This is my first time launching my own SaaS. I planned to develop it with a friend, but he refused to work with me because I'm not a developer. We disagreed on what was more important: development or marketing.
My results after 2 months from scratch:
Website: SocLeads (https://socleads.com/)
Product: Scrape emails from Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, X, and YouTube with keywords and hashtags
Revenue (total): $764
MRR: $370
How did I achieve this?
I hired a developer who made me an MVP for 1 month and $1300. Then I started studying marketing. Before that, I only had experience in enterprise sales. SaaS marketing was new to me.
I used several channels and got the following results:
Google Ads (1,153 visits, 8 paid users, $600 costs). I'm waiting for a $500 promotion from Google, but they ignore me. How do you get it?
Reddit (653 visits, 3 paid users, free)
IndieHackers (281 visits, 2 paid users, free)
Product Hunt (177 visits, 14th place for the day, 2 paid users, free)
https://www.producthunt.com/products/socleads
I will be glad to receive feedback and any suggestions for marketing.
Congratulations and thanks for sharing. Like @SaaSbySRB the first thing you need to do is develop a really good understanding of who your target market is and where they hang out online (Sparktoro can help there, the free plan should be adequate for your needs). Then spend time engaging with them in those communities.
Ten years ago, when paid ads were cheaper, you could get away with spending a little money and using that data to refine your messaging. It's way too expensive now.
Once you find a channel that works, double down on it. But continue testing other channels. Relying on one channel alone is too risky, even if you're achieving massive success.
Getting a marketing program takes time. You have to hone in on who your target audience is and find out where they live. Interact with them, be active on social media, and get the entire marketing machine running. Paid ads I always advise against early on, because they are expensive. If you haven't completely figured out your brand positioning and honed in on your messaging, then it will be a waste of money. Start small then ad more marketing channels from there.
It takes time and will not happen overnight or in a few weeks. You have to test things out, see what works, and then continue pressing on. Congrats on already seeing revenue!