Built my first indie product🎉 but unable to find my first client
Hii all,
I built an automation to market the AI tools.
Lots of people are building AI products but not marketing properly. Sharing them to the AI directories is an underrated idea.
I built an automation to share the AI tools on 100+ AI directories, gaining reach of 50-100* users per day.
I am trying really hard to find my first client. I tried using IH, PH, FB as well I tried using reddit to share on the subreddits but so far I am not getting anything.
I would really like to know your thoughts about this. Please suggest what should I follow to get my first client & what is your feedback about my tool.
I have submitted my app to some of these directories, but not all of them because there are so many now it sounds like a lot of work. So you should target people like me: check who is listed where, and help founders "fill the holes" by listing them where they are not.
Hi ohdeege, thank you for this awesome idea. Which directories did you try so far & were they paid ?
I tried a few free ones as a test, but I didn't get a single user (let alone paid user), so I felt no inclination to start testing the paid directories. Following my free submissions, I also started receiving spam for all sorts of services (listing to more directories, SEO, web/mobile development, etc), so based on time spent I would say that submitting was negative ROI.
Maybe some directories are legit and I picked the wrong one, I don't know. But it seems a lot of these AI directories are grifters trying to grab as much cash as they can from candid founders with large pockets or VC-backed.
Generally speaking, I am bullish on AI as a technology, but I don't believe in "AI tools" as a vertical from a consumer point of view. I don't think people are looking for AI-powered tools more than they are looking for search-powered tools or JavaScript-powered tools.
haha yes, Spamming can be a huge issue while working with these directories. That's why I am preparing a list & verifying them by myself first. I have compiled a list with 100+ directories which are verified & active
Your product definitely seems like its something that can provide a ton of value and upside, however maybe the "Get Started" page should take you to a page where you can learn a bit more first and receive some insight, as opposed to a prompting for payment off the bat. Good luck my friend.
Hii Walid, yoo man ! Thank you for providing this valuable feedback. I will update the site with a how to use guide & user info form. Once user enters all the info, after that I will provide the route for the payment page ! What do you think about that?
That sounds great man keep it up
Thank you Walid💪💥
The value you were offering is a done – for-you service. As such, you should gain credibility by showing the full list of where you’re going to submit, so people can see that they’re high value targets. You gain credibility from the credibility of the sites you are posting to. You don’t have to worry about somebody doing it themselves by sharing your curated list because nobody wants to submit to 100 places if they could automate it. And besides anyone who’s willing to do 100 sites themselves will never buy from you anyway. TLDR without showing the full list it’s hard for your prospect to imagine the value.
Hii, your suggestion is totally correct ! I think creating & showing the list of targets will help me gain credibility. I will start working on the list of high value targets asap. Thank you for this valuable insight !!
I'm not an expert on the topic, but it might be the fact that you are offering a product which promises to increase someone's traffic, but you are not able to increase your own traffic. Having fake testimonials, might also be of importance. Also, expecting someone to give you their money, without you paying for your own domain name is kinda fishy…
I like the idea though, you just might need to improve on execution.
Hii samiralibabic, haha !! I’m really sorry that you feel like it is fishy. This is my first Indie product, M still making connections, building, learning, getting feedbacks & updating my product.
Thanks for the heads up about domain & testimonials i will make a change in it asap.
Can you pls share is there any other changes/ features which u would like me to work on or add?
Thank you for the honest feedback
It would be nice to see to which directories you are submitting and how long does the process take?
As far as I know, most directories, especially the ones with wider reach, have paid plans if one wants to be reviewed and featured fast, or you can choose a free plan and then wait for months for a review.
What does your service offer in this regard?
Hi Kathan, congratulations on launching your product. Finding a dozen AI startups should be easy, so @ahm786's advice of reaching out directly should help you. I'm sure you can find the founder by searching for the domain name on various platforms, and go from there until you find a way in.
My thoughts: your product raises a lot of questions so I would be hesitant to convert.
I don't understand where you'll submit my product. Probably not to Futurepedia since that costs more than CA$80? So why do you have testimonies for Futurepedia? How does that prove anything about your offering? Perhaps you can do a handful of free submissions to get the testimonials/social proof.
How can I determine the return on investment from your directory submissions specifically after I pay?
There's very little information on the website. I was expecting some guidance and nudging after clicking "Get started", but it just asks straight for my credit card.
Is your product called Reach, Reacher, or Reach Six? A domain name would also legitimise your product.
I hope my perspective proves helpful. Good luck with your journey! 💪
Hii Reinier,
Thank you for this amazing feedback. It is really helpful & thanks for making it direct 🫡💥.
Here’s what I am gonna improve :
{{ In detail, what do u suggest that I can do to solve this issue.}}
Done, will add quick get started guide on the site when user first opens the site
Domain : yes, I am thinking of getting a domain. I was thinking to get my first client & then purchase it as my product is not profitable yet.
{{ Is there a way to get a free domain ? My site is hosted on Vercel }}
I am a first time builder & launching my product.
Please share if there are any other things which you noticed & I should improve as this helps a lot
What do you mean by watching the reach? Do you mean people can monitor their own analytics solution, or do you offer a solution?
Not sure what you could do to help people monitor their return -- if you don't offer a solution, perhaps listing the directories helps them locate your traffic in their own analytics solution. Or perhaps you can append something Reacher-specific in the URL query string that pops up in analytics tools.
Maybe some platforms offer a temporary deal if you buy a subscription, but generally no. I don't know about your budget, but domains can come very cheap. Namecheap (for example) has $2 domains (maybe not the most professional looking), and sometimes there registrars have deals for the first year.
Good luck!
hi reinier,
I don't have an analytics solution yet but as @JoesBBQandSushi suggested in the above comment, I will prepare & show the list of my high value prospects to the customers, so that I can gain their credibility.
For the analytics I am thinking of adding a link & info of how reach can be monitored or analyzed using multiple analytics tools, maybe a link of google analytics.
Consider it done, I will checkout Namecheap & buy a domain for my site asap.
Thank you so much @reinier
The site is down at the moment. Do get a domain name as others have suggested.
Haha yes Halcyon. I’m working on pushing some features ! Sure, I have bought one yesterday. I will be adding it soon on my site🙌
Hi Kathan, I have an AI product called BrainstormGPT. Can you tell me about your approach to increasing traffic? I'm very interested. I launched on Product Hunt in early July and reached #16 with 3000+ visits, but traffic tends to have a limited lifespan. So, I'm considering new ways to sustain the traffic.
Hii KateHacker, sure. Once you share the URL of your tool, my product will share your url with 100+ directories. Using these directories the reach of your site will start increasing with approx 50-100+ unique users each day.
And it will be continuous growth as your url will be staying in those 100+ directories.
The more better your product, the more reach you will get.
You should reach out to AI startups directly and offer to submit their products to the directories. This could help you land the first few users.
Yea, great idea. Actually I have started doing that since last 2 days. Can you share how should I approach AI startups because to most of them I cannot send message as its not either enabled or I cannot send as I am not verified. Can you share a specific way which I can use to approach
You must do cold outreach via email. But @reinier has outlined some important points. Work on those first before doing your cold outreach.
Thank you, can u pls share how should I start with the cold email (like collecting emails & all) once I am done with those important points ?