I didn't wait for perfect... I shared the process and it paid off.
What launching a sold out food product taught me about trust, community, and the unexpected power of building in public.
When I launched my delicious ajvar about 3 months ago, even as a creator with an established audience, I still for some reason doubted my ability to sell it.
I assumed I needed a big campaign or a polished brand video to release this into the world.
But I chose not to wait for any of that, and I’m bloody glad I didn’t.
Surprisingly enough (muhahaha) the opportunity to be part of a big campaign came to me shortly after, but it wasn’t there to begin with…
And the biggest driver of sales wasn’t this glossy ad, any sort of cinematic trailer or a fancy brand deck for that matter…
It was showing the process of building the brand to my audience, in an authentic way, from the ground up!
Instead of holding off until I had the “perfect” moment to launch, I started documenting early on. I showed the kitchen tests, the recipe development, and the real scenes of building this thing.
The people who had been engaging with my food content, saving recipes, and following my journey for years were already invested. As well as people who came across my content for the very first time.
Not only did I grab the attention of new audiences, but I also grabbed the attention of several news outlets across the Balkans - All of which you can read if you search “Filip Zecevic Ajvar” in Google (as long as you can read Serbian/Croatian haha)
I was so excited seeing all of these articles come in. There’s so many of them!
Though it did leave me wondering, would I have got all this press if it wasn’t for that first “Building My Ajvar Brand” video? I don’t know, but this seemed to have got them more excited than I ever expected…
You can watch the full video here.
So yeah, it wasn’t a shiny paid ad or some fancy marketing material that helped me generated a hype and buzz that was beyond my imagination.
It was content. Raw, authentic, and relatable content that tells a story.
I always felt shy to “build in public”, and I’m well aware that sometimes it might not be the best choice, but here, it certainly turned out to be.
3 lessons I’ve learnt so far since launching my product:
Trust is more important than traffic: People who’ve seen you show up consistently are more likely to convert. No hard sell needed.
Community is your launchpad: Building an engaged audience before launching a product is the ultimate head start.
Content compounds: Personal stories create a connection no polished or one off highly produced ad can match.
And yes, of course I’m still learning and making mistakes. Plenty of them.
We often underestimate the value of the audience we already have, or the content we are able to create with just our phones.
But if you nurture that community (no matter how big or small) with honesty and consistency, it can become the most powerful part of your business.
Especially if your product is made with delicious roasted red peppers, that people struggle to stay away from ;)
So if you’re waiting for the perfect moment to put something out into the world, don’t.
Start now because your audience is already out there waiting and listening.
You got this x