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Marketing is scary for a solo developer

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Re: Marketing is scary for a solo developer

#271

Post by [deleted] »

sombremesa wrote: post #262
semireg wrote: post #193

As a solo/bootstrapped dev with a fairly successful Electron app in the business space, it has taken me YEARS to embrace marketing and I still fall flat. I've hired mentors to listen to me rant for a few hours. They ask questions, and they are surprised by my sales figures. Their advice is always the same: stop writing features NOW , and start learning who/why your customers are buying from you, and use that data to…

I don't understand. Your product already says "easiest way to design and print labels, period." How much more of a leap is it to "tell the user why it'll help and save them time"? In fact it seems less "problematic" than what is already there?

[deleted]

Re: Marketing is scary for a solo developer

#272

Post by Khelavaster »

magicroot75 wrote: post #26

I work solely in marketing/advertising and have no clue how to code. I generally enjoy technology, which is why I'm on HN. I think marketers and developers need a stronger culture between ourselves. The tools of marketers (data mining, consumer behavior analysis, surveys, market testing, etc) aren't just a veneer to be applied at the completion of a development project. Marketing, when done correctly, informs UX. Mar…

The challenge is: "how will a group of potential users trust this feature enough to try it after seeing advertisement?" Targetted development is straightforward with a userbase..

Re: Marketing is scary for a solo developer

#273

Post by funkyavocado »

marcosdumay wrote: post #50
konschubert wrote: post #37

I've started to sell a physical product that I make and have had my google merchant account suspended twice. The algorithms claim that my ads are misleading. I don't think they are, I hope they aren't. The first time, I appealed and it got un-suspended. No reason given. I thought: Cool, must have been a mistake but it's been sorted out. Then, after a couple days, another suspension. Now I don't know what to do. Googl…

When I made an account to buy Google ads (and almost immediately gave up), I was always getting contacted by people at Google sales trying to make me actually buy the ads. They offered all kinds of help on creating and focusing the content. Was that experience unusual? And couldn't those people help you making your ad adherent to whatever rule Google uses?

Yes I get calls all the time. They’re actually pretty helpful with their suggestions and aren’t pushing you to buy more, but they never stop calling.

Re: Marketing is scary for a solo developer

#274

Post by tymm »

conductr wrote: post #238
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some suggestions for your site. Explain what a push notification is. I'm a developer and I only have a vague idea of what you're talking about. Why would I want to do a push? What benefit does it have? Am I possibly already doing notifications a different way that's less efficient/less effective/slower than your method? Right there are a bunch of blog articles you could write and share that provide free marketing for…

I'm going to pile onto this parent because I too am trying to figure out what this does. I originally think of this as allowing me to push notifications to my app's users devices (eg One Signal, Airship, etc.). As I scroll and read I find that it's likely for uniquely sending notifications to MY device. Perhaps a vertical, but I'd go after the DIY/hobbyist/maker developer market. Arduino and such. You can write tutor…

Thanks, I adjusted the landing page a bit. I hope it makes the goals of the app clearer.

Re: Marketing is scary for a solo developer

#275

Post by dempseye »

andrew-nguyen wrote: post #218
dempseye wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you drop the link to it? I'm not sure if you mean the bootcamp.

He's talking about this course in the OMSCS program: https://omscs.gatech.edu/mgt-6311-digital-marketing

He wasn't though.

Re: Marketing is scary for a solo developer

#276

Post by magicroot75 »

hippich wrote: post #224
magicroot75 wrote: post #26

I work solely in marketing/advertising and have no clue how to code. I generally enjoy technology, which is why I'm on HN. I think marketers and developers need a stronger culture between ourselves. The tools of marketers (data mining, consumer behavior analysis, surveys, market testing, etc) aren't just a veneer to be applied at the completion of a development project. Marketing, when done correctly, informs UX. Mar…

There is one more possibility (relevant to solo devs) - lack of trust that marketing professionals can deliver results. Personally, I do realize how important marketing is and how inadequate my skills in marketing are. But at the same time, my experience contracting out marketing taught me that there are very few good pros and i am much more likely to at best hire someone who has about the same level of experience as…

I can take a shot at a tip on weeding at pretenders as a marketer: Ask them to describe, in technical detail, what the software does. Ask them about challenges the end user may have going through the process of using it. A bad marketer is all about creating a scummy sales pitch to get a quick buck. A great marketer is there on the frontlines understanding exactly the functions of the software and how they solve the customer's problems in implicit or explicit ways.

Re: Marketing is scary for a solo developer

#277

Post by magicroot75 »

mellavora wrote: post #60
magicroot75 wrote: post #26

I work solely in marketing/advertising and have no clue how to code. I generally enjoy technology, which is why I'm on HN. I think marketers and developers need a stronger culture between ourselves. The tools of marketers (data mining, consumer behavior analysis, surveys, market testing, etc) aren't just a veneer to be applied at the completion of a development project. Marketing, when done correctly, informs UX. Mar…

I think this post deserves a friendlier response. magicroot seems intent on offering helpful advice. Nowhere does (s)he say "hire me" or that they have the only answer; in fact the opposite. They are suggesting that just as a unit test is an important aspect of determining functionality, it may be helpful to have a metric of how much excitement a certain feature may engender. I'm not going to judge the quality of tha…

Thank you! And yes I have no intention of being hired. I have a well-paying job at a New York ad agency working on a Fortune 100 client. I'm busy enough as it is.

Re: Marketing is scary for a solo developer

#278

Post by magicroot75 »

craftinator wrote: post #107
magicroot75 wrote: post #26

I work solely in marketing/advertising and have no clue how to code. I generally enjoy technology, which is why I'm on HN. I think marketers and developers need a stronger culture between ourselves. The tools of marketers (data mining, consumer behavior analysis, surveys, market testing, etc) aren't just a veneer to be applied at the completion of a development project. Marketing, when done correctly, informs UX. Mar…

I think you may have put yourself at a social disadvantage by using the phrase "high impact product", which is a trigger phrase for several developers I know. It's a trigger phrase because they work at places where hearing that during a meeting means "we are about to throw away a lot of work you've done, because we didn't bother to do any market research before we did the first 6 months of sprint cycles". To them, it…

Ah got it. I had no intention of doing that. I do think most of us, marketers or developers would like to make some impact. That impact is not always financial. But marketing is not necessarily always about finances. It's about understanding users/consumers and what gets them excited.

Re: Marketing is scary for a solo developer

#279

Post by magicroot75 »

z3t4 wrote: post #219
magicroot75 wrote: post #26

I work solely in marketing/advertising and have no clue how to code. I generally enjoy technology, which is why I'm on HN. I think marketers and developers need a stronger culture between ourselves. The tools of marketers (data mining, consumer behavior analysis, surveys, market testing, etc) aren't just a veneer to be applied at the completion of a development project. Marketing, when done correctly, informs UX. Mar…

It also goes the other way. As a marketer dont treat marketing as a sacred protected space. Work with the developer as the developer is very good at solving problem and can make sure that the best technology is chosen to reach the marketing goal as efficient as possible.

Totally agree!

Re: Marketing is scary for a solo developer

#280

Post by itsmemattchung »

andrew-nguyen wrote: post #218
dempseye wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you drop the link to it? I'm not sure if you mean the bootcamp.

He's talking about this course in the OMSCS program: https://omscs.gatech.edu/mgt-6311-digital-marketing

Hi Andrew! Thanks for dropping the link for me :)
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