Product-Market Fit: You built it, but will they buy it?

Jul 19

Product-market fit is what turns great ideas into great businesses. And not having it? That’s what keeps brilliant founders stuck in a loop of scrapped concepts and half-baked launches.

If you’re second-guessing your product, endlessly tweaking your offer, or still asking “why didn’t they buy?” PAUSE. Before you torch your timeline or throw in the towel, we want you to consider something else: Is it the product or the positioning?

The more you understand product-market fit, the better you can position what you're selling. The sharper your message becomes. And the easier it is for your people to say, “Finally! THIS is what I’ve been looking for.”

So if that’s your goal, you’ll want to take notes on:

Understanding what product-market fit really means (outside the jargon)

How to know if you’ve got it—or not
Using content to validate, test, and shape your offer
Evolving your message once you’ve found the fit

Let’s start here↓

How to Know If You Have Product-Market Fit (and What to Do Next)

Even though it sounds like something a marketing bro would totally overcomplicate, it’s actually pretty simple. It happens when:

Your product solves a clear, urgent, or deeply annoying problem
For a specific group of people
Who are willing to pay to make that problem go away

And when all of that clicks into place? It means you’re not hunting for people to sell to, they’re desperately searching for you. You’re not forcing demand. It’s already there.

When you hit product-market fit, the content you’ve been sweating over becomes much easier to create and wouldn’t you know it? It starts actually working.

★ Keep this in mind as you’re reading: A flopped launch isn’t a failure. It’s a pile of feedback. The kind that helps you build something better.

5 Signs You Do Have Product-Market Fit

1. Your audience is talking back. You're getting DMs, replies, and feedback. People aren’t just following along, they’re taking part.

2. Sales feel like a pull, not a push. You're not convincing people. They're convincing themselves.

3. You’re getting referrals without asking. People are so hyped about your offer, they’re sharing it with friends (who are also probably in need of what you’re selling).

4. You’re not stuck in explanation mode. People “get it” quickly. You’re not fighting to prove your value.

5. You’re seeing repeat buyers or renewals. Happy customers come back. Period.

Is that you? First of all, hell yeah. Second, skip down to this part where we talk about dialing in your messaging.

5 Signs You Don’t (Yet)

1. Steady traffic & engagement, no conversions. People are curious, but not convinced.

2. Confused leads. You’re getting the wrong people in your DMs or on discovery calls—and they don’t get what you do.

3. No real urgency to buy. People like your content… but they ghost when it’s time to pay up.

4. Low engagement across the board. Your posts are floating in cyberspace with no traction.

5. Your offer keeps changing. You keep tweaking, reworking, and guessing because you don’t know what’s off.

If any of that sounds familiar, it doesn’t mean your product isn’t good. But it *does* mean you’ve got some digging to do.

How to Use a Content Marketing Strategy to Find (& Validate) Your Product-Market Fit

The truth about launching a product or service? Content is your research! When you treat content like a data tool (not just a megaphone of selling and promos), suddenly the answers are right in your DMs, your inbox, and your insights.

Here’s how you can use content as a filter for demand (and examples of brands who are doing it right):

Feedback Mining

Comb through reviews, testimonials, past client notes, and even your DMs.
Monitor reviews and engagement from competitor accounts
Look for patterns in language, pain points, objections, and outcomes.
Use that insight to adjust how you position what you sell.

Fenty Beauty didn’t just guess: they listened. Consumers felt their skin tone was underrepresented in the make-up industry and couldn’t find foundation shades that worked for them. Fenty launched with 40. Market fit verified.

Build a Waitlist

Create a low-lift landing page to pitch the *idea*.
Let people sign up to hear more—or even pre-order.
Bonus points if you include a follow-up survey that asks, “What made you want to sign up?”

Example: Touchland (yes, THAT hand sanitizer brand) used a waitlist after their Kickstarter and got 34,000 signups on their site before the product dropped.

Ask Why They Didn’t Buy

Got an abandoned cart list? Send a gentle “Hey, just curious…” email.
Non-buyers from a sales funnel? Try a 2-minute feedback form.

We’ve sent “hey, be honest” emails that sparked the exact changes our clients needed to rework their offers (and yes, we kept it anonymous).

Beta It, Baby

Give early access or discounts to dream customers.
Ask for honest feedback and use it in your content.

Oura Ring, the first of its kind smart ring, has a membership program called Oura Labs, where members get first access to new experimental features in exchange for feedback! GENIUS!

Samples, Trials & Low-Lift Wins

Physical products? Try a discovery kit or “just pay shipping” offer to test demand.
Digital products? Try a high-value lead magnet for free downloads.
Offer services? Promote free trials, bonus with purchase,

Back when Eight Saints was getting started, they offered a 12-piece skincare sample kit for just the price of shipping. It gave curious customers a low-risk way to try the line AND gave the brand a tidal wave of reviews and feedback.

Turn Your Content Into a Research Tool

Run polls, Q&As, or “would you buy this?” posts.
Use email replies and DMs to test language, features, and benefits.
Add a quiz to get inside your audience’s head (and segment smarter).

Cassey Ho of Blogilates and PopFlex Active doesn’t just post product shots—she co-creates with her audience, then sells it back to them. A FOUNDER QUEEN!

Product-Market fit? ✔ Smart positioning? ✔ Now what?

Now it’s about visibility, messaging, and momentum.

You need a message that evolves with the market and the content strategy to carry it.

And what got you traction won’t keep it! Not when buyer behavior, market expectations, and your own goals are shifting by the minute.

When you do content marketing right, it’s a continuous loop that fuels itself.

You prime your audience before you drop
You launch with strategy, not messy action
And then? You keep showing up so the momentum never fizzles after carts close

Product-market fit + smart positioning is proof that your offer matters. But content is how you prove it over and over again.

It’s how you:

Build relevance and recognition before you ever pitch
Shift your message as your audience moves through awareness stages
Keep leads warm between launches
Make sure the next thing sells better than the last

That’s exactly what we do at Her Content Co.

We don’t just launch products—we tap into, nurture, and call in audiences that can’t wait to buy. Whether you're refining, launching, or scaling, we build the content strategy that keeps you in demand.

Let’s build your next sellout together → [Launch With Us]
Keep the momentum going → [View Our Content Marketing Services]

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