The hidden mistake that kills product launches
Have you ever wished to focus on marketing or distribution before solving a problem?
I have done it a couple of times already.
Once, it would've saved me at least a month of sweat—something crystal clear from the beginning that wasn't going to work as expected.
10 am, February 1, 2021.
It was a sunny but cold winter morning in southern Europe. As usual.
I landed at my desktop with a hot cup of matcha tea, still asleep but uplifted.
Instead of checking the emails and clients' requests first, I drew 30 circles on a sheet. One for each of the following 30 days. Seven circles, from Monday to Sunday, then another row.
During the weekend, I read many articles about getting rid of procrastination and taking action.
I learned how small wins compound and lead to something massive, like completing at least a task/day.
"Enough procrastination. I'm ready to overcome you."
It was time to make it happen—no more on the bench looking at others.
I wanted to create my first side business to live my dream life.
For the following 30 days, every morning, I showed up and spent the first two hours on this project. Sometimes more, sometimes 15 minutes to keep the momentum going.
I skipped only the 11th day because I cut a small chunk of my right thumb, but that's another story…
February passed by: market research, ideal target, tools, and automation, to name a few.
Yet, I waited until the last week of the challenge to reach out to people. Mayday, mayday, mayday!
Has the red alert started to sound in your head as the storm approaches?
You need customers to turn an idea into a business.
I knew the theory of starting with the audience, but I didn't do the homework beforehand.
No one cared about that service, so I dropped out a few days after the challenge ended.
How adorable.
Eight months later, I started my Twitter adventure to build an audience.
Not validating the solution taught me a lesson.
Don't put the cart before the horses.
It's already been a year on Twitter, and I've undergone a massive change.
From figuring out the platform to almost 2k followers. From no ideas to a long backlog and over 1400 customers on Gumroad. I'm even writing you this newsletter. Who would have thought that?
But what amazes me are the countless friends I met on the platform and how we support each other.
After carrying through several successful launches myself, I can't stress the power of relationships enough.
Look, if there's one thing I know is that you won't go that far without your community, peers, and friends.
(I'm sure you've already heard about the True Fans theory from Kevin Kelly).
Together we rise. Together, we generate a bonfire.
But you need to prepare the fire pit, bring the sticks, and gather some friends first.
You don't go to the street and whip up a fire, right?
So you can't launch out of the blue and expect results.
Yet people do it every day.
That's why I want to write a guide on how to prepare for product launches using Twitter.
Here I said.
An ebook that will help you get customers by launching in public on Twitter.
Is it of your interest?
If yes, look at the next section.
"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."
— Joseph Campbell
Build in Public Bites
Steve Jobs said you can only connect the dots by looking backward.
Looking at my wins, I spotted a process to avoid wasting time and energy on something people don’t want.
Honestly, I’m still scared to fail. “What if no one wants my first paid product?” said the brain. But fear is a compass; fear is where the growth is.
That’s why now I’m asking for your take on this 👇
Do you want to start with a bang, or be like my old self and quit because no one shows up?
Onwards!
Mattia
PS: thanks to my friend Brian for the bonfire analogy. I enjoyed our call!
Let's make money 🤑