Is collecting emails pre-launch overrated?
To be clear, I'm not sure that statement is true. I'm looking to get the thoughts of other indie hackers.
I recently started sharing my pre-launch landing page at https://airvoute.com. I've been able to collect some emails and great feedback, so that's obviously amazing.
What I'm wondering, however, is if this really is the correct approach. I know it's currently a "best practice", but wouldn't it be better to wait until I have a functioning beta version for people to try out instead of only being able to read a small paragraph?
In other words, when I'm reaching out to other makers and freelancers (my target customers), wouldn't it be better to keep that "outreach goodwill" for something that they can actually try?
I would love to get your thoughts!
There's some good notes in the comments but I think there's a lot of skipping over why an email list is a best practice.
Making a sale isn't a single event. There are at least 7 things that need to happen before someone buys your product or service:
In many cases there are even more steps, but these are the ones that need to happen for every sale. In some cases they'll happen quickly and silently, so it will seem like they aren't happening. In some cases, they won't happen because you have no way of seeing them (no metrics/analytics can detect many of these events).
And for some people, they'll need to experience each of these things more than once before they buy!
The speed and timing will be different for different customers. And different products. Different traffic sources. Different days of the week. So many variables!
So the VALUE of an email list is that it gives you more surface area to make sure each event can happen. More time and chances to earn trust. More time and chances to improve your message. More time and chances to fix mistakes.
The VALUE of an email list is to earn trust and build a relationship with the customer. My favorite way to think about it is "earning the sale before you make the sale."
I actually disagree that the biggest value of an email list is getting "customer feedback" - folks don't sign up to email lists to do YOUR job, they sign up for your list to get valuable stuff from you.
Make your list about them. For them. Treat it like a VIP club for your audience instead of a piggy bank for your product. That's what'll earns you the sales when you have something to launch.
Wow that was amazing @alexhillman, thanks!
That last trigger: "they need to complete the purchase now, and not set it aside as something they’ll do later" is something I definitely need to track given the nature of my product.
Love your perspective on building trust and treating the list as a VIP club.
This is great food for thought, so actionable. Thanks again!
🙌 excellent
Wow, mega offtop, but I LOVE the execution of the landing.
Super clean and classy.
Thanks, means a lot!
Can I ask, why is limited to entrepreneurs, freelancers and creators?
These are the segments with obvious use cases to me. Who else do you think could make use of this? :)
I fail to understand why is obvious that freelancers and creators are your target group. "Leave instructions in case something happens to you" indicate that service is for someone that want or need to prepare the important documents, papers, data, legal and private information for someone in the family, something like online testament until real one is made with a lawyer. So, following some logic I would say that this is service for literally anyone, life happens, accidents happens. Main group would be maybe elders, 55+, also people with risky jobs, etc, and somehow entrepreneurs are not coming to mind as risky category. That said, I think that limiting user cases in the copy is not really the best solution, unconsciously many others who are not in written groups will not join.
Appreciate your input. Actually, the platform will be geared more towards planning a transition for matters like clients, servers/databases, online services, published content, etc. The goal is certainly not to compete with a will/testament, it's meant as a complement for what a will/testament does not cover.
Tbh, the reason why I feel like entrepreneurs/freelancers need this is because on my previous project I needed this for myself but couldn't find anything like it. I'm scratching my own itch.
So while you're definitely not wrong in saying other segments could use this, I'd rather start with a well-defined niche than try to "boil the ocean" by targeting everyone and anyone!
Cheers!
Ah, ok. It was unclear (for me at least) that service is oriented towards planning a transitions in business matter.
I think the most important point is that having a pre-launch page where you get emails and their feedback leads to your idea validation.
I have seen some SAAS companies only put up a pre-launch page for months while the team works on the software and add features based on user feedback to refine the product.
Yes, getting feedback from these people is crucial, I'll need to find the right balance between asking relevant questions and not being annoying. Thanks for your input!
The thing is when collecting emails before you launch, is that you already have some folks how can try out your product as soon as you notify them.
I launched my product targetaudience.app last Sunday with a subscribers list of only 60 people but approximately 25 people signed up. 15 of them within the first hour! So if I wouldn’t have collected emails I would start recruiting users from this week.
Love this! Glad to see that the approach works, I'll carry on with collecting emails. :)
Hi Lukas,
I don't think it's an issue. I think you should collect and maybe make sure to write often enough that when you finally do write, you're not considered spam.
If people sign up it's because their interested and it's safe to assume they'd be interested in hearing about progress etc.
Agreed, writing often so as to not sound like spam is the way to go!
It doesn't seem like you're losing goodwill - your landing page is clear that it's not ready.
I think one of the key differences is what you do with those e-mail addresses. If you send them a bunch of e-mails with useless content, they might come to resent it or unsubscribe. But if you're sending them updates or valuable content, they'll appreciate it.
Last, I'd highly recommend reading an overview of The Mom Test, and maybe buy it if it seems like something you could learn from. The reason: you might be able to interview people that have shown interest to see if you're solving a critical problem to them, how they're currently handling it, etc. Having those contacts could lead to a better product, and might give you a small network to help promote it once it's live :)
Thanks for your input @AndrewV! I agree that what I do with the emails is what's most important.
I've heard great things about The Mom Test and had even begun reading it a while back if I remember correctly. Your comment makes me want to jump back in.
Cheers!
I'll be honest, I still have trouble applying what I learned from it.
The biggest point of the book, for people starting, is to talk to a lot of people, and ask the right questions to properly validate. But it's still difficult for me to talk to a lot of people! :)
That's why I tend to think what you're doing is going in the right direction. You're getting a list of people who have shown interest in what you're doing.
I think this is a great summary, to give you an idea if of whether you should dig into the book or not:
https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/the-mom-test/
Wow, that's an amazing summary, I'm reading it now!
It's kind of fascinating how some things are easy to read and so hard to actually implement. You struggling to talk to lots of people is us all.
I guess it's because The Mom Test is super counter-intuitive. You need to rewire your brain and that's always difficult.
In the startup/makers world we're used to people talking about the "idea they're working on", not the "problem they're solving".
All in all, great insights! I'll stay the course with my current email-collecting landing page until my beta is ready.
I like your idea, simple but useful: Leave instructions in case something happens to you. However, this doesn't seem like a new idea. How are you going to be different?
You are taking the correct approach to quickly validate the idea. If you get enough signups you know its worth spending more time on developing the product. Then you can create a beta site and ask signups to test it. You could also give early adopters free access for their help and support.
Quick question: How would the site know you have died?
Leaving instructions is certainly not a new idea, but I couldn't find anyone who implemented the process correctly for modern makers/freelancers/consultants when I most needed it recently. So what makes Airvoute different: (super) easy to use/share, ultra-secure and affordable.
Thanks for your input on what I've been doing so far. I think I will indeed stay the course over the next few weeks as I'm finishing building the product.
Giving free access to early adopters is also something I'll consider.
P.S. To answer your last question: it's the contact (a close relative) who makes an access request to your vault if you're dead/injured. The site sends you multiple emails to confirm the request is legitimate (ie. you don't answer) before providing the contact access to the vault.
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"what’s the quickest thing I can do to learn SOMETHING."
Completely agree, but had never thought of it that way.
Thanks for framing things this way :)