Building In Public Is The “Cheat-Code” For Success As An Online Creator

Smart digital creators show their work early, before it’s ready and, most importantly, way before they are ready to show it.

If you felt fear just reading those lines, you’re not alone. I was terrified. The mere thought of publishing something before it’s ready made me anxious… And if you’re anything like my clients, you’re likely experiencing a bit of that right now.

Despite this, here are the 5 reasons why you should go ahead and do it anyway.

1. Validate your idea.

You may have some idea of what your audience wants, but until someone pulls out their credit card and decides to give you money, you’re just guessing.

Unfortunately, this is how most doctors embark in online business. Since we’ve been in practice for a while, we know what our patients (our audience) need help with. So we go ahead and create a course, a coaching program, or something to give them what they need.

We pour our heart (and money) into creating the product and once you finally launch it, nobody buys it.

If only you had validated your idea before spending all that time and money…

2. Get unfiltered feedback.

When you put your ideas out there, you’ll find out whether your audience wants them or not.

In a best case scenario they’ll tell you they love your idea and can’t wait to buy it. Maybe they’ll ask you questions or make suggestions about what should be included. And perhaps some of them will go the extra mile and agree to jump on a call with you to help you refine it.

But the clearest kind of feedback comes when your ideas are ignored.

This can mean not enough people have seen them (common when your audience is not large enough)… Or it can mean your audience simply does not want them. If you are unsure which one it is, spend a $100 dollars or so running some facebook ads to a landing page and see if people sign up.

If they do, you might be onto something. If they don’t, go back to the drawing board!

3. Refine your product.

As an expert, you suffer from something called the curse of knowledge.

It means you don’t remember what it was like before you learned what you plan to create. So your final product could either be too advanced or too generic. Neither one will get results for your audience.

When you build in public, you can “test” your concepts with them until you find the sweet spot.

4. Involve your audience.

People want to be part of something.

When you invite your audience to give you feedback, you’re also recruiting your “groupies”. They’ll co-create the product with you, cheer you on, and even talk to their friends about what you’re building.

Who do you think will be first in line to buy when you open the doors?

5. Build relationships.

People connect with other people, not with businesses.

When you build in public, your audience gets to know you. They empathize with you, and develop a real connection to you and, by extension, to your business.

Show your work!

We are all figuring stuff out as we go along.

So you might as well build in public and inspire others along the journey. You might just get your first few clients this way…