8 ways marketers can cash in right now, from scraping funded startups to selling $5k ad spots
sahilypatel · x · 2026-10-31
The author argues this is the best era for marketers: building is easier than ever and every company is hunting for distribution. He lays out 8 concrete monetization plays:
- Build a scraper tracking recently funded startups on TechCrunch/Crunchbase, find decision makers and pitch them (great for early-career).
- Use an LLM to find fastest-growing startups, engage founders/growth leads with proof-of-work cold outreach (mid/senior).
- Partner with devs who can't market, via revenue share or equity.
- Pitch paid partnerships to companies if you have an X/LinkedIn/YouTube/newsletter audience.
- Study ads in Meta Ad Library / Google Ads Transparency Center and pitch better hooks.
- Ride viral trends: @giutheginger built a site around the sponsorship trend and sold 10 ad spots on her MacBook for $5k.
- Bring clients to struggling SEO/ads/design/dev agencies for a revenue cut.
- Post daily about your skill, list services on your own site with a "book a call" CTA.
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