Length: 2,184 words

Read time: 8m 44s

I'm about to give you the blueprint for how you can make your first dollar online.

Why is that important?

• If you can make $1 you can make $100

• If you can make $100 you can make $1K 

• If you can make $1K you can make $10K

• If you can make $10K you can make $100K

• If you can make $100K you can make $1M

Hitting new milestones is just a process of expanding your mind to more possibilities.

"We have certainly created man in the best of stature." [95:4]

Stop limiting yourself.

You have way more potential than you think.

We're living through a major shift in how the world works.

A new economy is being born: the Creator Economy.

Big banks are already talking about it. It's expected to grow into a $100-500 billion industry by 2030.

Just look at the signs: Canva tripled its prices for teams. TikTok Shop is selling phone mounts and mics faster than ever.

Now is the time to jump in before it gets too saturated.

And guess what? We're still at the beginning.

The Spiritual War: The Dark Side of Social Media

We are in the middle of a spiritual war.

Our values are being attacked.
Our beliefs are being attacked.
Our brothers and sisters around the world are being attacked.

The youth is being led astray. The future of the ummah is at stake.

The ones who will shape the future narrative are those who are vocal, consistent, and creative.

Muslims need to be at the forefront of this digital age. We need to use writing, creativity, and influence to lead, inspire, and protect our communities.

Because if we don't, the enemy will.

What happened to the Islamic Golden Age?

Muslims literally created the foundational knowledge for modern civilization.

Let me remind you:

• Algebra: We named it. Al-Khwarizmi wrote a 9th-century treatise called Kitab al-Jabr Wa l-Mugabala which translates roughly as "The Book of Reasoning and Balancing". It laid the foundation for modern algebra.

• Number system: This was also created with the new algebraic order. Al-Khwarizmi also introduced the concept of raising a number to a power, a breakthrough that unified rational and irrational numbers.

• University: Fatima al-Fihri founded the first degree-granting university in Fez, Morocco. I visited Fez back in 2018. Beautiful historic city.

• Surgery: Dr. Al-Zahrawi published a 1500-page illustrated encyclopedia of surgery that was used as a reference in Europe for 500 years.

• Optics: Ibn al-Haytham proved that humans see objects because light reflects off of them and enters the eye, debunking previous theories from Euclid and Ptolemy.

• Coffee: First brewed in Yemen around the 9th century. People would use it to stay up late during late nights of worship.

• Toothbrush: The Prophet ﷺ popularized the use of the miswak tree twig for brushing teeth. Substances similar to miswak are used in modern toothpaste today.

This is not even all.

We literally set the stage for modern-day living.

What are we doing now?

Are we just going to sit back and watch all the evil things they are doing to us?

Are we going to succumb to the evil agenda of degenerate dancing, lip syncing and showing off our beauty and bodies to the world?

We are better than that.

The Future Belongs To The Muslim Creative

Why should you even care about becoming a halal creator?

It's not just about making money. It's about:

• Pleasing Allah.

• Benefiting the ummah.

• Earning a halal income.

If you're looking for some quick, get-rich-quick scheme, let me stop you right here. You are in the wrong place. This is not about shortcuts.

This is about building something meaningful.

1) It's free to start.

We are living in unprecedented times where you can earn from the comfort of your home with zero experience.

Everything starts with traffic.

Before social media blew up, marketers were spending $1,000 to $100,000 on ads just to get their message out there.

I used to be one of them.

I would spend $1,000 just to get products I was an affiliate for in front of 10,000 people.

But today? I can get 7-9 million impressions in a single month without spending a dime. That's $700,000-$900,000 worth of ad spend—for free.

Insane.

The traffic is there. You just need to tap into it.

And even if you don't have a product to sell right now, it doesn't matter. Build your audience first. The products can come later.

2) Makes you disciplined.

Running a creator business forces you to be disciplined.

You can't afford to skip weeks of posting or interacting with your audience. You'll lose momentum. And when you lose that, it's much harder to come back.

You start to be disciplined with your time and your routine. It forces you to show up—even when you don't feel like it.

The habit of creation will become an addiction. The good kind.

Once you get that dopamine hit of a viral post, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

3) Leave your kafir boss.

The CEO at my last job asked us to "pray for Israel" in front of 150 people on the morning company call.

And you know what I did? Nothing.

I was so mad. I started to cry. I was scared to say anything.

My entire livelihood depended on that paycheck.

I still regret to this day of not saying anything on the call. But it was also the wake-up call I needed. If I had a backup income stream, maybe I would have spoken out without fear of losing my job.

Use your skills to help out other Muslims instead of putting more money into our enemies pockets.

4) Trust = Revenue

When people trust you, they buy from you.

Every piece of content you put out builds trust.

When I first started Eternah, I made around $100-500 in profits a month. Then I shifted my focus. I stopped pushing products and focused on education and building relationships with my audience.

What happened next? My revenue exploded.

Why? Because people trusted the brand.

Trust is everything in this game. And trust is built by showing up, providing value, and not being overly salesy. Do that and they'll WANT to give you money even if you don't have anything to sell.

5) Reward in Both Worlds

If your intention is to please Allah, you will be rewarded for your work in both the dunya and the akhirah.

There is nothing better than doing something you love, helping others, earn a halal income, and getting rewarded in the afterlife for it.

Isn't it better that you do something for the ummah instead of sitting around at home and scrolling or watching tv?

Imagine earning money while working towards Jannah.

Hello? Can it get any better than that?!

6) Scale Beyond Yourself

As your following grows, so do your opportunities.

You can get:

Business partnerships or team members.

I started hiring from my following. Why? Because they are already fans of my work. I trust them to execute my ideas, and they get the opportunity to earn an income while working on something they're passionate about. I'd choose someone who knows my work over someone who's never heard of me, any day.

I have big visions for the Muslim world. As I move to the next level of my vision, best believe I'll be actively recruiting from my community.

Best friends & tribe.

When you build your own tribe, you attract people with the same goals and interests. Some of the coolest people will come into your life through your content.

Flexibility.

People follow you for who you are, not just what you sell.

With a personal brand, you have the freedom to pivot. You're not locked into a business model where you have to keep doing the same thing. Because people follow you for who you are, not just what you sell, you can easily switch from one product or service to another.

I actually tried this with Eternah — I went from selling Islamic planners to selling sunnah food, but it didn't work. It was a weird mix. For a business brand: it's harder to pivot because people follow the product, not the person.

But with a personal brand, the traffic is all yours. I know people with hundreds of thousands of followers who don't earn a penny, and others with less than 1,000 who make $10k a month through client work.

You can do whatever you want with the traffic.

The Game Plan: How To Earn Your First Halal Dollar Online

Here's the formula:

Build an audience → Solve a problem → Offer a product or service.

Simple. I'll break it down even further for you.

Step 1: Build an audience.

• Profile pic or logo: Use a clear, aesthetic picture. If you don't have one, use AI to generate one or create a clean logo using Canva.

• Bio: Be clear about what you talk about. Who are you? What do you post about? What do you offer?

• Link: Add a link to create depth to your profile. You can put a link to:

  • newsletter

  • product

  • service

  • lead magnet

  • course

  • your other socials

• Become the niche: Focus on 3-5 topics that interest you, have the potential to make you money, and provide value to both you and others.

• Create content: You have to write. Whether it's for Threads, captions for reels, or long-form newsletters, writing is the cornerstone of all content creation. Here's what you need:

  • Short-form: Write 3-5 posts daily on Threads. If a post does well, adapt it across all platforms.

  • Medium-form: Post 1-3 reels weekly on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. Keep them between 10-60 seconds but packed with value.

  • Long-form: Write newsletters or make longer YouTube videos. This is where you build deep trust. This content creates depth and brings people into your world. It's your highest-leverage content. 10K subscribers = 100K followers on Instagram.

  • Pro tip: At the end of every piece of content, always include a CTA (Call to Action). Even if you're not selling anything, tell people to follow you or sign up for your newsletter. Don't let that traffic go to waste.

I teach intentional writing using my Quranic Writing Principles here.

If you'd like me to audit your page or provide personalized feedback, consider joining The Muslim Creative community. I personally respond and help people build a creative income.

Step 2: Offer a product or service.

Now, while you're growing your audience, if you don't have a product or service, you'll need to think about what you can offer.

A) Think about the problems you've solved in your own life.

Can you package that solution? Those are opportunities for products.

When I created the Quranic Du'as book, it was because I personally needed it. I couldn't find a single book that compiled all the du'as from the Qur'an with the background stories of why they were said or by which prophet. I wanted to understand the story behind each du'a so that my conviction in making them would be stronger.

So, I solved that problem for myself. It took over a year to compile, edit, and have it checked by qualified people, but by the grace of Allah, I was able to complete it. Alhamdulillah.

Allah invited me to His House shortly after publishing it.

B) Think about a skill you are really good at.

I am really good at creating addicting reels and growing followers—fast.

I gained over 500k followers in the last 9 months. So I decided to start sharing what I've learnt over the past few years.

Maybe you're a virtual assistant (VA) with a solid client base. If you were to do it all again, what advice would you give to other VAs? Could you break it down into a step-by-step process? Could you offer a cohort for people to learn from you? Could you turn that cohort experience into a course?

Or maybe you're a graphic designer. How do you land clients? Could you package your process and sell it as a guide for freelance graphic designers to get more clients?

The options are endless.

Don't be a loner in this process.

Talk to people.

DM them.

Build a network.

Creating content and building an audience is way more fun when you have people to share it with.

That's exactly why I created The Muslim Creative—a community where we can help each other make creative income while having a safe space to be a Muslim.

You're welcome to join even if you're not Muslim. We have gender-segregated group chats.

I'm telling you: having a support system changes the game.

When I first started out 4 years ago, I would've loved a community to turn to for advice, feedback, and collaboration.

I created that space for you.

Join here. Spots are limited. I want to personally help everyone but I can only take on so many before it becomes too much to manage.

Anyway that's all I got for you lots.

See you in the next letter.

And as always:

مع حبي (with love)

— Saufiyah ♡