Why you should ‘build out loud’

‘Building out loud’ is an excellent strategy for anyone creating a new product (such as an online course) for their business.

By this, we mean sharing your ideas, your progress and success publicly as you go along. For example, instead of sharing your ideas just with your close friends and family, tell the world what you’re getting up to through social media.

Why does it work?

There are several good reasons to do this:

#1 You can canvas the opinion of your idea/product before you’ve put a single spade in the ground. This way you’ll have an immediate sense of what’s important and what ain’t.

#2 If you get little or no feedback, this is either because you don’t have an audience, or the pitch you making simply isn’t resonating.

#3 If it’s the former, then that’ll force you to start creating connections and generating interest in what you do. It feels natural to get straight on with creating your product, but if you don’t have anyone paying any attention to what you’re doing then you’re going to find it touch. Build your audience while you are building your product.

#4 If it’s your value proposition that isn’t hitting home, then you have the chance to tweak and refine this. Ask yourself why it’s not working, and what alternatives you can test.

#5 It helps you build deeper connections with your audience. Sharing the lows and the highs builds trust and stronger relationships. People will want you to succeed and will be more likely to support you in your mission.

#6 It primes sales for your launch. There’s nothing worse than launching to silence, so this way you can be sure you’ll have interest in what you’re doing before you go live. Just make sure you capture emails for marketing and nurture these relationships outside of social media.

#7 It forces you to commit and take action. Once you’ve shared you’re idea you’ll want to see it through, especially if you’ve committed to a specific timeframe.

Pro tip: Don’t worry that people will steal your idea. Execution is everything and only you can turn your idea into a product in the way that reflects you and your brand.

Andy Jack

Andy loves helping subject experts, authors, speakers, coaches and key persons of influence to monetise their expertise with online learning. When not on his laptop, he'll usually be found up a mountain!