Marketing while in development a good idea?
Hi,
I am working on a project on the side but i am long off from where i feel it needs to be before i consider any sort of usages (it will be two parts and the MVP for the first one is almost complete of which i then need to just get some content).
My main question is: I have the domain and i havent done anything regarding marketing, will it be a good idea to get a langing page up with some info asking users to use their email address to then keep them up to date with development and have a user base to promote as well as get onboard for testing in beta now? or get atleast one of the parts out to have them be able to use? (I really suck at marketing and currently just doing development)
Im curious as to how you market and get a userbase while still under development
Thanks!
Hey @TrojanMorse—the answer is yes, you should build an email list. @ckissi mentioned you should have a blog, and that is also an absolute must.
The point is you want to share aspects of your journey with your prospective audience. Your audience is curious about what you're building and what you're learning. I made my books available for pre-order before I started writing them, and each week I'd share updates about what I had written thus far, information about my process, and any frustrations I was experiencing. It kept people interested in a product that was weeks (or months) away from launch, and gave prospective buyers enough information to feel compelled to sign up for my list or pre-order my book.
I am using this a big important part of the journey for me. I updated the trello board that i started and added weekly milestones or have columns that i tend to look at that are somewhat sprint like. At the end of the week, i am going to make a new column but also make or write an article about the things i had done and worked on in the previous week, Adding information about what i was planning, how well it went, issues i came across in the process and with it.
I shouldnt rush it and with time organic traffic will come but for me at the moment its more of the process of building a SaaS company or a personal one and this is something i never did before and it will make me plan and think about things generally thus helping me reach the goals i set for myself. Thank you for this!
I would start with a blog. You will get organic traffic later when your product will be live already and you don't have to wait.
Organic traffic can take up to 6 months - 1 year so it's always a good idea to start sooner.
I actually like this idea! I was thinking of documenting the journey and i feel like this will be a good approach to have things down somehwere. Thank you for this. I dotted this down
I'm also a marketing newbie, but I can tell you that as a user I am happy to sign up to mailing lists for incomplete products if the releases are regular and add value. This might be for a site that already does x,y,z and a,b,c is on the roadmap (and I already like x,y,z and I care about a,b,c). Or it might be a site which looks finished feature-wise but content I care about is going to be released in the future (with at least a sample of that content so I can verify the quality) - so for example a blog that looks good but is also quite new. I hope that helps from a user's perspective!
Hi @mathematico, This helped me alooot. I have issues trying to know the line between when thinking too much if something is a good idea and just doing it. Right now i had an inkling that i should consider making one in the near future and with this, i could use it as a means to help keep others up to date with the process, where things are and how far along i have come maybe on the landing page too (a landing page if you will with a timeline of how far along things are. *which is a cool idea now that i think about it for people wanting to get mails and show progress on the landing page).
So my plan of action as it stands, finish up the last stretch for where i am with the one part of the app and make content for it, have that be part of the things users can view and then the timeline landing page to get users along the journey with me. Thanks for the feedback, It really helped!
The landing page should explain your idea in a way that even a 5-year-old kid can understand. Make use of good illustrations, step by step charts, and keep text to the minimum.
Any person visiting your site will make an impression in under 3 seconds. Show it to your friends and get genuine feedback.
At the end of your landing page, you can request the viewer to submit their email. Instead of posting them about your development, create a blog, and write a few articles about the concept, the problems, and the solutions. Post these blog posts to the viewers who have submitted their email addresses. Don't spam, instead provide value through the content you are posting.
Trust me, you will gather your first few customers through this process. It might look long, but it has been recommended by several successful entrepreneurs.
We at Berlocks have been associated with startups and assisted them through their journey from idea to the first paying customers.
Success is defined by the value you provide to your customers.
Blogging about your journey is a good way indeed.
What is your project about? Why not share here - to get followers if they like the product, to get feedback, get more targeted advice...
I mentioned above on one of the replies but i do think the idea of blogging is a good idea. I am keen on looking on how well i can separate the work i plan on doing in somewhat sprints for myself and at the end of the week take time to assess as well as write out an article or so around the time i had and what i experienced during the development process.
I am planning on getting the product out and sharing it here, The idea is more related to graphic novels. I use to love comics and reading books have always been an interest but never something i made a habit to do. The idea is for me to get a place where one can explorer graphic novel resources, writers and artists can create content and readers can enjoy a story (maybe remade or new).
I will be updating my profile with the product in the next few days as i am planning on sorting out my list of tasks i wish to tackle before making an article. Setting up a domain based on my prev posts and hosting a subdomain to share my thoughts and journey and also have the application development on the site as well as on my profile timeline here.
keep an eye for if not progress, i can atleast shoot loads of questions and look forward to getting the community involved!
If you decide to write a blog, check out this free course to learn what to write to increase the "conversion" effectively.
https://ahrefs.com/academy/blogging-for-business/lesson-1-1
Awesome, Thanks alot. Going to get something to eat and have a look at this. I was planning on looking at how to approach this as i wasnt sure but this put me right on track. Appreciated!