Experiences with Paid Acquisition (Ads, Sponsorships, Referral, ..)
I try to re-invest all my revenue back into my projects. Right now, that means I have a budget of $1,000 every month I'm investing. Right now, it goes towards a designer, some new domains and software products, but I would like to invest more into growth.
Most of my projects rely on content. Whenever I share that content on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin & co., I get all these mouth-watering notifications that I could get 50,000 fresh eyes on that piece if I invest $50.
So my question to IndieHackers? How far would 1k per month go, given that I'm really on top of my organic acquisition? Should I do it? Keep my head down and hire a writer instead?
@dqmonn You have mentors and happy mentees, right?
Find creative ways to get them to create user-generated content for you in a way that's win-win-win for all.
Then set up your FB pixel and use the $ you'd spend on a writer, editor, etc. to invest in IG and FB retargeting.
If you can make retargeting profitable, then layer on $10/day for TOF awareness campaigns. Slowly add more budget as you optimize creatives for CPC/CTR.
I always feel like ads is money not well spent. And most of what I hear is that you have to spend lots over time to really figure out what works. As a consequence, I have no experience with doing ads :D
If it were me, I'd invest in SEO/content, or perhaps community initiatives, depending on what projects you mean.
Short answer: Split test and find the right angle for your content.
Long answer: Do let your budget become a restriction. Focus on the experiment, expected return and metrics you want to track. Increase your budget and be creative on your ad copy gradually. Paid ad is a loooooong game. Enjoy!
Happy to exchange ideas. @dqmonn - also echo @kacper on GrowthMentor!
This might not be very relevant. But in case you're looking to advertise to a community of creatives and makers, I've got a spot in our newsletter – Product Disrupt. Let me know if you would like to know more.
Really hard to say in general, if you don't specify what product you're talking about ;)
More of a general idea (but would be for mentorcruise.com), in which situations would it make sense? In which not?
If you found a channel that works well, you should double down on it. There are no rules when a paid channel is a good idea, so you should always asses it on a case by case basis.
Facebook ads would work well to acquire one side of your audience thanks to its precise targeting options for students. Is it the right way to go for you right now? Again, I don't know any of your business metrics so hard to say if it would result in a positive ROI. With students though, leveraging virality tends to usually work well due to strong networks and communities they form. Think incentivized referrals etc.
In terms of mentors acquisition, I think cold outreach would be a good channel.
Take a look at what growthmentor.com is doing for growth marketing mentoring. It's the same product but in a different niche and they've been pretty successful so far.
I really like your product. If you feel like talking in more detail, feel free to email me ;)