6
6 Comments

2 months after launch, 5 new things I have learned.

I launched Blanq two months ago and while most of the things went as predicted, I learned few new things along the way.

1. Most of the signed-up users won't return and that's okay

Image

Most of the users that sign up do not return which, I believe could be a variety of reasons. It is quite easy to believe that they weren't happy with my service but, most likely it isn't the case.

Maybe they are just trying out the app or, maybe they no longer need such service or, maybe it is something else. I personally sign up multiple services in a week out of curiosity.

I tend not to overthink as long as I have a decent retention rate and active customers count.

2. Not just English speaking users

Image

I built my site primarily for English speaking audience but it surprises me to see users signing up with Non-English letters - especially Russian (Such users are primarily from Russia and Ukraine).

Thankfully, my database and application support non-English letters - which I did not know :)

3. It is now the norm for your Saas application to work on mobile devices

Image

I built Blanq primarily for Desktop and tweaked here and there to be compatible with mobile.

To my surprise, users do login from phone and track links. Since I realized that, I test out every design change for mobile and tablet before releasing it to production.

I understand it is hard for some complex applications to go mobile, but having a basic version may also work.

4. For some, Privacy is very important

Image

Privacy is the third most visited page on my website! When I started the service, I was using a simple Privacy template from the internet but, since then I have moved onto https://www.iubenda.com. They offer a generous yearly plan and offer a simple way to customize the policy.

5. Getting feedback is hard

Image

I must have sent at least a 100 emails to customers, tweeted them, contacted them on other social media sites but rarely do they reply back. I often hear "build what the customers want" phrase but, if they don't what's the plan B?


What has been your experience? Do you relate to some of these? Would love to learn more of yours.

  1. 4

    I relate to almost all of this. Thanks for the great post :)

    Number 1:

    For my Shopify video app, most users install, try it for ~20 seconds, then leave and uninstall or just never return. I think you're right - many are just kicking the tires and don't have a real need for it.

    What could help: Contacting directly, an e-mail onboard process that sends a couple e-mails over a week to remind them to give it a try.

    Number 2:

    Yep! Not sure how the non-English users manage to use the app, but many seem to be willing to struggle through it :) It must suck to be a non-English speaker on the web. I wish I could help, but my apps are hacked together as it is, and adding translations would be way too much :(

    What could help: Better UX (ugh my UX). More visual representations. Make gifs or short videos available in each screen.

    Number 3:

    Yep again! You nailed these learnings haha. I can't believe people try a video creation app on mobile, but it seems like a good 33% are on mobile devices.

    I highly recommend installing an app like HotJar (I use FullStory - free up to 1k sessions/mo)! Watching how people use my app has been the best motivation to fix issues and understand where things go wrong!

    Number 4: Nothing here. Shopify store owners don't seem to care :-P

    Number 5:

    Absolutely! I thought e-mailing people who used my app with a personal note would make it easy to get feedback, but I was way off. Most just don't care, don't understand how hard it is for solo founders, etc. 0 responses from outreach to signups haha

    What could help: Just gotta reach out a lot more. Remember our stuff is a very small part of their lives. Reach out to more people, and don't be afraid to follow up.

    1. 2

      That's some fantastic insights Andrew.

      I had Hotjar on my service but found it too expensive to use,I will try Full Story now. Hot jar had helped me iron out initial bugs.

      And, I will consider your suggestion and email users even more. I guess I need to keep reminding them.

      Thanks for the list!

      1. 1

        I never tried HotJar. Someone just mentioned it when I said I love Full Story :) The first few users were friends who I asked to try on a video call, and it was amazing! These apps make it so obvious where my big issues are, and usually in places I'd least expect!

        No problem - I think your post was perfect, just piggy backing to say I have definitely seen the same things!

  2. 1

    Nice!!
    I struggled with this 5 topics.
    I had start my first Startup project 1 years ago.
    And it failed, because of this crazy year. But now i'm on my second project and this helped me alot. Thanks!

  3. 1

    Hey @start123

    1. great use of giffys here!

    2. your site is beautiful, well written, and to the point

    3. I’m certain is frustrating not getting feedback/having engaged users, is there a theme on acquisition channels where your repeat customers are coming from? If so double down on those!

    4. I’m working on a user feedback tool, we’re in alpha right now, going to be adjusting pricing in the next week to include a free tier. Let me knowing you want a demo or to try it out - featurefocused.io.

    1. 1

      Sure, I am willing to try out.

Trending on Indie Hackers
How I grew a side project to 100k Unique Visitors in 7 days with 0 audience 47 comments Competing with Product Hunt: a month later 33 comments Why do you hate marketing? 27 comments $15k revenues in <4 months as a solopreneur 14 comments Use Your Product 13 comments How I Launched FrontendEase 13 comments