You have a digital product idea, but no audience and zero budget. Should you spend months building it, hoping someone will buy? There’s a better way: pre-selling. This lean approach lets you validate demand before writing a single line of code or recording a video. You’ll learn to test your idea in days, not months.
Why Pre-Selling Beats Building First
Pre-selling validates real customer demand before you invest time and money. You reduce the risk of building something nobody wants, save months of development, and get priceless feedback to shape your final product. It turns guesswork into data.
Imagine spending six months building a detailed online course, only to launch it to crickets. A solo UX designer avoided this by pre-selling a $197 Figma UI kit. She posted a simple concept in a design subreddit and got 12 people to express serious interest before she even started the detailed work. That’s 12 confirmed buyers and a validated idea.
- List three reasons someone would pay for your product idea.
- Find one online community where your potential customers hang out.
- Decide on one specific problem your product will solve.
Steps
Follow this five-step process to validate your digital product idea through a pre-sell. You can complete the core validation in under a week using free tools.
- Define Your MVP Offer
- Build a High-Converting Landing Page
- Drive Your First 100 Visitors
- Collect Pre-Orders & Feedback
- Analyze and Decide — Build or Pivot?
Step 1: Define Your MVP Offer
Your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) offer is the simplest version of your product that still delivers core value. It solves one specific problem for a clearly defined group of people. A vague offer gets vague interest.
Use this template to write your one-sentence value proposition: “I help [target audience] achieve [specific outcome] by providing [your core solution].” For example, “I help freelance writers land high-paying clients by providing a pack of 10 proven proposal templates.”
If you can’t explain your offer in one clear sentence, your audience won’t understand it either.
- Write your one-sentence value proposition using the template.
- Define the single most important outcome for your customer.
- Name your specific target audience (e.g., “freelance writers,” “small cafe owners”).
Step 2: Build a High-Converting Landing Page
You don’t need a complex website. A single landing page with a clear headline, a few bullet points, and a way to collect interest is enough. The goal is to explain the offer and gauge response, not to be perfect.
Use a free tool like Carrd or a simple Gumroad pre-order page. Your page should include:
- A compelling headline stating the main benefit
- 3-4 bullet points detailing what the customer gets
- A clear call-to-action (e.g., “Express Interest,” “Join Waitlist”)
A creator selling a productivity guide used a single Carrd page with a headline, three bullet points, and a Google Form link. It took 30 minutes to set up and generated his first 5 pre-orders.
- Set up a free Carrd account.
- Create a one-page site with your value proposition and 3 bullet points.
- Add a link to a Google Form to collect email addresses.
Step 3: Drive Your First 100 Visitors
With zero audience, you need to find potential customers where they already gather online. The key is to provide value, not just spam your link. Engage in conversations and share your page when relevant.
Focus on these free traffic sources:
- Niche Reddit Communities (Subreddits): Find subreddits for your target audience. Read the rules, participate in discussions, and when appropriate, share your page. A post titled “I’m creating a toolkit for X, would you use it?” can generate 50+ clicks in a few hours.
- Relevant Facebook Groups: Search for groups related to your niche. Answer questions and, if group rules allow, post your landing page with a genuine ask for feedback.
- Twitter Searches: Use Twitter’s search to find people discussing the problem you solve. Reply with helpful advice and a link to your solution if it fits the conversation.
- Find two relevant subreddits and join them.
- Identify three Facebook groups where your audience is active.
- Create a helpful comment in one community today.
Step 4: Collect Pre-Orders & Feedback
How do you collect orders without a finished product? Use a “soft” pre-order system to gauge commitment. This isn’t about processing payments yet; it’s about measuring genuine interest and gathering feedback.
Set up a simple Google Form linked from your landing page. Ask for an email address and include these three key questions:
- What is the single biggest challenge you face regarding [the problem]?
- What would a successful outcome look like for you?
- Is there anything missing from this offer that you were expecting?
This feedback is more valuable than money at this stage. It tells you exactly what to build.
- Create a Google Form with an email field and 3 feedback questions.
- Link the form from your landing page.
- Review the first 5 responses for common themes.
Step 5: Analyze and Decide — Build or Pivot?
This is where you look at the data and make a go/no-go decision. How much interest is enough to proceed? Set a simple, realistic threshold before you start.
A good rule of thumb: if 5 or more people show serious interest (by providing detailed feedback or explicitly saying they’d buy), it’s a strong signal to proceed. If you get zero engagement, consider pivoting your idea or testing a different audience. This method mirrors how Buffer validated their idea before building, by creating a landing page to gauge sign-up interest.
- Set your personal “go” threshold (e.g., 5 interested people).
- Tally the responses from your Google Form.
- Make your build or pivot decision based on the numbers.
Free Pre-Sell Checklist Template
Use this checklist to execute your pre-sell launch quickly. Copy the steps into a new Google Doc or note-taking app to track your progress.
- Define Your Offer
- Write your one-sentence value proposition.
- Identify your specific target customer.
- Build Your Page
- Set up a free Carrd or Gumroad page.
- Add a headline, 3 bullet points, and a call-to-action.
- Drive Traffic
- Share your page in 2 relevant online communities.
- Engage in 3 conversations before posting your link.
- Collect Data
- Monitor your Google Form for responses.
- Read all feedback carefully.
- Decide
- Compare responses to your “go” threshold.
- Commit to building or pivoting.
FAQs
What if no one pre-orders my digital product?
This is a successful outcome! You’ve just saved yourself dozens or hundreds of hours building something the market didn’t want. Use the feedback to understand why it didn’t resonate and pivot to a new idea or a different angle on the same problem.
Can I really pre-sell without any audience or email list?
Yes. Your initial audience comes from actively participating in online communities where your potential customers already are. By providing value and engaging authentically, you can drive targeted visitors to your pre-sell page without a pre-built list.
What’s the minimum viable landing page I need for a pre-sell?
You need one page with a clear headline stating the benefit, 3-4 bullet points explaining what the customer gets, and a simple call-to-action (like a Google Form link) to collect interest. Fancy design and long sales copy are not necessary.
How do I handle payments for a pre-sold product?
For the initial validation phase, avoid collecting money. Use a Google Form to gauge interest. Once you validate demand, you can use a platform like Gumroad to set up a real pre-order where customers pay, which commits them more seriously and gives you funds to build.