When to Launch a Product: 4 Ways to Transition from Blogger to Product Creator

Want to monetize your blog with a product launch but don’t think you’re ready? It’s completely normal to get cold feet, but don’t let it stop you! Check out these tips on how to take the leap of faith and launch your first product today!

 

Whether you just started out in the blogosphere or you’ve been blogging for a while, at some point, you’ve probably thought about launching a product.

But if you’re like most people, you may have thought, “Me? Launch a product?! That seems impossible!”

And I totally get it. I felt the exact same way before I launched my first product. I struggled with not feeling ready, not feeling like my blog was ready, and worrying that my product would launch to crickets… and zero sales.

But here’s the thing: there’s no “magic time” to launch a product. And if we wait around for that “magic time” to roll around — then when will we feel 100% prepared and ready?

Well, let’s just say we’ll be waiting around for a good, long time.

There’s no way to know if we’re able to successfully launch a product until we try it! We won’t know if products are the right fit for our blogs until we get out there and launch one (or two or three!).

Now, I’m not encouraging you to go out there and launch a product on day one. But if you’ve built up your audience to the 1K mark, it’s definitely worth a shot.

So how do you take the leap from blog to product launch?

When to Launch a Product: 4 Ways to Transition from Blogger to Product Creator

Let Go of the Comparison Game

Your audience follows YOUR blog for a reason. Click to Tweet

One of the first thoughts that pops into our heads when we’re considering our first product launch is, “But there are so many other products out there, and I bet they’re way better than mine…. Why would anyone want to buy a product from me?!”

We all play the “comparison game” sometimes. You know the one I’m talking about — the game where we look at what everyone else is doing and (mistakenly) believe we’ll never be able to do it as well as they are.

But I’m telling you–if you want to make the leap from blog to product launch, you need to stop playing that game, because it won’t get you anywhere.

Remember: your audience follows YOUR blog for a reason. And if your audience is growing and responding, if you really understand your avatar, if you’re building that real connection with your readers, if they’re engaged with what you have to say… If all that is happening, then your audience will be interested in the products you have to offer.

You also need to remember that even if there are other products out there that are similar to yours, no one can create the exact same products as you can. No one in the blogosphere — or the world, for that matter — has your unique gifts, perspective, and talents. And those gifts, perspective, and talents are the reason your audience chooses to read your blog over someone else’s — and it’s the same reason they’ll choose to buy your products over someone else’s, too.

Now, as a side note: we might have a product idea that, even after we stop comparing ourselves to everyone else, is just too similar to something else on the market. And that’s okay! If we’re passionate about an idea, but someone beat us to the punch and created the product before we got the chance, we can become an affiliate! It’s a win-win: we get to promote something we’re passionate about to our readers AND we get paid for it.

 

Don’t Make Things Harder Than They Need to Be

Another hump to get over on the road from blog to product launch is making things harder than they need to be. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when we start planning a product launch. Before we know it, everything is difficult. We turn molehills into mountains and get paralyzed by the sheer feeling of overwhelm.

When you find yourself making things really difficult (which I know I do all the time!), the first step is to stop and take a deep breath. Then start small.

Starting small, having a plan, and breaking your product launch into small, manageable steps is key in fighting overwhelm. Click to Tweet

Let’s say you want to launch a book. Before you start thinking about how to turn it into an NYT bestseller (talk about overwhelming!), start small. Make a commitment to write a certain number of words per day. Then, once the book is finished, give your first draft to a few of your dedicated readers and get their feedback. Once you know what’s working for your readers, you will have the confidence to keep moving forward and tackle the harder parts of the product launch, like publishing and marketing the book.

 

Get Your Beta Launch On

We just touched on something that works, whether we’re launching a book or a course or anything in between — and that’s a beta launch.

Releasing your products to a small test group before our official launch is an invaluable way to get feedback from our ideal customers on what’s working with the product, what’s not working, and how you can improve it — all of which will help you have a more successful launch.

So, if you’re launching a course, offer it to a small group at a huge discount. Ask them for notes on the content, the worksheets, the videos… Anything that would help make your product better. You could even teach the beta launch of your course live — that way you get feedback in real time, see what parts of the course are confusing to people, and answer their questions as they come up.

Releasing your products to a small group before the “big” launch can be a great way to improve both your products and your confidence!

 

You Can Do This!

I want to end this post with a few final words of encouragement. Because I know (from experience!) that launching a product can be super scary. It’s really hard to put something out there — something you created, your own product — and hope that people like it and buy it. It can feel overwhelming and paralyzing. I totally understand the fear that comes with launching your first product.

It’s okay to be scared. But it’s not okay to let the fear hold us back. So do it scared! Take a deep breath, get out there, and launch. The more you try — and the more launches you do — the more courage you’ll have. That courage will keep snowballing, getting bigger and bigger, until before you know it, launching a product will no longer be a big deal.

You can take the leap from blog to product launch. Just trust yourself and jump!