Procrastination
Procrastination seems to happen when you feel like your ideas are not going to work or when you’re not quite sure what you’re doing.
Sometimes it happens when you haven’t taken enough time to plan. It can also happen when you feel like you’re not good at a particular part of the process. For instance, if you’ve created a digital product but then you get stuck when creating the sales page. Or if you’ve created the product and the sales page but you aren’t sure how to promote it online.
So you might have created the thing but you haven’t yet put it out there into the world. You’re procrastinating and letting that one part of the process stop you from moving forward.
You’re stopping yourself from completing the entire process from start to finish. (A lot of people get stuck in what’s called the messy middle.)
You’ll know that you’re procrastinating your project when you’d rather clean your entire house than finish up your sales page to sell your digital product. Or you’d rather do something else, like taxes.
Something that I find myself doing is distracting myself with other work. I might distract myself with a new project or work on my bookkeeping because at that moment, anything is better than completing my current project.
Procrastination often stems from fear. There may be things running through your subconscious mind that you’re not aware of, like:
- Feeling like that you’re not good enough,
- Feeling like you don’t know what you’re doing (i.e. technology is tripping you up),
- Fearing that no one will buy your product,
- Fearing that you’ll be annoying,
- Or fearing that people will buy and that you’ll mess everything up after they’ve purchased.
Whichever fear you’re struggling with, it’s good to identify what you’re dealing with and then figure out how you can solve it and get your product out there into the world.
Usually, it’s something small but we make it into a bigger feeling or fear, especially by avoiding it. Once you get your product out there, you’ll realize that the fear was actually nothing to worry about in the first place. (Or you’ll figure out a shortcut or way to deal with it that makes it a non-existent problem.)
Perfectionism
Perfectionism is a form of procrastination, but it warrants its own space here.
When it comes to perfectionism, you want to create something that is magical and lovely, something that people will love. And this is all good and well.
But it’s really not good to put the pressure on yourself so much so that you feel like you have to do it “right” or you can’t do it at all.
You don’t want to get so deep in perfectionism that you feel like if it’s not perfect that you’re not going to put it out there.
Perfectionism can keep you stuck, but you’re the only person who truly knows the ideals that you’ve created for yourself and your product.
The notion of perfect isn’t something that other people will recognize. It’s an imaginary feeling that exists only in your head. So if you release something that’s less than your version of perfect, you’re the only person who is going to know.
You’ll think “it has to be this or it’s not good enough.” But you’re the only person who knows what “this” is.
If you can put aside your feelings of perfectionism and create what I like to call a “rough draft version”, you’ll find that people will still get value out of the product you create. You’ll see that people still love what you create and will still give you great testimonials. Even when your ideals aren’t met.
I strive to always create the “rough draft” version and get my product out there. The thing that I’ve discovered is that when I put something out that I consider a rough draft and then later I decide to go back and tweak that product, I see that I actually did a really good job in the first place. When I go back and look at what I’ve created, I see that it’s actually something that’s valuable.
Can I go back to that rough draft versions and make tweaks? Sure, but it always ends up being icing on the cake.
Release a rough draft version of whatever you’ve dreamed up because someone out there needs it, and because you’ll be able to make money much sooner this way.
Imposter Syndrome
Imposter Syndrome is where you tell yourself that you don’t have the tools to make a passive income product, or that someone else is better or that their product is better.
It’s where an audience member asks you a question and you freak out because you feel like you’re not qualified to answer. Even when you KNOW the answer!
You might even point people to someone else because you feel like they know so much more than you.
The thing to remember is that when people come to you for a solution, they’re coming to you because of you. It’s your personality, your point of view, and your story that attracts them to you.
When it comes to imposter syndrome, you’re limiting yourself. You’re allowing your own feelings to say that you’re not good enough even when you already are. You’re allowing your imperfections to stop you because you believe yourself incapable.
I completely understand these feelings because I deal with them too, but by believing yourself incapable, you’re not helping people who really need you.
The truth is that everyone who is seen as an expert in someway is capable of helping another person. You might assume that you don’t have the best solution, but that person may need your exact solution because it’s the only way that they’ll be able to relate and understand.
Even with your imperfections, you might be the exact thing that people are looking for.
So if you decide that you’re going to create something, then hide… because “who am I to release this thing into the world,” then you’re not helping your people. You’re hiding.
I hope that you will take your strengths and your weakness and bring them together to create something that your people need. Imagine all the people who need your help, and leave the imposter feelings at the door.
Set It & Forget It Approach
This approach is the idea that if you create it, they will come. This is where you decide, “I’m going to make this thing and then never look at it again.” You’re not going to market it or tell people about it.
This is not necessarily the best approach to creating digital products and passive income. The reason why it’s not the best approach is that you need to evaluate whether or not it’s working. You need to get feedback on your product and make sure that it’s helping people with the problem they have.
You need to also see how the product is converting to sales. You’ll want to look at things like email open rates, how many people have visited your sales page, and more.
You can’t create your product and then never look at it again. Especially when you’re not getting the sales that you want. You’ll want to look back and see what you can tweak and improve. Once you get your product where it’s selling a decent amount, then you can move on to creating a new product. Trust me on this one, because I’ve made this mistake.
When you look at the different stats, you can make conversion rates better and ultimately get more sales. You have to continually look at what you’re doing, in order to create more money and a better impact. I’ve seen some people work on one product for an entire year before moving on to a new product.
By looking at how your product is doing and how people are responding, you’ll be able to see where things aren’t working out and make things better.
I know that it’s hard to deal with beliefs that limit you and your progress. We all struggle with some version of these beliefs (even the people who don’t really show it outwardly). Take some time to pinpoint which beliefs are keeping you stuck and work on improving these things so you can move forward.
I’d love to help you with these beliefs and help you to create passive income from digital products. Leave a comment in the comment section below and let me know which one you’re struggling with!
