intent and quality, not just reach. I post less randomly there and pay more attention to where the audience actually fits. If the footprint gets sloppy, the channel can die fast, so I’d rather scale it slower and keep it clean.
For content, usually a few IG/TikTok posts per day plus stories, and Reddit depends on the account/model/subs being used. The results came from consistency, testing, retention, and improving the backend, not one magic setup.

Models are still a small roster. I’m not trying to sign everyone. Better to manage fewer properly than take too many and destroy quality. I have help with chatting now, but I’m still involved in traffic, systems, high-value users, and checking quality.

 

[shijin]

Day 199 Update

Another strong day. Revenue keeps moving up, but today was mostly about improving how we understand users instead of just pushing more volume.

Revenue
• Total: $4,842
• Subscriptions: $1,023
• PPV: $3,067
• Tips: $752

Subscribers
• New subs: 310
• Rebill rate: ~96%

Traffic Sources
• Instagram: ~14%
• Reddit: ~71%
• TikTok: ~10%
• Other: ~5%

Content Posted
• IG Reels: 3
• TikToks: 3
• Reddit posts: 38
• IG Stories: 47

Operations

Chatter handled most conversations. I spent more time reviewing buyer notes, repeat buyer reactions, and how different users respond to different conversation styles.

Observations

Biggest takeaway today:

Spend history alone is not enough.

Two users can spend the same amount but behave completely differently.

One buyer might respond well to direct offers.

Another might only buy when the conversation feels casual.

Another might disappear if the chatter sounds too salesy.

So the goal is not just tracking who spends.

The goal is understanding how each buyer likes to be handled.

Another thing I noticed:

Mood history matters more than I expected.

Small notes like:
• likes direct offers
• needs casual warming
• responds badly to pressure
• buys after feeling remembered

…can make the chatter much more effective without adding complicated systems.

On the monetization side:

Repeat buyer handling is becoming a real growth lever.

Traffic brings users in, but the way existing buyers are managed decides how much revenue actually compounds.

At this stage, even small improvements in repeat buyer handling can create bigger gains than posting more content.

Reddit continues to dominate buyer quality. The traffic is still lower volume compared to bigger discovery platforms, but the intent and repeat purchase behavior are much stronger.

Another interesting point:

Better notes create better timing.

When the chatter understands the user better, offers feel less random and more natural.

That alone improves response quality.

New Focus / Tests

• Improve buyer note system
• Track mood and reaction history
• Personalize repeat buyer handling more
• Keep Reddit scaling clean and controlled

The system keeps growing, but the next level is not just more traffic — it is understanding the buyers better than before.

 

[affoff]

On the content side:
One strong reel > multiple average ones.
A single reel crossed ~280k and outperformed 3–4 newer posts combined.

That would have been nice to see. Well done
(Am at page 26 now - this has been a hell of a read over the last few days)

 

[shijin]

That would have been nice to see. Well done
(Am at page 26 now - this has been a hell of a read over the last few days)

Thank u brother!


Day 200 Update

Day 200. Pretty crazy to write that honestly.

Another strong day. Revenue keeps moving up, but today felt more like a reflection day than just another numbers update.

Revenue
• Total: $4,937
• Subscriptions: $1,043
• PPV: $3,129
• Tips: $765

Subscribers
• New subs: 316
• Rebill rate: ~96%

Traffic Sources
• Instagram: ~13%
• Reddit: ~72%
• TikTok: ~10%
• Other: ~5%

Content Posted
• IG Reels: 4
• TikToks: 2
• Reddit posts: 39
• IG Stories: 47

Operations

Chatter handled most conversations. I focused mainly on reviewing buyer notes, checking repeat buyer handling, and looking at where the system still depends too much on manual decisions.

Observations

Biggest takeaway after 200 days:

Consistency beats intensity.

There were many days where nothing exciting happened.

No crazy breakthrough.
No secret tactic.
No viral moment.

Just posting, testing, fixing mistakes, improving chats, and repeating the same boring things until they started compounding.

Another thing I noticed:

The business became real when the back-end became stronger than the front-end.

In the beginning, everything was about traffic.

More views.
More clicks.
More subs.

Now the biggest gains come from retention, repeat buyers, better notes, cleaner timing, and knowing which users are actually worth attention.

On the monetization side:

PPV is now the main engine because trust has been built over time.

This is something I did not fully understand early on.

You cannot force this part too hard. It compounds when users feel comfortable, remembered, and handled properly.

Reddit continues to dominate buyer quality. IG and TikTok still matter for reach, but Reddit is clearly the strongest channel for intent, repeat spending, and overall buyer quality.

Another interesting point:

The system is bigger now, but the core rules are simpler.

Better users get more attention.
Low-value conversations get cut faster.
Repeat buyers get handled carefully.
Offers are spaced better.
Reddit scaling stays controlled.

Nothing too fancy, but it works.

New Focus / Tests

• Reduce manual decision-making
• Improve buyer mood/history notes
• Keep repeat buyer handling personal
• Prepare the system for the next revenue milestone
• Continue scaling without killing quality

200 days in, the biggest lesson is simple:

Most people look for the one thing that changes everything.

For me, it was doing the small things long enough that they finally started stacking.

 

[affoff]

Made it to the end of the thread haha.
Was just wondering, what do you do on your days off? Do you have days off? I hope so. Don't burn out on us, this thread while documenting an amazing journey is so very full of great information and guidance for those interested in this work.
Amazing stuff and thanks for taking the time to keep this thread going.

 

[aggin]

Hey, could you explain how the revenue split with the models works in practice?

Do the models receive the OF payouts first and then send your share to you? Do you have any written agreement or contract in place?

Also, what happens if you scale a model’s account to a high level and then she decides to stop paying you or cut you out? How do you protect yourself against that?

 

[shijin]

Made it to the end of the thread haha.
Was just wondering, what do you do on your days off? Do you have days off? I hope so. Don't burn out on us, this thread while documenting an amazing journey is so very full of great information and guidance for those interested in this work.
Amazing stuff and thanks for taking the time to keep this thread going.

Haha appreciate it mate, and respect for making it through the whole thread.
I do take lighter days now, but I wouldn’t call them full “off” days yet. In the beginning I was basically glued to everything because every small mistake felt expensive. Now I try to step back more and only check the important stuff: numbers, chats, urgent issues, high-value users, etc.

The main thing I’m trying to avoid is building a business that only works if I’m staring at it 14 hours a day. That’s not scalable and it’s definitely not healthy.
So yeah, still not perfect, but I’m getting better at separating deep work days from maintenance days. Burnout is real, especially when the numbers start getting exciting and you feel like you should never stop.
And thank you for the kind words. Keeping the thread updated also helps me think clearer, so it’s useful for me too.

Hey, could you explain how the revenue split with the models works in practice?

Do the models receive the OF payouts first and then send your share to you? Do you have any written agreement or contract in place?

Also, what happens if you scale a model’s account to a high level and then she decides to stop paying you or cut you out? How do you protect yourself against that?

Good question, because this is one of the biggest risks in the business.
In practice, I keep it simple and clear from the start. The model owns her OF account and the split is agreed before we do serious work. Usually the split is calculated after platform fees/chargebacks, then payouts are handled based on whatever agreement we have in place. I don’t like vague “we’ll figure it out later” deals because that creates problems once money starts coming in.

Yes, I think having a written agreement is important. Even if you trust the person, money changes the relationship fast once numbers grow. The contract should explain the split, what each side is responsible for, payment timing, what happens if someone wants to stop, and who owns what.
Can you protect yourself 100% if a model decides to cut you out? Not really. That risk exists. You reduce it by choosing better models, having everything written, keeping communication good, not scaling someone blindly too fast, and not building your whole business around one person.
Also, your real protection is the system. If your only value is one model’s account, you’re vulnerable. If your value is traffic, backend, chat quality, buyer handling, systems, and the ability to repeat the process, then losing one model hurts but doesn’t kill you.

 

[shijin]

Day 201 Update

First day after hitting 200. Another strong day, but today was mostly about getting back into execution mode instead of treating the milestone like some finish line.

Revenue
• Total: $5,036
• Subscriptions: $1,064
• PPV: $3,192
• Tips: $780

Subscribers
• New subs: 323
• Rebill rate: ~96%

Traffic Sources
• Instagram: ~13%
• Reddit: ~72%
• TikTok: ~10%
• Other: ~5%

Content Posted
• IG Reels: 3
• TikToks: 3
• Reddit posts: 39
• IG Stories: 48

Operations

Chatter handled most conversations. I focused mainly on reviewing buyer history, checking where manual decisions are still slowing things down, and making sure the repeat buyer notes are actually useful instead of just random info.

Observations

Biggest takeaway today:

Milestones are dangerous if they make you relax too early.

It feels good to cross Day 200 and $5k/day, but the system is still not bulletproof.

There are still weak points.
There are still messy conversations.
There are still users being handled too slowly or too generically.

So today was mostly about reminding myself that the work does not stop just because the numbers look good.

Another thing I noticed:

Better buyer notes are only useful if they are simple enough to use fast.

A huge note system sounds smart, but in real volume nobody has time to read essays before replying.

The best notes are short, clear, and practical.

Something like:
• likes direct offers
• needs casual warming
• hates pressure
• buys after being remembered

That kind of info helps immediately.

On the monetization side:

Repeat buyers are becoming the biggest difference between good days and great days.

Fresh subs still matter, but the strongest revenue jumps are coming from users who already know the page and trust the interaction.

At this level, a small improvement in repeat buyer timing can move the day much more than simply posting more content.

Reddit continues to dominate buyer quality. The intent is still much stronger than IG/TikTok, and the repeat spending behavior is noticeably better.

Another interesting point:

The business is becoming less about effort and more about judgment.

Early on, effort mattered most.

Post more.
Test more.
Message more.
Fix more.

Now judgment matters more.

Who gets attention?
Who gets skipped?
When do we offer?
When do we back off?
Which users are worth protecting?

Those decisions are where a lot of the money is now.

New Focus / Tests

• Simplify buyer notes even further
• Reduce slow manual decisions
• Improve repeat buyer timing
• Keep Reddit scaling controlled
• Protect quality while pushing past the $5k/day level

Day 201 felt like a good reminder that hitting a milestone is nice, but keeping the machine healthy after the milestone is the real work.

 

[affoff]

Keeping the thread updated also helps me think clearer, so it’s useful for me too.

100%.
Now that I have caught up, my plan is to go back to the start and start skimming through again, but this time I am going to copy all of your important or critical information, tips, lessons learned, important procedures, observations that led to alterations in doing things etc etc and pop them all in a One Note doc.
It's all slowly starting to make sense to me now
Thanks again for the thread. Awesome for anyone wanting to start OFM but also, there's so much here that is applicable to other areas of IM too.

 

[meowboy09]

this thread is dumb, he doesnt really give any actionable tips or share anything meaningful, its just a thread to brag at this point. I mean good job you made a lot of money but its not really contributing anything to the forum at this point.

 

[kingkongz]

Hey Brother,
Love your Journey! amazing to see. Can we connect? PM me if you can. Appreciate it!

 

[shijin]

100%.
Now that I have caught up, my plan is to go back to the start and start skimming through again, but this time I am going to copy all of your important or critical information, tips, lessons learned, important procedures, observations that led to alterations in doing things etc etc and pop them all in a One Note doc.
It's all slowly starting to make sense to me now
Thanks again for the thread. Awesome for anyone wanting to start OFM but also, there's so much here that is applicable to other areas of IM too.

Appreciate that mate, seriously
That’s actually a smart way to read it. The daily updates can look messy when you go through them all at once, but if you pull out the patterns, the same lessons keep showing up again and again.

Traffic matters, but retention matters more. Simple systems beat complicated ones. Good users need better handling, not just more pressure. And most of the growth came from small fixes stacking over time, not one magic trick.And yeah, I agree, a lot of it applies outside OFM too. At the end of the day it’s still traffic, conversion, user psychology, retention, operations, and consistency. Different niche, same fundamentals.
Glad the thread is useful bro. That was the main reason I kept updating it.