My First Product Made $0. The Next 6 Made $37,163. Here’s What Changed.

Spoiler: It wasn’t a new logo. Or a “money mindset meditation.”

Let’s rewind.

Two years ago, I had zero audience, zero marketing skills, and one strong belief:

This online money thing? Total scam.

But I’m a curious little weirdo. So I tested it. Wrote a few blog posts. Nobody read them. Made a product. Nobody bought it. Made another product. Still no one. Silence louder than a Zoom call when the host says, “Any questions?”

Then something shifted.

I stopped guessing. I started studying. Not “How to make passive income while sipping a mojito.” More like: What actually makes people buy?

Here’s what I learned the hard way (so you don’t have to).

Why my first product bombed

My idea was simple.

If I went viral with these tweets, people will obviously pay to know how. So I got to work. Planned out 7 lessons. Felt impressed by all my knowledge. Launched the course: How To Go Viral On Twitter.

Sales $0.

Embarassing I know. Here’s my 3 mistakes.

#1 I had no email list.

I tried to sell directly on social media. That’s like advertising bacon at a vegan retreat.

#2 I had no clue about sales psychology.

Thought people buy because they need something. Turns out, people buy because they feel something.

3# I assumed usefulness = sales.

But here’s the truth: People don’t buy useful. They buy emotional relief.

Here’s where things got interesting.

I may be an idiot. But I’m a quick learner. So here’s what I did next.

Action 1: Built an email list

Started a weekly newsletter. Promoted it everywhere. Because no list = no launch. Period.

Action 2: Studied the psychology of buying

What are they scared of? What do they secretly want? I mapped it out and baked it into my launch emails.

Action 3: Created small, fast-win products.

No epic $497 course that took longer to watch than the Lord Of The Rings box set — deluxe edition.

I sold stuff people could use tonight. My first successful product was a Headline Toolkit. Frameworks and tools that had worked for me. 7 quick modules so people could instantly attract more readers.

Action 4: Sent 10 emails in 10 days.

That’s right not one. Not three. Ten. Yes, I felt annoying. But email #10 still got sales.

These 4 changes made me $1,743. Still needed my day job…But I started walking a little differently.

What I know now (that I wish I knew then)

You can’t sell to strangers on social. You have to build trust via email.

The best product ideas are the ones you’ve already tested in public. (That note everyone commented on? There’s your product.)

$79 is a magic number. Low enough to be an impulse buy. High enough to feel like a win. An ebook? People won’t pay more than $19. But take the same info, turn it into a course, and boom — now it’s $79.

People need a reason to buy now. Urgency. Scarcity. Bonuses. Emotion. Use them.

Your turn

Your first product might flop. Mine did. But that doesn’t mean you suck. It means you’re gathering data. Do it again. Do it better. And when the sales start coming in while you’re in your sweatpants eating toast, you’ll realize…

Oh. This works.

And if you want help speeding that up — I’m teaching everything I’ve learned (the hard way) inside my Digital Product Launch Pad.

We start Monday. It’s live, step-by-step, and made for people who want to create their first product without guessing.

Come join us if that’s you.

Derek

I’ll help you go from “no idea what to write” to “holy crap, people are sharing this.”