If you’re trying to sell cold water, you need to find the thirsty people.
Not the ones who might get hot later. Not the ones who should be more hydrated. The ones who already know they’re thirsty right now.
That’s the uncomfortable truth at the heart of marketing—and one that trips up a lot of well-intentioned creators.
Tension Creates Action
You might have the right offer. You might even have the perfect solution. But if your audience doesn’t feel the need yet, they’re not moving.
Trying to sell insight to someone who thinks they already know everything? That’s a dead-end.
Trying to sell prevention to someone who doesn’t believe they’re at risk? Same story.
Aim For The Edges
If you’re bootstrapping a product, a service, or a creative project—you don’t have time or budget to convince everyone. So don’t.
Start with the people who are already feeling the tension.
Find the early adopters. The ones who are eager. Curious. A little dissatisfied with the way things are.
Give them something to talk about. And let them talk.
Because real shifts in behavior or culture don’t start with the mainstream. They start with people on the fringes.
Just like it did with running shoes in the 1970s. Or with personal computers in the ‘80s. Or meatless meals in the 2000s.
The market didn’t move until the edge cases created momentum.
So What Should You Do?
- Find your fringe. Don’t build for everyone. Build for the 5% who care a lot.
- Solve the urgent problem. Not the someday problem.
- Give your early users a reason to spread the word. Make them feel seen and part of the movement, not just the transaction.
Because in the end, bootstrapping isn’t just about creative ways to build without a war chest of cash. It’s about intentionally creating enough tension that people choose to change.
And once that shift starts, the rest of the market tends to follow.
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