Methods: the shapes that make money, and where each fits best
A method is a discovery surface, a free feed, and a paid rail. Each one below is copied from an operator we measured; the score says where the same shape pays most per minute of attention.
3,652 products806 gigs priced across 13 roles800 chart rows, 13 categories245 listings with multiples150 categories ranked11 pages rendered from the index20 posts published by machine
The measured shapes
| shape | discovery | feed | paid rail | what we do instead of them | owner min / wk | evidence | proved by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| youtube-evergreen → telegram → whop-premium | youtube-evergreen | telegram | whop-premium | measure-the-claim | 30 | 1 | Data Trader: 913K/56 videos idle, TG 73K, $94×332 |
| youtube-evergreen → telegram → affiliate | youtube-evergreen | telegram | affiliate | measure-the-claim | 30 | 0.9 | Data Trader discovery + Polarity rail |
| x-daily → discord → whop-premium | x-daily | discord | whop-premium | measure-the-claim | 600 | 0.9 | Six Trader: 40 posts/day → 116×$15 |
| x-daily → telegram → affiliate | x-daily | telegram | affiliate | measure-the-claim | 300 | 0.9 | Polarity: 45.7K, prop-firm affiliate |
| seo-pages → substack → data-index | seo-pages | substack | data-index | rank-the-operators | 20 | 0.9 | Whop Trends product pages; every operator googles itself |
| youtube-evergreen → substack → substack-paid | youtube-evergreen | substack | substack-paid | track-the-industry | 45 | 0.8 | Bear Cave $300k/yr; Data Trader discovery |
| youtube-evergreen → substack → data-index | youtube-evergreen | substack | data-index | rank-the-operators | 45 | 0.7 | Whop Trends $29/mo; Social Blade |
| x-daily → substack → substack-paid | x-daily | substack | substack-paid | track-the-industry | 300 | 0.6 | Marcos Milla, FranVezz (self-reported) |
| seo-pages → telegram → affiliate | seo-pages | telegram | affiliate | verify-the-method | 20 | 0.6 | freelancerjoy shape (21 verified methods) |
| podcast → substack → sponsorship | podcast | substack | sponsorship | track-the-industry | 90 | 0.6 | Moontower: 26k subs, $995/ad |
| tiktok-shorts → telegram → whop-premium | tiktok-shorts | telegram | whop-premium | measure-the-claim | 400 | 0.5 | Whop #1 community 21k members (unmeasured surface) |
Top 40 category × shape concepts
| category | family | discovery → feed → rail | category MRR | % over $1k | score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Ticket Sales | reselling | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $629,730 | 52.1% | 4.07 |
| Coaching Business Coaching | money-online | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $343,520 | 75.5% | 3.898 |
| Copywriting Coaching | money-online | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $69,900 | 77.5% | 3.501 |
| Diy Crafts | other | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $301,330 | 70.8% | 3.055 |
| High Ticket Sales | reselling | youtube-evergreen → telegram → whop-premium | $629,730 | 52.1% | 3.015 |
| Influencer Education | creator | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $252,470 | 36.9% | 2.892 |
| Coaching Business Coaching | money-online | youtube-evergreen → telegram → whop-premium | $343,520 | 75.5% | 2.887 |
| Retail Arbitrage | reselling | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $882,260 | 35.5% | 2.843 |
| High Ticket Sales | reselling | youtube-evergreen → telegram → affiliate | $629,730 | 52.1% | 2.713 |
| High Ticket Sales | reselling | seo-pages → telegram → affiliate | $629,730 | 52.1% | 2.713 |
| Coaching Business Coaching | money-online | youtube-evergreen → telegram → affiliate | $343,520 | 75.5% | 2.598 |
| Coaching Business Coaching | money-online | seo-pages → telegram → affiliate | $343,520 | 75.5% | 2.598 |
| Copywriting Coaching | money-online | youtube-evergreen → telegram → whop-premium | $69,900 | 77.5% | 2.593 |
| Dropshipping | reselling | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $2,230,000 | 28.7% | 2.454 |
| Copywriting Coaching | money-online | youtube-evergreen → telegram → affiliate | $69,900 | 77.5% | 2.334 |
| Copywriting Coaching | money-online | seo-pages → telegram → affiliate | $69,900 | 77.5% | 2.334 |
| Music Theory | other | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $150,830 | 55.7% | 2.271 |
| Diy Crafts | other | youtube-evergreen → telegram → whop-premium | $301,330 | 70.8% | 2.263 |
| Agency Building | money-online | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $652,810 | 41% | 2.223 |
| Influencer Education | creator | youtube-evergreen → telegram → whop-premium | $252,470 | 36.9% | 2.142 |
| Retail Arbitrage | reselling | youtube-evergreen → telegram → whop-premium | $882,260 | 35.5% | 2.106 |
| Business English | money-online | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $94,920 | 45.2% | 2.098 |
| Diy Crafts | other | youtube-evergreen → telegram → affiliate | $301,330 | 70.8% | 2.037 |
| Diy Crafts | other | seo-pages → telegram → affiliate | $301,330 | 70.8% | 2.037 |
| Amazon FBA | reselling | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $586,970 | 25% | 1.943 |
| Influencer Education | creator | youtube-evergreen → telegram → affiliate | $252,470 | 36.9% | 1.928 |
| Influencer Education | creator | seo-pages → telegram → affiliate | $252,470 | 36.9% | 1.928 |
| Retail Arbitrage | reselling | youtube-evergreen → telegram → affiliate | $882,260 | 35.5% | 1.895 |
| Retail Arbitrage | reselling | seo-pages → telegram → affiliate | $882,260 | 35.5% | 1.895 |
| Futures Trading | trading | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $1,200,000 | 39.3% | 1.857 |
| Options Alerts | trading | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $3,280,000 | 36.4% | 1.843 |
| Dropshipping | reselling | youtube-evergreen → telegram → whop-premium | $2,230,000 | 28.7% | 1.818 |
| Clipping Education | creator | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $56,910 | 25.7% | 1.773 |
| Athletic Performance | fitness | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $227,160 | 46.3% | 1.747 |
| Music Theory | other | youtube-evergreen → telegram → whop-premium | $150,830 | 55.7% | 1.683 |
| Agency Building | money-online | youtube-evergreen → telegram → whop-premium | $652,810 | 41% | 1.647 |
| Dropshipping | reselling | youtube-evergreen → telegram → affiliate | $2,230,000 | 28.7% | 1.636 |
| Dropshipping | reselling | seo-pages → telegram → affiliate | $2,230,000 | 28.7% | 1.636 |
| High Ticket Sales | reselling | youtube-evergreen → substack → substack-paid | $629,730 | 52.1% | 1.608 |
| Email Marketing | money-online | seo-pages → substack → data-index | $85,530 | 34.9% | 1.605 |
Score = ln(category MRR) × success rate × shape evidence × data availability × (1 − ½ regulated) ÷ owner minutes. Evidence counts named operators with a number on a third-party page.