My Live 9x12 Method Setup: How I’m Building a $5,000 Side Hustle in 30 Days

The Real Setup Behind a $5,000 First Month

Guys, I’m taking you behind the scenes like never before. This isn’t another theory post — this is my actual day-one setup for launching a brand new 9x12 postcard campaign in Sanford, Maine.

I’m targeting $5,000 in profit within 30 days using the exact same system that 2,800+ community members are crushing with right now. And I’m showing you everything — my territory selection, template setup, email infrastructure, lead scraping, and daily action plan.

Let’s go.

Quick 9x12 Method Refresher

For anyone new here, the 9x12 Method is stupid simple:

• Sell 16 ad slots on a large postcard to local businesses
• Charge $500 per slot = $8,000 revenue
• Print and mail 5,000 cards via EDDM for ~$3,000
• Keep $5,000+ profit and repeat next month

The businesses get cheap advertising because they’re splitting costs with non-competing companies. We handle the coordination and keep the profit. Everyone wins.

Step 1: Territory Selection (Don’t Overthink This)

I chose Sanford, Maine in about 10 minutes. Here’s my exact process:

Population Sweet Spot: 10,000-50,000 People

Sanford has 21,000 residents — perfect. Too small (under 10k) and you don’t have enough businesses to reach out to. Too big (over 50k) and businesses already have unlimited foot traffic, so they don’t need your postcard.

Stick to the Gray Areas on Google Maps

Gray = urban density. You want concentrated businesses, not rural sprawl. Sanford is gray surrounded by rural areas — ideal setup.

Check Average Income

Sanford’s average income is around $70,000 vs $60,000 national average. Higher income = higher business marketing budgets = easier sales.

That’s it. Don’t overthink territory selection. There’s no magical location where businesses throw money at you. Just hit the numbers and move.

Step 2: Canva Template Setup

I grabbed the 9x12 template from our Skool community freebies section. Takes 5 minutes:

• Download the proper-size template
• Clear out filler content
• Add your target city (“Sanford”)
• Set your mail date (mid-February for me)
• Don’t touch the indicia — that’s for USPS

Pro tip: I’m pricing regular slots at $500 and double ads at $900. Double ads are easier to sell because they’re only $400 more for twice the space.

Step 3: Email Infrastructure (Critical for Volume)

This is where most people mess up. You can’t send 100 emails from one Gmail account without hitting spam filters.

My setup: 3 separate Gmail accounts, sending max 30 emails per day per account. That gives me 90 emails daily without spam issues.

Trust me — Fernando Villegas from our community had to pivot to cold calling when his emails weren’t getting through. Don’t make that mistake.

Step 4: Sample Cards and Scripts

I downloaded sample card images from the community freebies. These postcards are like unicorns — nobody sees anything like them in their mailbox, so they practically sell themselves.

I also copied all the proven scripts into my Notes app. Makes it 10x faster to copy-paste into emails when I’m doing volume outreach.

This is exactly what we teach inside the 9x12 community — and 2,800+ members are already using these same scripts to close deals.

Step 5: Landing Page on Our Local Spotlight

I’m setting up a page on Our Local Spotlight — our directory of active 9x12ers nationwide. When prospects see I’m part of something bigger, credibility shoots through the roof.

Sharina Grimes closed 6 sales in 3 days partly because prospects could see she wasn’t some random person with a weird idea. Social proof matters.

Step 6: Stripe Payment Setup

Setting up Stripe for payment processing and invoices. 2.9% transaction fee is standard, and it’s way more professional than asking for checks.

You could collect cash or checks, but Stripe makes everything smoother. John Apolinar got his first yes at $600/slot using professional payment links.

The Time-Consuming Part: Lead Scraping

Here’s where the real work happens. I’m scraping leads from Google Maps to build my prospect list. This takes hours, but it’s the foundation of everything.

I need 50-100 quality contacts to fill one card. Michelle Landry got 7 yeses in 48 hours of serious outreach, but she had to contact way more than 7 businesses to get there.

My Lead Scraping Process:

• Google Maps search for business categories in Sanford
• Extract business names, phone numbers, emails
• Import into CRM for organization
• Set up outreach sequences

Pro tip: Focus on service businesses (HVAC, plumbing, lawn care, restaurants, auto repair). They need local customers and understand the value immediately.

Step 7: CRM Setup and Action Plan

I’m importing all leads into my CRM and setting daily outreach goals:

• Facebook Groups: 5 posts daily (Sharina’s top channel)
• Cold Email: 30 emails per account (90 total daily)
• Cold Calls: 20 calls daily (Fernando’s fallback method)
• Follow-ups: 10 per day (where the money lives)

If it’s not planned, it’s not happening. Robert Mandall closed a $450 HVAC deal with Saturday follow-up emails. Consistency beats everything.

Why I’m Showing You This Live Process

Look, I’ve been teaching this for a year. We have 2,800+ people in our community crushing it nationwide. But I’ve never shown the day-to-day reality.

Too many people sit on the sidelines because of uncertainty. “What if businesses say no?” “What if I don’t know what to say?” “What if it doesn’t work in my area?”

I’m showing you exactly what it looks like in the trenches. Every cold call. Every email. Every conversation with advertisers. Because once you see how casual and straightforward this actually is, you’ll realize there’s nothing to be worried about.

Lucy Brenton got on ABC TV news just from Facebook group posts. Gregory Farley completed his Amarillo card and is expanding to a 10,000-home run. Travis Hudgons finished his first card, learned a ton, and is ready for the next one.

These aren’t marketing geniuses. They’re regular people who followed the system.

The Setup Checklist

Here’s your complete day-one setup checklist:

1. Territory Selection: 10k-50k population, gray areas, decent income
2. Canva Template: Download from community, customize for your city
3. Email Accounts: Create 3 Gmail accounts for volume sending
4. Sample Cards: Download from community freebies
5. Scripts: Copy proven templates to Notes app
6. Landing Page: Set up on Our Local Spotlight directory
7. Payment Processing: Stripe account with payment links
8. Lead Scraping: Google Maps extraction for 100+ contacts
9. CRM Import: Organize leads for systematic outreach
10. Action Plan: Daily goals for each outreach channel

What’s Next in This Series

Over the next 30 days, I’m documenting everything:

• Cold calling sessions with real conversations
• Email templates that get responses
• Facebook group strategies that work
• Follow-up sequences that close deals
• The exact moment I hit $8,000 in revenue

This isn’t theory. This isn’t highlights. This is the real grind, and I’m betting I can show you that $5,000 in your first month isn’t just possible — it’s predictable when you follow the system.

Ready to Start Your Own Card?

If you want to follow along with your own setup, grab the interactive checklist and join 2,800+ other 9x12ers who are making this work nationwide. We’ve got the complete Masterclass, all templates, proven scripts, live group calls, and an AI ad design generator.

Plus, you’ll see exactly how this Sanford campaign plays out in real-time. Because the best way to learn isn’t from theory — it’s from watching someone do it live and copying their exact moves.

Let’s go make this happen. See you on the inside.

Ready to Start Your First Card?

Join 2,800+ 9x12ers who are already building real income with the postcard method. Inside the community you get the full Masterclass, word-for-word scripts, weekly live calls with me, and a crew of people who actually want to see you win.

Join the 9x12 community here →