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Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?
11–20 of 270 posts
Re: Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why not post it right here? Most HN users are developers.
I did. It didn’t even reach the Show HN page. And I don’t want to spam by repeat-posting...
This is definitely interesting but i imagine i wud use it so rarely that it wudnt warrant an install :(
Re: Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?
#13Start by saying what it does and posting a link (or at least adding a link into your profile)? Pro tip: add a call to action to your description.
I'm not kidding.
For you it's an exercise to describe it.
For us it's 1) a way to see it (which is what you want), and 2) even if we're not interested, we could give more precise suggestions.
Re: Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?
#14It looks like you're targeting a very specific niche. I don't think you can just assume your target audience is going to seek this one out. You'll have to be active in getting in contact with your potential users and help them see the value you are providing to drive early adoption.
Yes, this was what I realized too. What do you think the best way of doing this is though? I need to 1. find potential users 2. Get in touch with them 3. Convince them that a half baked product will eventually solve their problems. Going one on one seems easy but with limited reach, while “trying to build an audience” seems hard but with more upside.
Do both. Building an audience takes time, you're not going to see much fruit from that labor for a while.
Re: Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?
#15I had a quick look at your app's web page. Seems like a quality tool that could indeed be useful for people.
My approach would be to do some traditional web-based paid promotion marketing along the lines of Google Ads and via Twitter. Hook into key words that you think your audience would connect with your product. Let it run for a bit and monitor any engagement that you get.
Only other thing I would suggest is have a simple video/loop on your web page, showing the tool in action. That is a bit more engaging than a static screenshot.
Having been in a similar position to yours in the past, I sincerely wish you the best of luck. This kind of scenario is a classic example of the commoditization of ideas, and the importance of execution (and the ability to do so, which is often constrained, as you've discovered, by resources).
Ideally you would probably want a little money behind you to launch a concerted marketing campaign, that would be a combination of paid promotion on a larger scale, as well as directly reaching out to certain small-medium sized organisations that you think your product could help to solve their business problems. A step towards that might be engaging with a startup incubator, which could provide such resource, or at least connect you with other like-minded people who might be open to collaboration.
Re: Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?
#16What does it do, what user segment are you looking at?
It’s a “Rapid application development” tool, targeting developers who create internal apps.
I think you could investigate offering a free open source version to the wider develop community to help them experiment and use the tool before committing to purchase it.
Then later on, plan on adding paid add-on features and professional support, etc.
Re: Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?
#17It looks like you're targeting a very specific niche. I don't think you can just assume your target audience is going to seek this one out. You'll have to be active in getting in contact with your potential users and help them see the value you are providing to drive early adoption.
Yes, this was what I realized too. What do you think the best way of doing this is though? I need to 1. find potential users 2. Get in touch with them 3. Convince them that a half baked product will eventually solve their problems. Going one on one seems easy but with limited reach, while “trying to build an audience” seems hard but with more upside.
1 + 2 are the same. It’s possible they won’t respond. Treat that as the end of the loop iteration; change tactics and try again.
What appeals to you about your MVP is likely not what will appeal to your target market, unless they are you. In which case, you should know where they hang out!
Marketing and value prop refinement is hard. You have to nail it, and nail how you talk about it. 80% won’t cut it - spend the time to refine by putting it out there.
Re: Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?
#18The important thing is not to market your app or product but focus on the job it performs. Write about that job, what can be done to get better at it and then pitch your product sometimes when its relevant.
The core idea of this is to focus less on the product and more on making the job of people easier more productive even if its out of your products scope.
Iterate your product to get closer to above goal.
For more: read about Job to be done theory.
Re: Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?
#19I read all of your site and checked out Observable as well. In spite of that I still can't succinctly answer the following:
Who is the target market?
What urgent, important problem does it solve?
You claim "Jig makes writing business apps faster than ever before." But I can't find any compelling evidence to backup that claim.
Sales and marketing are harder than it appears. If you haven't done it before then your best bet is to find a co-founder who has the sales and marketing skills and experience that you lack. Of course, they would need to have the knowledge of your target market's needs and motivations. They should also be able to help you improve the website and the product examples.
Re: Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?
#20> nobody came...
If nobody came, then talk to somebody; somebody who is willing to pay you. The success of the search for these elusive first paying customers is what makes a startup succeed or fail.