How to Reduce the Risk of Creating New Products
What if I told you that one of my clients spent months building a course that hardly anybody bought?
And when people did buy it, hardly any of them finished it.
This is more common than you'd think. Course creators pour their heart, soul, and countless hours into products that never find their audience. It's demoralizing and keeps people from wanting to try again.
But here's the thing: most of these failures could have been prevented with three simple validation steps that take a fraction of the time it takes to build a full course.
Today, I'm sharing the exact three-step process that can save you months of wasted effort and help ensure your next course actually sells:
Create a waiting list to gauge real interest
Survey your audience to understand their true needs
Test with small offers before building the big thing
Let's dive into each one.
Part 1: The Waiting List (Your Early Warning System)
What is a waiting list? A waiting list is a group of people who said they're interested in your product or service and want to know more.
You get people on your waiting list by sending an email to your audience or talking to people one-on-one and asking if they're interested. If you send an email, they can fill out a form or simply reply saying "Yes, I'm interested."
Now here's where some people hesitate to create waiting lists—they think they're on the hook for creating the product even if it turns out there's no demand or very little demand. Nothing could be further from the truth.
What are your actual obligations?
You have only two obligations:
If you DO produce the course, tell the waiting list members first—they should be the first to know when it launches
If you decide NOT to produce it, let them know: "Hey, it turns out there wasn't enough demand for this. I'm sorry if you were hoping to get it, but we're not moving forward."
That's it. No obligation to build anything.
So what does this mean in practice? If you send an email to 10,000 people and only 5 sign up for your waiting list, you can simply tell those 5 people there wasn't enough interest. But if 500 people sign up? Now we're talking. Not all 500 will buy, but at least you know the idea has legs and it's worth moving forward.
A Real Example That Saved Time and Heartache
I was recently involved with a client who wanted to create an ongoing community for their course graduates. Students always said they loved the community aspect of the courses and wished it could continue after the program ended.
Sounds like a great idea, right?
We sent an email to 200 former students. Only 5 responded with interest.
That's a bad sign. If people don't respond to an online request to join an online community, they aren't interested. This simple test saved my client from spending months building something that wouldn't work.
The Magic Number
So how big should your waiting list be? Here's my rule of thumb: at least five times more people than you need to buy.
If you want 20 students in your course, aim for at least 100 people on your waiting list. If you're selling a high-ticket program ($2,000+), you'll need even more because fewer people are ready to invest at that level.
But here's the thing—getting people on a waiting list is just the first step. There's something you still need to know to ensure you can sell what you are offering.
Part 2: Surveys (Finding Their Heaven and Hell)
Once you have people on your waiting list, don't assume you know why they're there.
I learned this the hard way with a client who created a coaching program for managers. We marketed it directly to managers, and nobody bought. We were shocked.
After digging deeper, we discovered most of the people interested were independent coaches, not managers. The managers would only take programs offered by their company—they weren't the decision makers for their own training.
If we had surveyed our waiting list first, we would have discovered this and could have adjusted our marketing accordingly.
The Two Essential Questions
When surveying your waiting list, always ask these two questions:
"What's the biggest problem or stumbling block in your way in this area?" (This reveals their hell)
"What are you hoping to get out of [your course topic]?" (This reveals their heaven)
You need both. The first question shows you what's frustrating them right now. The second shows you their hopes and dreams—what success looks like to them.
These answers will shape both your course content and your marketing messaging. Miss the target here, and you could end up with dramatically fewer sales or no sales at all.
But we are not done yet, we still have to build something to really know we've found a winner.
Part 3: Small Offers (Your Safety Net)
Even with a solid waiting list and survey data, you could still be wrong about what people want. That's why you need to test with a small offer first.
The best approach? Create a workshop.
Why Workshops Beat Mini-Courses for Testing
I used to recommend selling tiny courses as a test, but I've changed my mind. Here's why workshops are better:
With a mini-course, you don't know where people get stuck. You create content, release it into the world, and hope for the best. But you have no real-time feedback.
With a workshop, you can:
Validate that people will actually pay for your expertise
Test your teaching approach in real-time
See exactly where people struggle
Get immediate feedback and testimonials
Build relationships that lead to bigger sales later
How to Structure Your Test Workshop
Don't try to teach your entire system in one workshop. Instead, focus on one specific element—one stumbling block you can help them overcome.
For example, if your big course is about writing great social media posts, your workshop might focus just on creating compelling hooks. People practice during the session, get feedback from you, and leave with a real skill they can use immediately.
Pricing Your Small Offers
I'll be honest—pricing is a bit of a crapshoot. Here's what I recommend:
Research similar offerings and price yours comparably the first time
Always offer two options: a regular price and a premium price with bonuses
Make the premium only 10% more than regular—this makes the regular price seem reasonable by comparison
The bonuses don't have to be huge. Maybe premium attendees get 30 days of email feedback from you, or access to an extra Q&A session. It just needs to be valuable and move them closer to their goal.
What This All Means for You
Here's the reality: there will always be course ideas that seem brilliant in your head but flop in the real world. The difference between successful course creators and those who burn out after one failed launch is simple—they validate before they build.
This three-step process—waiting list, survey, small offer—creates a safety net that catches bad ideas before you waste months building them. And when you do find a winner? You'll know exactly what your audience wants and how to deliver it.
The small investment in validation always pays dividends in the end, whether it's saving you from a costly mistake or giving you the confidence to build something your audience is already excited to buy.
Want to learn more about building courses that actually sell?
The validation process I've shared today is just one part of creating successful courses. If you're ready to turn your expertise into a structured, engaging program that students love and complete, check out The Atomic Course Blueprint.
It's a simple, repeatable system for creating focused courses that deliver real results—without the usual overwhelm.
Want to lower the risk of your next offer flopping?
The Deep Dive Survey uncovers exactly what your audience wants to buy — before you build a thing. No more wasted time, money, or guesswork.
Learn more about the Deep Dive Survey
Still here? I like you :)
One thing you can do for me is reply to this email (or leave a comment) and tell me: What's one course idea you've been thinking about but haven't validated yet?
I read every reply and your response might inspire a future article.
Course idea: Become Self-Employed