“Build it and they will come” is a lie. Because even if you do build it, how are other people going to know about it?
Let me share with you three lessons I’ve learned from releasing my own software.
- You have to promote your stuff. A lot. And you may feel gross at first.
You know you need to promote your stuff. Whether it’s an ebook, software, or your services, you need to be promoting.
And promoting.
And then promote some more.
However much promotion you think you need to do, you should be 10x’ing that.
And then 10x it again.
That’s the minimum you need to do.
Why?
Because you’re competing for a finite amount of your audience’s attention.
And you’re trying to figure out:
- How to convey it’s a useful (whatever) for them
- How to show them it’s worth them giving you (money, their email, etc.) in exchange for your thing
If you post once per day about your stuff, what are the odds your ideal customer is:
- Going to see your post
- Going to tap on your post to see more
- Going to go to your website and buy your stuff now
You need to be doing REPS.
And it’ll feel like you’re almost on the verge of spamming.
But you’re not.
When you’re first promoting your product, you need to find angles that get your audience to take action.
You need volume.
Try new angles. Double down on the posts that work.
Then post more.
And more.
And even more.
“Build it and they will come” isn’t true.
Because unless people know you and your product exists, they will not come.
Don’t just post on your own social media accounts either.
Find communities - Discord, Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter, doesn’t matter.
Give back and contribute to those communities first. Build relationships. Then once you’re established, you can talk about what you made.
Be careful here though - I made the mistake of posting so many excited updates in one Discord server that I got a friendly poke from an admin. No ban, they were good about it.
But the channels you own? Go wild. Post. And post more.
- Build an e-mail list.
I never bothered building an email list in the past.
That was a mistake.
It wasn’t until this year that I started building one up.
If someone opts into your email list, you’ve got a fantastic chance at showing up in their most sacred place: their inbox.
If you don’t have an email list, start a Gumroad or Lemon Squeezy account, put out some free products, and start collecting emails.
I’ve had consulting inquiries and more - just from my mailing list.
- Start a Discord or Slack, and invite all your customers and customers-to-be to join.
I’ve got a Discord community for my Multiview for NDI set up.
Even if you’re not a customer you’re welcome to join.
Everyone there gets first peek at new features. Plus I post videos and new features for feedback before they’re released.
Having a direct line to the expert is invaluable.
Are you working on a product? Trying to bootstrap from $0 MRR to more? Let me know.