Alright, honest question. Looking back, I think my struggles with getting success for my products is that I enjoy only the creating aspect of making products. I love the rush of making new shiny things – who doesn’t?! Being able to translate a thought, a brain fart, an idea, into something tangible, something that people can poke around and play with, something that might actually be useful to people’s lives or even the world. Isn’t that crazy? That you, one mere person, actually can have enough leverage to have some measure of influence on the lives and work of others. 

I don’t know about you, but that thrill of creation is for me is what makes me scale mountains of code even though I don’t innately take to programming. The ends justify the means, in this case. The destination makes the hardships of the journey worthwhile. 

But that’s also why I make one product after another, and leave a breadcrumb trail of stale products in my wake. I enjoy the rush of making too much, that I neglect the sustained effort needed to make it land on the hands of those who need it the most. For instance, I know that for Sweet Jam Sites and Keto List to succeed, my content creation has to be double or triple of what I currently do. More blog posts, more social media content, more active participation and providing value to online communities. But somehow…I. Just. Can’t. Bring. Myself. To. Write. Them. Blog. Posts. Without which, my organic reach and SEO juice would suffer.

Can one be successful by enjoying the act of creation and not the acts of selling?

Have you ever saw any maker who succeeded just by the strength of the product he made, without doing any marketing and selling?

I really would like to know. Because I keep banging my head against that wall, I’m beginning to wonder if I should flow with my strengths and interests and just keep creating until something sticks, or grind my teeth and just get down to it for marketing…

Making vs marketing. 

Creator vs evangelist. 

Me vs ‘me’.