How do I know which of my creative ideas or products will actually succeed?

You don’t—and that’s the fundamental truth of creative business. The hits are almost never the ones you think will be hits. Projects you pour conviction into sometimes get crickets, while things you do on a whim unexpectedly take off. The way to win isn’t predicting success; it’s controlling your output volume. How many things have you shipped? How many experiments have you put into the world? The more you create and release—whether products, content, or creative experiments—the more chances you have to stumble onto something that resonates powerfully. Focus on consistent creation and testing rather than trying to perfect each idea before launching. Organic discovery through volume beats strategic prediction.

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Asked by artists trying to predict successful products · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2025-08-22