Have you ever been really excited about an idea you had, only to find when you test it out that no one else cares? This can really feel like a kick in the teeth. Especially if you are not expecting it. Do you see why “Ready, Set, Go” is a horrible idea?
It really sucks doing this once. For me, I have been there several times. I have literally put months and months into a product only to find out that no one wants to buy it. This can be really discouraging, to say the least!
Has this ever happened to you?
I could not figure out why this happened for the longest time. Sadly, this just ended up being a HUGE waste of time and money. Do yourself a favor and do not waste either one! If you can learn from someone else, that will be a big win for you.
My idea wasn’t bad. I just didn’t know who I was targeting. I also didn’t know what exactly “they” wanted. These are two significant problems that all entrepreneurs have to be on the lookout for. Before you run off and make the same mistakes that I did, read the three simple strategies. I came up with these after experiencing some of this for myself.
1. Conduct market research.
If you have any kind of following at all, simply ask them what they want or need. You can attempt this through social media, with a free tool like SurveyMonkey, or even through your email list. I would suggest all of the above options since you never know where you will find your followers at any given time. From my experience, you need to take the briefest approach that you can take and keep your questions to a minimum. It would be great if you could capture some of this through a Facebook live or another interactive video platform. You probably won’t get as many responses as you like, but you should get enough to point you in the right direction. You should also take a peek at BuzzSumo to see what has been trending and this can help you figure out what people have been searching for.
2. Identify your competitors.
This seems like an obvious one, but I know plenty of people who are not doing it. Use Google to see if anyone else is offering the product or service that you provide. If there is no one else doing it, this either means that no one else has thought of it or there is no demand for it. The better option is totally worth checking all of this out for. If there are other companies offering the same service or selling the same products, you will want to study them as much as you can. This offers you proof of concept. Although this is only part of the equation, it still serves as a step in the right direction. You also need to consider the demographics of your competitors too, which ensures that your research has validity.
3. Start with a lead magnet.
This is a more recent concept that I have come to embrace. If you think that you have something that other people are willing to pay for, test the market with a lead magnet before building a complex, paid course, setting up a webinar, or setting up a membership-based community. If you understand how sales funnels work, you will remember that the lead magnet gets your audience to opt-in to your email list in exchange for something of value. It requires a lot less work to build a simple opt-in funnel compared to the more complex service offering funnels that I mentioned earlier. I am all about hard work, but why start working really hard before you know that there is a reason to?
Before you dive into that next big project blindly, spend the time up front learning a bit about the market that you want to engage with. You will thank me in the long run and your audience will too.