Thread by @thelindazhang

Launched preorders over the weekend, and crossed $10K in sales so far!

First foray into selling on the internet so I had no idea what to expect, but this has definitely exceeded what I could imagine even a few weeks ago.

Learnings & mistakes below 👇

Dynamic, FOMO pricing works.

Example: X seats available at $Y. Price will go up for broader release.

1. Gives people a reason to buy now vs. wait and forget.
2. Rewards early supporters with a better deal before reviews serve as credibility signal

Use visuals to illustrate what you're making - fastest way to help people "get it". Sales copy only goes so far.

I screenshot an outline and gave weekly updates on the evolution.

Thanks to @JanelSGM, @Nutlope, @iNothingman @toomany_tabs for iterating tirelessly with me!

If unsure, gauge demand by opening up early-access seats:

I opened up 25 seats for $50 each. Hoped to fill them over a few days.

Surprised to find 27 seats sold in 2 hours. ❤️ @iNothingman , @jiovan for early feedback, @theJasonBach for always entertaining my ideas!

Collect a waitlist as you build:

I got 300 emails passively over 2 posts by sharing updates at the end of each post.

Over the weekend, I offered an early-bird special for them and did $9K in sales.

What should be free vs. paid?

Give away the "what" and "why" for free; consider charging for "how". Monetize depth, not breadth.

Most people only want the summary, not the nitty-gritty.
Charging for "how" selects for the right audience that cares.

h/t @Julian

Mistakes I made:

- Launched over weekend when people try to stay off email 😅
- Weekday launch especially imp't if people can expense your product
- Early-bird window was short, some people missed cut-off
- Scrambled to send waitlist emails, should've mapped out cadence

Another mistake:

Poor execution of dynamic pricing.

I put the price in static emails, but increased it for every 20 copies sold.

Should've updated Gumroad description to clarify price change. OR leave price off emails to avoid mixed messaging which anchored people

None of this would've happened had I not started writing consistently since May 2020.

By showing up every week, people showed up for me. ❤️

Thanks to everyone who reads productlessons.substack.com

Product Toolkit drops this Friday at 12 PM PST.

Covers full product development cycle + strategies to fast-track your career. Complete with real examples and templates to put into practice.

Highly recommend expensing!

You can preorder here: gumroad.com/l/product-tool…

What's next?

- Iterate on feedback and make the Toolkit awesome
- Build a proper landing page (reading excellent piece from @Julian: julian.com/guide/growth/l…)
- Launch on Product Hunt
- Experiment with paid ads

What am I missing? Tips on how to do the above well?