How I Turned My PCGS Submission Tracking Expertise into a $43,500 Passive Income Course

From Coin Collector to Course Creator: How I Built a $43,500 Side Hustle

Let me tell you something surprising – my deep knowledge of PCGS submission tracking now makes me money while I make coffee. That’s right, what started as a hobby became a $43,500/year income stream. In this post, I’ll walk you through how I turned my numismatic expertise into a popular online course. You might be sitting on similar goldmine knowledge right now.

Finding the Sweet Spot in Coin Collecting

The PCGS Problems Students Paid Me to Solve

After five years answering the same questions in coin forums, I spotted three recurring headaches:

• Panic when “Being Imaged” appeared after encapsulation
• Frustration over 7-month waits with zero updates
• Endless speculation about what really happens during QA

When I saw my tenth “What does ‘Being Imaged’ even mean?!” post that month, the lightbulb went off. Collectors weren’t just curious – they were desperate for clarity.

Building a Course People Actually Wanted

Mapping Content to Collector Pain Points

My seven-module course grew directly from forum frustrations:

• Module 1: Cracking PCGS Status Codes (including that mysterious imaging phase)
• Module 2: What REALLY Happens During QA
• Module 3: Walkthrough vs Regular: Which Makes Sense For You?

Why Visuals Made All the Difference

Students loved seeing actual PCGS processes through:

<div class='demo'>
<img src='submission-timeline-comparison.jpg' alt='Walkthrough vs Regular processing'>
<img src='qa-process.gif' alt='PCGS quality assurance workflow'>
</div>

(Pro tip: Animated GIFs got 3x more engagement than text explanations)

Platform Paydays: Where the Money Actually Happened

First-year earnings surprised even me:

What I Learned: Use Udemy’s traffic to find students, then invite them to your Teachable school for advanced content. My $297 upsell converted at 22%!

Marketing Without Being “Saley”

How Forum Credibility Sold My First 100 Courses

My three-step whisper campaign:

1. Became the “PCGS Submission Guy” by giving free help
2. Shared detailed guides solving top pain points
3. Mentioned my course ONLY when someone asked

Real Results Beat Fancy Sales Pitches

Nothing convinced collectors like proof:

<div class='social-proof'>
<img src='student-results-1.png' alt='Student success story'>
<img src='student-results-2.png' alt='Another success story'>
</div>

Student before/after screenshots boosted conversions by 37%

Working Smarter After Launch

Three tools that saved my sanity:

• Zapier: Pings me when someone mentions PCGS submissions online
• ConvertKit: Automatically sends new students my “Submission Checklist”
• Canva: Turns complex processes into shareable visual guides

Your Turn to Share What You Know

Here’s the secret – you don’t need to be the world’s top expert. You just need to know more than the person behind the forum post asking “Does anyone know how this works?” Whether it’s coin grading, vintage camera repair, or sourdough starters, your knowledge has value. Start documenting your process today – your future students are already looking for you.

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