Why I Didn’t Wait for 10K Followers to Start Selling

Introduction

Hey there. Let me say this right up front: you do not need 10,000 followers to start selling your digital products. You don’t even need 1,000. I’m living proof of that. I started my shop, launched my templates, and started making real income with a small but engaged audience. And in today’s blog post, I want to tell you exactly why I I didn’t wait for 10k followers to start selling and chose to start before I felt “ready” and how you can do the same.

This isn’t just about sales; it’s about mindset, clarity, and honoring the version of you who’s ready to build a life and business with meaning. If you’ve ever told yourself you need to grow a big audience before making an offer, this post is for you.

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The Follower Count Trap (And Why I Stepped Around It)

I used to think that 10K followers was the magic number. And Instagram was the magic platform. You know the one where a big number gives you validation with brand collaborations and more features. 10k was the proof that you’re “legit.” But after months of trying to hit that number, I got burned out. I realized something:

An high audience doesn’t equal buyers. They were present today and gone tomorrow. I needed my tribe whom I could talk to. Clarity + connection matter more than 10k followers.

What changed everything for me was understanding that the real asset wasn’t how many people were watching—but how well I helped the people already there. Selling was always a footnote. My sales came from unexpected quarters, people who observed without engaging and bought my templates. I am the living proof that waiting for a magic number of followers was not needed, even when some creators tried to shame you for the same.

Here are other reasons why waiting doesn’t work:

• Algorithms change. Your audience might grow slowly.
• You delay your learning curve by postponing your launch.
• You miss serving the people who are already paying attention.
• You build content fatigue without direction or conversion.

Pro Tip: Start viewing your audience as people, not just numbers. Each follower is a human with a problem you can solve.

Small Audience, Real Sales

When I first launched my Pinterest templates, I had under 1,000 followers across platforms. My email list? Maybe less than 100 people. And yet, I made sales within the first month.

Someone told me even if I had 20 subscribers, they were 20 who were loyal to me and loved reading my emails. Wouldn’t you be happy in real life if 20 people complimented you? Then why feel sad when there are only 20 followers who stay with you in your journey and genuinely interact with you.

Here’s why that worked:

• I knew exactly who my templates were for
• I positioned them clearly (less fluff, more benefit)
• I talked about them consistently on one platform without sounding salesy
• I prioritized ease and trust over polish and perfection

You don’t need a crowd; you need clarity. And once I stopped tying my worth to a metric, my content became more magnetic.

Pro Tip: If you wouldn’t wait for 10K people to tell you you’re good enough, don’t wait to sell either.

What Helped Me Sell with a Small Audience

If you’re wondering what you can do while your audience is growing, here are a few simple strategies that helped me:

1. Solved one clear problem

• I didn’t try to help everyone. I created products for tired professionals who were starting their service-based business in the minimal time they had after a 9-5 job and family responsibilities. Creators and bloggers who needed elegant, strategic Pinterest templates.
• I spoke directly to their real-life frustrations and made their life easy.
• My Templates helped them make 12 – 15 pins in 30 minutes which they could easily schedule over a weekend and not bother about it over the week.

2. Use content to build desire and trust

• My posts weren’t about me; they were about them.
• I created products that made my life easier, and I knew they could do the same for someone else.
• I focused on making templates and guides I would have loved to have when I was just starting out.

3. Trust your own experience

• I didn’t wait because I created products I wish I had when I was starting out. These were tools I would have loved 7 years ago when everything felt overwhelming—simple, clear, supportive resources made by someone who understood the struggle.
• I trusted my past version’s struggles to inform what others might need now.
• I knew if I needed those tools back then, someone else would need them too now.

Pro Tip: Treat every content piece as a gentle bridge to your offer. You don’t need a launch runway—you need a human connection.

Myths I Had to Let Go Of

We all carry limiting beliefs, and these are the ones I had to unlearn:

• Myth 1: You have to be an expert Truth: You just need to be a few steps ahead.
• Myth 2: Selling too early looks desperate Truth: Selling is service when done with honesty and heart.
• Myth 3: People will only buy if they’ve followed you for months Truth: I’ve had new followers buy from me the same day—because the product met their need.
• Myth 4: You need fancy tech or funnels Truth: I started with Canva, Shopify, and an email list.

Pro Tip: Don’t build your business on myths. Build it on conversations, curiosity, and kindness.

Mindset Matters: Detached Yet Passionate

When it comes to selling digital products, I’ve learned to maintain a healthy level of detachment. This came with experience. While I pour my heart and soul into creating my products—because I genuinely believe in them and the value they provide—over the years, I ‘ve stopped tying my sense of worth to their success or failure. Once they are in my shop, I disconnect from them emotionally.

Slow sales or no-sale days don’t faze me anymore. For me, my business is a tool that helps fund the life I want to live, but it doesn’t define me. Even today, I see so many people online, especially in Threads, stressing over every sale (or lack of one), sometimes even asking for “pity sales” out of desperation. While I understand the frustration, I firmly believe that building a business should come from a place of confidence and peace—not from emotional attachment to the outcome and then getting overly hyper about it.

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The Power of Your First Offer

Your first product is more than a product—it’s proof. Proof to yourself that you can:

• Build and launch something valuable
• Support someone through your skill
• Generate income without a massive following

It becomes a confidence anchor. And you don’t need a polished shop to begin—just a simple PDF, template, or guide that helps someone take action.

Here’s what mine looked like:

• Simple Canva templates with styled fonts
• A short description, a few visuals, and a checkout link
• I posted about it 2-3x a week

Pro Tip: Don’t aim for perfect. Aim for useful, beautiful, and accessible.

What to Focus on Instead of Follower Count

So if you’re not chasing 10K, what should you focus on?

1. Building a list

• Even a small list of 50 engaged people can convert.
• Offer a freebie aligned with your digital product (guide, checklist, swipe file).

2. Positioning your offer

• Who is it for?
• What pain point does it solve?
• Why now?

3. Story-based content

• Share your journey: why you made it, what problem it solves, who it’s for.

4. Leaning into evergreen platforms

• I used Pinterest and my blog to drive quiet, steady traffic.
• I started building my email list from my first blog.

It was not easy to write a newsletter and have a new topic to keep my subscribers engaged. There were days when I had no ideas, and the whole of social media gave me nothing.

Yes, I was completely blank, and this happened last week. You know what I did? I wrote about that. I became vulnerable and told my audience I was overwhelmed and then asked them about any new information or hacks they had, and all of them still opened my email and read through it. Some even gave me solutions to deal with my stress headache.

Pro Tip: Ask yourself, “Would I buy this if I had this problem?” If yes, someone else will too.

If You’re Still Hesitating…

I want to tell you something I wish I’d heard earlier:

You don’t need permission to begin.

You don’t need to hit an arbitrary number to be worthy of launching your ideas into the world. If you’ve been serving, creating, listening, and learning—you are ready.

And the longer you wait, the longer your people go without the help you could be offering.

Pro Tip: Courage isn’t waiting until you feel ready. It’s acting even when you don’t.

Wrapping it up

I didn’t wait for 10K because I didn’t want a business built on validation, but one built on value. I chose to serve the 100 people who were already there instead of chasing the 10K who weren’t.

And guess what? That decision brought me:

• Sales
• Confidence
• Client inquiries
• And more meaningful growth than any viral reel ever did

You’re allowed to start small, sell even with 87 followers. You’re allowed to be visible before you feel “worthy.”

Because worthiness isn’t a metric. It’s a mindset.

Let your work be seen. Your product be shared. Most importantly, let your business be small and sincere.

You don’t need 10K to get started. You just need one person who needs what you have.

And I promise you—they’re already out there.

You’ve got this.

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