I have been told I need a thousand-person email list before I launch anything. But building that list could take a year. Should I wait until I have an audience, or can I launch now and grow the audience alongside the product?

Launch now. Building an audience without a product is blogging. Building an audience with a product is business. The product gives your content purpose.

I launched with twelve subscribers. Three bought. That's a 25% conversion rate. I'd rather have twelve engaged people than twelve thousand passive followers.

I did both simultaneously. Every piece of content I created was tied to the product. Not selling constantly, but connecting the dots.

I waited a year to build my list. By the time I launched, my product was outdated and my enthusiasm was gone. The list was big but my energy was low.

Audience building without a product is just content for content's sake. Give people a reason to pay attention.