Help with Chicken and the Egg Problem
So I haven't been on in here in awhile but I recently returned to get a bit of help and perhaps form a case study for others.
I just recently launched TradeRooms.io which is basically a platform of monetized chat rooms with users and mentors.
However, mentors won't join if there are no users. And users won't join if there are no chat rooms listed (created by mentors).
How does one get started on this chicken/egg problem? What are some guerrilla techniques for this? Just spam all over the internet, because I would prefer not to start like that.
I have considered hiring a growth hacker freelancer to help me strategize and execute on a growth strategy but figured I would ask you guys first.
Thanks all :)
Andrew Chen (the guy who invested in some of the world's largest marketplaces) recently wrote a book about this. He calls the "chicken and the egg" problem a "cold start" problem.
What some people suggested here is the "single player" approach where you try to make something useful to a certain group of people (i.e. mentors) and then use the traffic they generate you (their followers) to fill the other side of the coin.
With that being said, I'm looking at your landing page and I think you need to clarify your value proposition first. "Transparency for paid mentors and your following." is far from a value proposition. What's in for me (the mentor)? Also you just mention "room" (which is a vague term) on your landing page.
I think a good way to approach mentors and solve this value proposition problem is to approach these mentors asking for advice (on how to make your product more relevant to mentors). Even offer to pay for their time (most of them won't take money but will appreciate that you value their time).
Hope this helped!
I appreciate the tips on approaching mentors. I think i'll give this a shot given my lack of recent success.
I also appreciate checking out the landing page. This is something that I've wanted to formulate better for awhile but fell off my radar a bit. I think youre correct, the message needs to be make much clear being the firs 10 words a person reads about the product. I also want a message to appeal both to mentors and to users so there is a tricky balance there in a small amount of words
Hey man. I took to heart your comment here. It was actually obvious but I overlooked it. The landing page is revamped. Still working on the specific wording but I think the messaging is much better. Check it out.
Traderooms.io
I would partner with someone in your network who is a really good mentor with a large following. Ask them to help launch the site by setting up a chat room, inviting their followers, and growing it to become active. You can also use that as a source of feedback to improve the product. If this is successful, it should help with word of mouth marketing. Also, that mentor can help by promoting it across their social profiles.
Agreed on that. I think if word of mouth isn't spreading then there is a problem with the product.
If that becomes the case in the future, then the next steps would be pinning down WHY it is not succeeding which poses another set of problems to solve.
Hi Marshall,
Imo you have to make deals with mentors attractive enough to bring first users. I would pick first favorites and then contact them personally with message and offer. The chicken/egg problem had to solve Patreon or Cameo, for example, and they brought the first creators/celebrities same way.
Hope it helps a little bit.
Appreciate it. This is my current strategy but still working on reaching out to those people.
It also might feel weird to that first adoptor that they're the only room. But I guess they shouldn't care if they're getting paid