The Ghostwriter Making $1M a Year Without Showing His Face

From struggling freelancer to a $1M agency owner—Marcos’ journey proves that consistency wins.

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Welcome to Money Making Story,

Today, we’re thrilled to share the story of Marcos Ruiz, who leveraged cold DMs and content marketing to scale his agency from $1K to $100K/month.

In this discussion, we’ll discuss his:

  • Top Advice

  • From No Clear Path to $1 Million a Year

  • From Struggling Entrepreneur to Ghostwriting Success

  • The Breakthrough: Ghostwriting for Growth & Monetization

  • 15 Things a True Leader Won’t Micromanage

  • How Marcos Found and Scaled His Client Base

  • The Road to $65,000 Per Month

  • How Marcos Scaled to $50,000/Month and Beyond

  • Tools for Running a Ghostwriting Business

  • How to Get Started as a Ghostwriter

  • Key Lessons from Marcos’s Journey

  • A Story Worth Reading

Top Advice:

"You don’t need to be an extroverted sales expert to build a million-dollar business. If you play to your strengths and stay disciplined, success will follow."

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In today’s digital age, content creation is king, and one entrepreneur has proven that a well-executed ghostwriting business can turn into a million-dollar empire. Marcos, the CEO of The Birdhouse, a Twitter ghostwriting agency, went from struggling with various online business models to earning $65,000 per month in just one year. His success story is a testament to the power of focus, consistency, and strategic execution.

From No Clear Path to $1 Million a Year

Meet Marcos, the founder of The Birdhouse, a Twitter ghostwriting agency that generates over $1 million a year helping CEOs, influencers, and businesses grow their online presence.

His journey wasn’t instant success—far from it. Marcos spent years trying and failing at different business models before he finally stumbled upon ghostwriting. He quickly realized that most ghostwriters were focused on getting people followers, but he saw a better way:

"If I can make someone more money than they pay me, I’ll have a client forever."

With this insight, Marcos built a framework that took him from $0 to $65,000 a month in just one year—and he’s now scaling to $100,000 per month.

From Struggling Entrepreneur to Ghostwriting Success

Marcos’s journey began at 19 when he was introduced to the world of online business through day trading. He experimented with multiple business models, including dropshipping, affiliate marketing, blogging, and crypto, but none of them yielded significant results. Eventually, he realized that as an introvert with a passion for writing, ghostwriting was a perfect fit.

With only $2,000 to his name, Marcos invested in a $50-per-month ghostwriting course, which provided him with the foundational knowledge he needed. After securing his first two clients at $1,000 each, he reinvested in a more expensive $2,000-per-month course. That gamble paid off when he landed a $3,000-per-month client, setting him on the path to scaling his business.

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The Breakthrough: Ghostwriting for Growth & Monetization

When Marcos first started ghostwriting, he discovered that many coaches, consultants, and education companies needed help with their content but didn’t have the time to create it themselves.

This led to the birth of The Birdhouse, a full-service ghostwriting agency that:

  • Writes viral tweets and threads

  • Repurposes video content into Twitter content

  • Helps clients monetize their online presence

Marcos didn’t just help his clients grow—he helped them convert followers into paying customers. That’s what made his offer irresistible.

15 Things a True Leader Won’t Micromanage

How Marcos Found and Scaled His Client Base

Marcos followed a systematic approach to growing his client base:

  1. Upwork: His first clients came from Upwork, which he used to build credibility and obtain testimonials.

  2. Cold DMs: He sent out 100-200 Twitter DMs per day, reaching out to potential clients with personalized messages.

  3. Stacking Testimonials: Every small success, such as increasing a client’s engagement or lead generation, was leveraged as proof of results.

  4. Providing Real Value: Instead of just offering followers, he focused on generating revenue for clients through Twitter.

  5. Referrals and Inbound Leads: By consistently delivering results, he started getting referrals, which accelerated his business growth.

The Road to $65,000 Per Month

Marcos’s journey wasn’t easy. Before ghostwriting, he tried everything:

  • Day trading

  • Affiliate marketing

  • Dropshipping

  • Crypto & blogging

None of these worked. He was running out of money and needed a change.

That’s when he came across ghostwriting. Even though he was down to his last $2,000, he invested everything into an online course.

  • First $1,000/month client: Landed from Upwork

  • Second $1,000/month client: Used the first client as a case study

  • Invested everything into a high-ticket $2,000/month course

  • Landed a $3,000/month client immediately after

With just enough to survive, Marcos doubled down—and within months, the business was bringing in $10,000+ per month.

How Marcos Scaled to $50,000/Month and Beyond

Step 1: Mastering Lead Generation

Marcos followed a cold, warm, and hot lead strategy to land clients:

  1. Cold DMs: He sent 100-200 personalized DMs per day to potential clients.

  2. Warm DMs: He engaged with people following him or interacting with his content.

  3. Hot DMs: He closed inbound leads who reached out to him first.

By combining content creation with relentless outreach, he built a lead generation machine that constantly brought in new clients.

Step 2: Closing Clients Without Being “Salesy”

As an introvert, Marcos hated sales. But he developed a simple framework:

  • Get on a call and listen

  • Be transparent about how he can help

  • Build genuine relationships

  • Let results speak for themselves

His biggest takeaway?


"Sales is just conviction. If you know your service works, selling is easy."

Step 3: Hiring & Building a Team

Once he hit $20K+ per month, Marcos had to decide:

  • Stay a solopreneur and cap his growth

  • Scale up by hiring a team

He chose to build a real business.

His first hire? A writer. Instead of resumes, he asked candidates to write a Twitter thread and picked the best one.

Now, The Birdhouse is a team of six generating $70K+ per month with 60% profit margins.

Tools for Running a Ghostwriting Business

  • Google Docs & Sheets – Writing & organization

  • Hemingway App – Simplifies writing for clarity

  • HypeFury – Twitter scheduling tool

  • Canva – Design for tweets & visuals

  • Notion – CRM, dashboards, and team collaboration

How to Get Started as a Ghostwriter

Marcos sees two paths to success:

Option 1: The Free Route

  • Create a Twitter account

  • Follow & study top ghostwriters

  • Write viral content for yourself

  • Use your own success as proof for clients

  • Start cold DMing potential clients

Option 2: The Paid Route

  • Invest in a high-quality course

  • Copy & execute the exact strategies taught

  • Use course community to find early clients

  • Focus on delivering great results

Either way, the most important thing? Action.

"The worst thing you can do is just keep researching. Start writing, start Dreaming, and just get your first client."

Key Lessons from Marcos’s Journey

Find a niche where you can make money, not just get followers
Cold DMing works—but you have to do it every day
If you hate sales, just be honest and show real results
Don’t jump from idea to idea—focus on one thing for a year
Once you hit $20K/month, start hiring and scaling

If Marcos could give his younger self one piece of advice, it would be to play to his strengths and stick to one thing until it works. His journey proves that with discipline and consistency, even introverts can build a thriving, high-income business.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, his advice is clear:

"If I had just done this five years earlier, I would’ve hit $1 million way sooner."

A Story Worth Reading

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