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Building a Product: One month later, $119.50 in the bank

projectorpm.com

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Re: Building a Product: One month later, $119.50 in the bank

#71

Post by read_wharf »

Zikes wrote: post #19
dsrguru wrote: post #13

Nice post! Just a UI suggestion, you want to make it as easy as possible for readers of your blog to learn what your product is about. Currently, clicking on the big blue "Projector" text only brings you to the blog's home page, not the site's home page. There is a small link at the very top of the screen that says "Learn more about Projector," which does take you back to the home page, but you might want a more prom…

This is a big pet peeve of mine. I can't count the number of times I've been to http://blog.companyname.com and no matter where on the page I looked or clicked, I couldn't find a link to http://companyname.com , and so I'm forced to manually edit the URL in the address bar. I really can't understand why a company would do such a thing.

Me too, exactly, and I'm only contributing a me too because a) it really bugs me too, and b) I think it's important for blog and site owners to understand this and fix it. I want to find your site; help me.

Re: Building a Product: One month later, $119.50 in the bank

#72

Post by edwinnathaniel »

muhfuhkuh wrote: post #49
euroclydon wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. I agree with your post. Sales for CupcakeWrapperCreator have gone like this: March 0.02 April 38.85 May 64.75 June 76.75 July 122.60 August 99.80 September 129.75 October 109.75 November 199.60 December 119.75 January 149.70 February 249.45 March 369.25 So, for nearly a year I didn't have any motivation to do more work, but then I signed up for a free month of SEOMOZ, and just fixed the low hanging fruit from…

You think seeding some of your designs on pinterest might pique interest further? If anything, it can be a "proving grounds" for your newest wrapper designs.

Oh oh oh, try it try it! Pin your designs!

Do. It. Now.

Pinterest is definitely a good place for these kind of products.

Re: Building a Product: One month later, $119.50 in the bank

#73

Post by bdunn »

XLcommerce wrote: post #69

Awesome! Must be such an amazing feeling to receive that first payment. I'm about a month away from my first launch and I'm terrified of launching and then hearing.... crickets. So congrats to you! Had a look at the product. Looks v.solid. Just a couple of things: - When I attach a file via /projects/ project_name /stories/ it completes the upload then the files seems to disappear? What I mean is that the progress in…

Thanks for the feedback!

To attach a file, you need to also comment (I realize now this might not always be ideal). But the workflow would be: Attach some files, enter text in the comment box, post. I'm working on redesigning the entire task detail page, which will hopefully make this less confusing.

I agree. I'm trying to figure out a good way to make this more evident without widening that left sidebar. This is the current UX problem that's keeping me up at night :-)

Thanks again, I really appreciate your feedback!

Re: Building a Product: One month later, $119.50 in the bank

#74

Post by bdunn »

redguava wrote: post #70

I hope people don't get too hung up on the numbers thing to miss out on the great advice you give. With all the factors that contribute to a startups success, I think this post really nails some critical ones: - Create a list of people interested before you launch - Be proactive with support, consider it a sales tool - Have a great first use experience, that's when people are deciding to use your system. Great post a…

Thanks! The support thing is the reason I've had people pay me before they actually had to. I realize 2 minute response times isn't sustainable long term - but with the product in its infancy and still being battle tested, it's sort of necessary right now.

Re: Building a Product: One month later, $119.50 in the bank

#75

Post by decadentcactus »

bdunn wrote: post #44
joshuahedlund wrote: post #40

How did you manage to get 500 subscribers before launch? Marketing? Leveraging existing networks? SEO?

This is where some "celebrity" came into play. Since we weren't getting organic traffic (nothing to index but the sales letter) and didn't have a blog up (big mistake!), a few people with lots of Twitter followers RTed me. It's a lot easier to get signups to non-binding "I'll notify you once there's something build" than it is to get actual signups. Only about 20% of the announcement list ended up converting.

What did you mean by "converting"?

As in they signed up when you announced it was open, or paid? 100 signups on launch is still extremely useful for starting out.

Re: Building a Product: One month later, $119.50 in the bank

#76

Post by redguava »

bdunn wrote: post #74
redguava wrote: post #70

I hope people don't get too hung up on the numbers thing to miss out on the great advice you give. With all the factors that contribute to a startups success, I think this post really nails some critical ones: - Create a list of people interested before you launch - Be proactive with support, consider it a sales tool - Have a great first use experience, that's when people are deciding to use your system. Great post a…

Thanks! The support thing is the reason I've had people pay me before they actually had to. I realize 2 minute response times isn't sustainable long term - but with the product in its infancy and still being battle tested, it's sort of necessary right now.

I don't see why 2 minute response times can't be sustainable, you just might need help with it down the track. I launched my SaaS product in June 2011, so am a bit further along than you and am still managing to maintain it.

I really hope people take your advice on board, I think those techniques made the difference for me.

Re: Building a Product: One month later, $119.50 in the bank

#77

Post by follower »

euroclydon wrote: post #29
jasonkester wrote: post #20

Awesome. And definitely don't be discouraged that you're only bringing in $100/month. The product that I'm currently living comfortably off of made me less than half that much after its first month. Don't think of it as $100/month, think of it as $100/month/month. That's your current acceleration, and it extrapolates out quite nicely! Here's a more carefully worded version of my take on products like this: http://new…

Thanks. I agree with your post. Sales for CupcakeWrapperCreator have gone like this: March 0.02 April 38.85 May 64.75 June 76.75 July 122.60 August 99.80 September 129.75 October 109.75 November 199.60 December 119.75 January 149.70 February 249.45 March 369.25 So, for nearly a year I didn't have any motivation to do more work, but then I signed up for a free month of SEOMOZ, and just fixed the low hanging fruit from…

I suggest linking to http://www.makecupcakewrappers.com/ when you mention your site--makes it easier to find. :)

Re: Building a Product: One month later, $119.50 in the bank

#78

Post by follower »

bdunn wrote: post #39
follower wrote: post #37

Often I see the advice of "charge more", in light of that, the "Agency" plan at $99 per month seems low and makes me wonder if you could charge more.

I probably could. In fact, I could probably charge more across the board - two of my paid users said that it's more valuable to them than they're being charged (remember: the underlying goal is to help these people get more repeat work + more money!)

remember: the underlying goal for them is for you to stay in business so they get more repeat work + more money! :D
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