The offer where I ignored the fundamentals

Context

It's 2024 and it's been a few years since I launched a new offer. I've been stuck in a niche I'm no longer excited about (Java development), but now I realise it's time to try something else. Not something completely new, just more aligned with my current interests.

Earlier that year, I publish four YouTube videos about the fundamentals of the internet. Researching the topic taught me a lot and opened up a big curiosity gap, so I wonder whether there's any way to share this information in a format people might pay for.

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Effort

I realise that most developers don't understand how the internet really works, myself included. So I decide to write an ebook to help them stop guessing their way through essential topics like domains, networking and encryption. But there's one unanswered question: would they really pay to read a book on the topic?

I've launched an ebook before, but this time I decide to try a different strategy. By launching a 'pre-order', I hope to get paying customers before I start writing. This way, if nobody signs up I've saved myself wasted effort. If they do, then I've got motivation to begin writing.

So I create an offer for people to pre-order my ebook for $12, discounted from $22. I promise delivery within two months and limit the offer to 100 customers within a two week window.

Here's the timeline for my pre-launch offer:

22nd July: contact email list about the pre-order offer
23rd July: start writing ebook
2nd August: end pre-order offer window
24th September: launch book

I end up committing to writing the book. I reuse some content from my YouTube videos, but most of it I write from scratch. Two months is just long enough to get it finished and send it to my pre-order customers.

Results

62 people sign up for the pre-order, earning $744 before I launch the book. On launch day, I sell another 13 copies at the full price of $22. All sales are driven from email promotions. Since then, there've been a few direct sales from my website. Overall, the book has earned $1,419.

Lesson

Getting pre-orders gave me confidence to start writing the book, but it missed a big part of the story. Since any email list is limited in size (mine was around 4,000), by the time I'd done the pre-order and full launch, there was nowhere else to promote the book.

I didn't create new content on the topic of my book (the internet). So there was little chance of finding new customers. That's why, unlike my previous ebook, this one didn't keep selling after launch.

Conclusion

A pre-launch can give you confidence to build the product, but it doesn't guarantee success.

To keep selling long-term requires the fundamentals of attracting an audience, collecting email addresses, and consistently promoting the offer.