Don't make my mistake - waiting list
Hey guys, I write this post to share a mistake I made while building a waiting list for my product - EmbedTables.com (Beautifly embed Google Sheets or Airtable data on your website in no time)
Around 1 month ago I created a landing page with a waiting list submission form. I was happy because I accumulated 13 emails there, it's not a lot but I felt satisfied.
I started building the product, I knew there are similar services people use and I got 13 people on a waiting list so I thought I can get at least 1 person to join ET beta users for just $1/mo. I didn't reach them asking why they signed up, what they expect, or anything like that. After launch, I sent them emails, with a beta users deal. The email looked as below
Guess what... the only person who replied was my brother who is interested in using ET. Even after 2 follow-ups, only 3 people said they are no longer interested because they need to work on something else right now. The rest didn't answer at all.
I was disappointed and frustrated. Right now I'm trying to find other beta users, but at least I got the lesson.
Stay in touch with your waiting list! Ask them questions, invite them for a call. Build relations. Only then you know how many people really will sign up for your product on the day of launch. You can also find out if they are a great fit for your tool and it's can solve their specific problem.
Cheers, Dominik
Too bad Dominik. With all due respect, 13 is not that many either so it will of course be difficult to conclude anything from it yet.
One piece of advice I have received regarding the waiting list (we got over 200 in one week) and beta users is to provide a small handful of them free access from the start. The reason for this is that as soon as they pay for a service their demands on its performance are also high.
My advice is you should try to increase your waiting list to 50 and then get 5-10 to access the system (free of course). When you send the email that tells them that they can now come on for free, you should also ask if they want to participate in a quick survey where you ask them why they signed up (so you will know what you should focus on in your communication later). In addition, if you can see that they are returning and using your solution, then simply ask them to do give you a testimonial and don't hesitate to offer them extra free usage as they are key for your success.
I think such a list is too small to get much insight. And I'm not sure asking questions to just 13 users would have made a difference.