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Ask HN: please review my site - Marrily.com

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Re: Ask HN: please review my site - Marrily.com

#61

Post by timtadh »

sr3d wrote: post #27
timtadh wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also: "Choose and book ceremony musicians, a wedding band/ DJ, photographer/videographer, caterer and florist (Photography)" This is several unrelated items grouped into one item. For instance, I have a caterer, photographer, and florist, but need to book a DJ. When I start using your service the first thing I interact with (and the main content so far seems to be this checklist) it needs be really good, because thes…

Thanks for the comment about the checklist. The default checklist that you see comes from a template of items, and some of them probably need some more tweaking. Truthfully I got the list from other sites online (oops! don't tell anyone) and I haven't really re-write it yet. Wrapping up the app for the launch has really kept me busy. Can I contact you via email to get more opinions on the checklist?

sure, I went through most of it earlier.

Re: Ask HN: please review my site - Marrily.com

#62

Post by bdickason »

sr3d wrote: post #32
bdickason wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Initial feedback - Once I register, I see a dashboard that doesn't guide me anywhere. Even the 'what to do next' in the bottom left doesn't give me any REASON to do any of these things. Instead of "Update your Event Settings" How about - "Add your caterer?" or "Enter your first menu item." something more actionable than 'update x/y.' At least one of these should be up at the top when you first login. Like this: Do th…

Thanks for the feedback on the dashboard. Based on your comment, the dashboard is probably not very clear about what you should proceed next. I'm thinking about converting the static suggestion list (yes, it's just a static list at the moment... blushed :">) into a checklist to help guide user around the app, and users can check things off (e.g. Setup Food Options, Enter Venue Address, etc.) as they use with the appl…

Sure, as long as I can contact you via email for feedback on one of my projects in the near future :)

Re: Ask HN: please review my site - Marrily.com

#63

Post by zackola »

I definitely would have found this very helpful when I got married. Too bad you didn't release it last year!

- It would be awesome if you could print your own table place cards directly from the table arrangement section. Or at least export your guest list to Excel so you can mail merge it.

- The vendors page needs some sort of spreadsheet/table like interface so you can compare costs of vendors you are vetting but haven't necessarily selected yet.

Re: Ask HN: please review my site - Marrily.com

#64

Post by sr3d »

zackola wrote: post #63

I definitely would have found this very helpful when I got married. Too bad you didn't release it last year! - It would be awesome if you could print your own table place cards directly from the table arrangement section. Or at least export your guest list to Excel so you can mail merge it. - The vendors page needs some sort of spreadsheet/table like interface so you can compare costs of vendors you are vetting but h…

Can I pick your brain about how the table place cards would look like? Is it like a tent card with people's names on it so that the guests can find out who else is sitting on the same table?

The contacts/guests export feature is planned for, since I figure users may need to grab the existing data to give to their vendors, or to do mail merge as you suggested.

Thanks for the comment on the Vendor page. I was thinking this page is like a mini-CRM that user can track their vendors' contacts info. I haven't thought much about the vendors feature comparison, but it's definitely be a cool feature to have.

Sorry about the late launch of Marrily. It took me 3 years to get to this point. But I hope that with your feedback, I can help other people with their weddings. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: please review my site - Marrily.com

#65

Post by sr3d »

mqmouse wrote: post #34

I think your app suffers from the same problem my startup app has, which is the empty canvas problem. So basically your app seems to allude to a lot of power and functionality, which is paradoxically a little intimidating for a new user. Basically, where do I start? You have a lot of choices in the "what do to next" section. What happens a lot of the time is the user says: Wow! what a cool application! Seems powerful…

hi MqMouse, thanks for the feedback. Do you mind sharing your startup? I'd love to take a look and see how you solves this empty canvas problem.

I was thinking about building a wizard to force people into populating their settings, but on the other hand, I want to let users use Marrily at their own pace, instead of stopping them at a lengthy sign up/setup process. I ended up with just one screen to let users create a new default event at the beginning. I guess it's about balancing the flow so that users can feel that they are engaging and not being forced to do certain things to get started.

I wonder if there's title for a "web application director", or a "web site editor" like in film to direct how the app would feel like, not just the UI is working, but the whole site can work cohesively and have the right the flow to it. A UX person maybe?

Re: Ask HN: please review my site - Marrily.com

#66

Post by sr3d »

bdickason wrote: post #62
sr3d wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the feedback on the dashboard. Based on your comment, the dashboard is probably not very clear about what you should proceed next. I'm thinking about converting the static suggestion list (yes, it's just a static list at the moment... blushed :">) into a checklist to help guide user around the app, and users can check things off (e.g. Setup Food Options, Enter Venue Address, etc.) as they use with the appl…

Sure, as long as I can contact you via email for feedback on one of my projects in the near future :)

Absolutely. I'd love to talk to other HNers. I've had great success meeting awesome people here. My skype/YM is alexnhatle. Hit me up anytime. Cheers!

Re: Ask HN: please review my site - Marrily.com

#67

Post by exline »

sr3d wrote: post #57
notahacker wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree; monthly fees make little sense. A big one-time fee might be reasonable in theory given that weddings are expensive anyway, but tricky if users cant see the value without using the service (a lot cheaper than a dress or a cake; but they're necessities and you know what you're ordering). I'd have thought advertising or big affiliate commissions from wedding service/gift providers would be an easier way t…

My thinking is that a wedding on average is planned 6 months in advanced. So at $12.79/month (this is the pricing point I have in mind), the total will be $76.74 per user. Of course it doesn't make sense for users to pay after their wedding is over. My plan is to "freeze" the account if once user decided to stop paying, however, I'd still let users to login and visit their account page, they just can't make any chang…

Can you provide some of the reasoning that led you to the $12.79 amount. That is a rather odd amount, but it seems like you have a reason for it and I'm curious as to what it is.

I agree it sucks to get locked out when your trail runs out. I think your idea of locked down afterwards is a better idea.

Re: Ask HN: please review my site - Marrily.com

#68

Post by owkaye »

sr3d wrote: post #57
notahacker wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree; monthly fees make little sense. A big one-time fee might be reasonable in theory given that weddings are expensive anyway, but tricky if users cant see the value without using the service (a lot cheaper than a dress or a cake; but they're necessities and you know what you're ordering). I'd have thought advertising or big affiliate commissions from wedding service/gift providers would be an easier way t…

My thinking is that a wedding on average is planned 6 months in advanced. So at $12.79/month (this is the pricing point I have in mind), the total will be $76.74 per user. Of course it doesn't make sense for users to pay after their wedding is over. My plan is to "freeze" the account if once user decided to stop paying, however, I'd still let users to login and visit their account page, they just can't make any chang…

I think you should just charge $99 as a one-time fee and forget about the monthly payment options. Just make the service worth it, that's all.

Re: Ask HN: please review my site - Marrily.com

#69

Post by sr3d »

exline wrote: post #67
sr3d wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My thinking is that a wedding on average is planned 6 months in advanced. So at $12.79/month (this is the pricing point I have in mind), the total will be $76.74 per user. Of course it doesn't make sense for users to pay after their wedding is over. My plan is to "freeze" the account if once user decided to stop paying, however, I'd still let users to login and visit their account page, they just can't make any chang…

Can you provide some of the reasoning that led you to the $12.79 amount. That is a rather odd amount, but it seems like you have a reason for it and I'm curious as to what it is. I agree it sucks to get locked out when your trail runs out. I think your idea of locked down afterwards is a better idea.

Hi Exline,

I always wanted to have a number between $10 and $15 so that it's more like a casual price that won't make people cringe to fork out their money. In my survey (http://marrily.com/survey), $10 - $15 is also the range that people are willing to pay as well.

A few response said they want to a price in the $5 - $10 rang, however, this price is too low, and in my opinion, it would affect user's perception of the application. They would think "you get what you pay for". Having a low $7.99 or $6.99 will probably hurt the app more than helping with cheaper price/higher volume. Based on my own experience (I was a paid customer to 37Signals basecamp for the longest time), at the end of the day, the difference between $7.99 and $12.79 isn't that much. I was willing to pay 37Signals $12 as much as I would if they priced it at $5.00. However, it's a huge difference in terms of revenue (a 37.5% loss in potential revenue).

I read somewhere that prices that end in 9, .99, and .79 work best. The Appstore probably an amazing demonstration of this: 99c apps do sell, and so do $9.99 apps for the iPad. However, I want to go with a price that works and not as as common. So I pick .79. And I'm superstitious as well, 13 is a bad number, so I don't want $13.79 (furthermore, (1+3+7+9) mod 10 = 0, not sure if it's good or bad here). $14.79 is a bit high (I probably have to do A/B split tests once the site got more tractions to test this price point though), while $11.79 is a bit on the low side. $12.79 is the perfect number.

However, all these come from a guy who has never sold anything in his life. So don't count on my words. I'm still in the experimenting phase, but I'd love to share my results afterward.

Cheers!

Edit: For 13.79, the sum of all the numbers mod 10 is 0, in baccarat, that's the worst hand you can possibly have. So definitely not $13.79 for the price.

Re: Ask HN: please review my site - Marrily.com

#70

Post by exline »

sr3d wrote: post #69
exline wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you provide some of the reasoning that led you to the $12.79 amount. That is a rather odd amount, but it seems like you have a reason for it and I'm curious as to what it is. I agree it sucks to get locked out when your trail runs out. I think your idea of locked down afterwards is a better idea.

Hi Exline, I always wanted to have a number between $10 and $15 so that it's more like a casual price that won't make people cringe to fork out their money. In my survey ( http://marrily.com/survey ), $10 - $15 is also the range that people are willing to pay as well. A few response said they want to a price in the $5 - $10 rang, however, this price is too low, and in my opinion, it would affect user's perception of…

Thanks for details. I know about ending with .99 but had not heard of .79 but it falls under the same rules. Even though I know this, as a consumer I don't like it so I charge an even $25.

I think the difference between basecamp and your app is B2B vs B2C. I happily pay for things that help my business grow. I'm more hesitant to pay for things as a consumer. RIO is easer to justify to business. But that said, I think there is enough pain in the wedding planning processes that you can find the right price point.

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