Can I buy you a virtual cup of coffee?
Seriously. We're parents. And I know you could use another cup of coffee. I will send you payment via Venmo/CashApp for your next cup in exchange for feedback regarding my Parent Type quiz, here: https://poppylist.com.
What's the quiz? It's a free, 10 question quiz that helps expecting parents build their baby registry.
This process deserves improvement, and I'm out to solve it.
So, who wants a cup of joe?
Thank you in advance for your time and support!
Founder & Mom of 1,
I'm "The Environmentalist Parent."
Surprisingly not too far off from what I would be described as lol.
As a first time parent to currently a 4 month old, I do wish I would have come across this sooner! Although, my only concern is when taking "quizzes" like these I feel like it can be too gimmicky. I remember being focused on looking for facts and the cheapest price for the best product when it came to our registry.
It's not to say that your quiz is a gimmick, I've probably just taken too many Buzzfeed quizzes which has greatly influenced me apparently...
I love how the checklist type registry is ready for me to start researching or go directly to the store with! This would have been a great starting guide for me to at least have an idea of the main things I needed. Is each list curated to each type of "parent"? Is a bucket hat recommended to me because I'm an environmentalist parent?
I'm not sure if the goal is to expand on the registry but I would love to start substituting items on the given registry right away or have the ability to edit it. I hope this helps!
This is a great idea. Couple of things about the quiz, I brought both my kids. back home from the hospital in a cab because I live in NYC so I didn't know the make of the car. Also the first thing after I found out that I was pregnant was to tell my husband. That was not in the options to select. Apparently am a practical parent :). How do you monetize this?
Also, if you don't mind me asking, what did you use to make the website? (carrd, wix etc). It is very nicely done.
Hi! That's the first thing I did too when I found out I was pregnant. So if you told your husband first, that answer would fall under the 'told a loved one...' I am trying to make the answer selections broad enough for most people. Because some people have partners / two moms / two dads, etc... But maybe to your point, I can add a subheading that gives examples of who a loved one would be...
So did you have to use a seatbelt strap inside the cap - and is that common in NYC? I assume it is, but it's something someone from Texas wouldn't even think about. Did you use a carrier for your kids for the subway/walking around the city? If so, I'd love to know which one.
I built my site in Squarespace with some custom coding, and the quiz was built using Typeform, although we're currently building out our own custom quiz/algorithm which will be an exciting launch - we are aiming for March 2021.
We're thinking about monetizing a few different ways, but we haven't decided on the right path yet. It's unconventional, but I first want to solve this problem and then figure out how to make money. I know it's backwards, but that's where I am...
Can I buy you that cup of coffee? Thanks again, and happy to discuss further anytime!
Actually, I don't think it's backward at all. Many successful Internet-based businesses have been built using this exact formula - build a following, get people using your platform, and then monetize it.
Examples:
And in fact, that's the model I've used for the last 4 months.
Apologies for not getting to this sooner.
We used a car seat to take our kid back home in a cab. The cab has a seatbelt strap to secure the seat but we just held the car seat. That is probably not kosher elsewhere but in NYC, it seemed fine.
We use the tula baby carrier to carry our older son on the subway and the bus when he was little. Baby bjorn is a very popular carrier too here. Also umbrella strollers are big here because they are light and I can carry it down the subway steps by myself with my kid strapped in it (no elevators here).
That's ok! I don't get alerts when people respond, so I need to figure out how to set that up...
I've heard a lot of great things about the Tula baby carrier. And we recently bought the Pock-It stroller for a trip to CA, which was insanely compact. It folded up and slid right underneath the airplane seat.
I can visualize you lifting the stroller with a kid strapped in going down the stairs. Thanks for sharing that with me. It's useful feedback as we think about truly building an algorithm that helps match a list with people's lifestyles. And city living is very different than Austin, Texas.
If you'd be willing, I have a product survey that's always on. It asks what brand/item you used and loved:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfI-26r_x9o6USy5td84RiVDv_nDDw-9s-uzVhXDvo92bBzLA/viewform?usp=sf_link
Thanks again! It's been great speaking with you. I just followed you on Twitter.
I like this idea. Most new parents do not know all the things they need or don’t need. With so many options and opinions it’s confusing. I think you could built this site to be the wirecutter of baby items with expert reviews and affiliate links. Good luck!
Hi, Tim. Thank you so much for the compliment. Truly, it's so confusing. I had someone tell me that their experience building their baby registry was 'comically disorienting,' and I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks again! And if I may, I'd still love to buy you a cup of coffee if you'll share one of your handles with me. Thanks!
Maybe I don't understand your page because I'm not a parent, but what is a baby registry? Would it make sense to explain that on your page?
Hi! Where are you located? That's a great point. Baby registires are customary in the US & Canada. It's basically a wishlist for your baby. Are you familiar with a baby shower? It's like a birthday party, but for the arrival of someone's baby. So expecting parents would share this list - aka registry - with all their friends and family, and that's how they know what to buy them. Most people bring gifts to the baby shower, but they go off a list that's created by the mom/dad. Does that make sense? If not, please let me know. Becuase then I'll need to work on how I describe what a baby registry is :) PS - that's great feedback. Thank you! I'd love to buy you that cup of coffee.
Thanks for explaining!
I'm from Germany, where baby registries or baby showers are unheard of. Nevertheless, adding a detailed description to your page will help users and will help you with SEO. Your explanation from your comment definitely made sense.
Are you planning to use Affiliate programs for monetization? Will there be a paid pro version?
Ok, good to know. Thanks for that!
Yes, I was approved through the Amazon Affiliate Program in September so that's one path to monetization. As of today, we haven't thought about a paid pro version, but it's a good idea. Who does something like that well today? Thanks!
Nice! The Amazon affiliate program looks like a really good match.
Does your site allow me to create and maintain my baby registry online? I'm thinking of something similar to an Amazon wish list which I could share by sending the link to friends and family.
Not yet, but that's one of our goals for down the line. I am actually working on making pre-made wishlists now. Or figuring out a way to get some type of plug in. So you'd download your registry list, and be able to 'import' to Amazon or something along those lines. Thanks for all the thoughtful suggestions and questions.
Is there anything customary in Germany that friends & family members do to welcome new babies? Just curious. Thanks!
One thought about importing to Amazon: If you keep the list on your site, every person buying products goes through your affiliate links. This could be a huge boost in revenue.
Additionally, you can allow adding products from other shops with an affiliate program, too.
Thinking this further, keeping the list on your site could enable some kind of wishlist building flow: The parents decide they need a baby stroller, receive 5 suggestions and can then add their favorite stroller to their wishlist.
When a baby is born, lots of people give presents here in Germany, too. There might be wishlists, but I don't know how common they are. People with kids might be better suited to answer this. :)
Out of pure curiosity, may I ask what you did at Rackspace before you started working on Poppylist?
Hi! So sorry for the 10 day delay in response, yikes. We took some time off since we had our daughter home full-time, so I'm back in work action now!
I love all your suggestions, thank you.
And yes - of course. I ran our North American events team + our Customer Briefing Center. Lots of traveling, always customer facing, etc. It was the dream job, but it wasn't possible once I had my daughter.
No worries. Sometimes I also need some time to get back to people. :)
The position you had at Rackspace sounds really interesting. So far, I've always been the one building products and not so much the one interacting with customers. I am definitely trying to change that, though.
Would you be up for a chat over Zoom? It's been fun shooting ideas back and forth with you and I'd love to continue doing that.
I just took the quiz! This is cool. I really like that you went to the effort to have custom illustrations. That makes it feel legitimate and crafted. Also these lists are cool! I probably would have appreciated this three kids ago 😊. One piece of feedback, there were two questions I didn’t really know what to do with. The one about what I did when I found out about the pregnancy, and about the car I’d drive the baby home in. I didn’t fit any of the choices. So maybe add some text suggesting that the user just pick the closest thing if none of them match?
Also the car question left out the option of home-birth 😉. So maybe the question should be more hypothetical? “If you were to drive your baby in a car right after birth, which of these would you pick?”
Wow. Single parent. Mad respect. My father was also a single parent.
Hi! I'm not a single parent - sorry if that wasn't clear! Mad respect for your father. My twin sister is a single mom with a 4 year old son. I truly do not know how they do it.