a single source, nothing corroborates it

Fix the number that means go, then go

Deciding the threshold in advance turns a vague page test into a decision you cannot argue yourself out of. The numbers people set are small and specific, from a hundred addresses inside a fortnight up to a thousand for a paid community, and the traffic sent at the page is treated as the sample. Below the line you stop, above it you build.

The method

1. 01

   Validate with nothing more than a plain landing page describing what the book will contain plus an email form, and set a small number as the go signal.

2. 02

   Put up a landing page with a waiting list and use roughly a thousand collected email addresses as the signal that it is time to open the community.

3. 03

   Put up a page that asks for an email address before the product is finished, and read the signup rate as a proxy for willingness to pay: send a thousand people there and collect nothing and you have your answer.

What it returned

• 100

  100 email addresses inside a week or two, despite low traffic, was enough for him to commit to writing

• Zue's rule of thumb: somebody who will not hand over an email address is very unlikely to hand over money

Sources

• How to create a membership websiteJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · How to launch a membership website · undated
• How Nathan Barry and Sacha Greif Sold $39k Worth of eBooksNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Coming Up With An Idea, And Making Sure It’s Good · 2012-10-03
• Using Coding Skills to Make Passive IncomeCory Zue · coryzue.com · The transcript · 2025-01-14