Why Even Exceptional Creator Products Can Still Flop

Great products don’t sell themselves. This post breaks down why creator launches often flop—and the three essential phases that turn a good idea into real results.

Just because you made it, doesn’t necessarily mean they will come

Here’s how to waste a bunch of money and time when launching a product as a creator (a step-by-step guide).

First, do all of the right things when developing the product:

Identify a genuine need among their audience that they're uniquely positioned to solve
Validate the idea and build a compelling economic model that's actually worth their time
invest significant resources into creating something high-quality that serves their audience and reflects well on their brand

And then... they "post about it." Whomp whomp.

One Instagram story. A quick mention in a video, maybe something in the Community tab. Perhaps a single, solitary tweet.

"Hey, I made a thing for you!"

And then you wonder why sales don't match your expectations.

*Mr. Costner was not talking about digital products. Also this is just terrible advice.*

Big fact: most creators aren’t marketers

Here's the reality I've come to after working with dozens of creators on product launches: building an audience is not the same as knowing how to sell to that audience.

While creators have mastered building connections with their followers and can seamlessly (ok maybe not everyone) integrate brand partnerships into their content, most don't have the experience or expertise to move potential customers through a marketing funnel to conversion.

And that makes sense if you think about it, ya know? Creators spend years perfecting how to entertain, educate, or inspire. They haven't spent years studying conversion optimization, email sequencing, or launch strategies.

And why would they? Until they launch their own products, they wouldn’t really have a need to.

The 3 phases every creator launch needs

There's no universal playbook for launching a creator-led product (despite what that bro yelling at you to comment on his LinkedIn post is saying), but we've found that successful launches typically move through three distinct phases:

1. Awareness / Hype Building

Big reveals don't benefit creators. Your connection with your audience means you can bring them along on the journey, which only increases the likelihood they end up buying your product.

While traditional brands might benefit from the "surprise and delight" approach, creators have a unique advantage: your audience already cares about you. They want to be part of your story, not just consumers of your final product.

By sharing the development process, you're not just building hype; you're actively identifying your best-fit customers and allowing them to self-select based on their interest level.

2. Early Access / Waitlisting

So how do you let them self-select? For those most excited about your product, find a way to identify (and then capitalize) on that enthusiasm.

Get them on a waitlist, keep them engaged with exclusive updates, and launch to them first with special benefits or pricing. This creates a sense of exclusivity while giving you a chance to collect valuable feedback and social proof before your broader launch.

Tip - do NOT leave a waitlist up for 4 months, collect a bunch of email addresses, never engage with the list, and then send them one email saying “I launched it!”. That’s a guaranteed flop.

The most engaged segment of your audience will be your most forgiving beta testers and your most enthusiastic evangelists if you give them the opportunity.

3. Launch

Here's a sobering statistic (that I saw on the internet): only 5-10% of your followers/subscribers will see any single piece of content you post.

Let that sink in.

Deep breath. OK, let’s keep going.

That means your "I made a thing!" post reached a fraction of the people you thought it did. There are two main strategies to combat this:

Collect emails throughout your pre-launch process to market directly to interested people (more on that in a future newsletter)
Post. A. Lot. Like, way more than you think you should. This can feel uncomfortable or "cringe" for many creators, but you should approach it with the mindset of: "This thing is PERFECT for my audience and I want to make sure every single one of them knows about it."

Remember: your audience doesn't experience your marketing with the same intensity or frequency that you do. What feels like "too much" to you is likely just enough to break through to them.

So what does moving your audience through this journey to become a customer look like in practice? Something like this 👇️ It’s a bit of an oversimplification of a nuanced process, but we’ll be unpacking this in next week’s issue.