What can I sell to make my first thousand dollars online?
Updated
The short answer
Sell one specific thing to one group of people who already trust you. A template, a guide or a small system for a job you have done yourself. Then decide whether you are getting there with many cheap sales or a few serious ones, because those need completely different amounts of traffic.
That decision matters more than the product you choose.
Do the arithmetic before you build
Pick a price, then work out how many buyers the target needs. Then work out how many viewers that needs at a realistic conversion rate.
If the viewer number is larger than any audience you can reach this quarter, the price is too low. Raise it or pick a buyer who can pay more.
Where the first sales come from
People who already know you: a newsletter, a community, former clients, colleagues, a group you are genuinely part of.
Strangers from social media convert far worse. Use them to grow, not to hit a first target.
What to sell if you have no audience at all
Something for a marketplace where buyers already browse, or a service you can sell to one person at a time while you build the product.
A handful of paid clients gets you there faster than a file nobody has seen, and it tells you exactly what the file should contain.