How to advertise without being spammy?
Hi indie hackers! After months of lurking on this site, I finally decided to take the leap and build something (and also post here)! The first version with analytics in the backbone is ready:
The site does two very simple things, it either generates Excel formulas based on your requests or it explains an Excel formula for you. I found some subreddits where people have Excel questions so I have been using my site to solve them and putting the link as part of the solution.
Now some people commented that I was being spammy so I was wondering if you had any advice on how to not seem that way and still get the word out!
Kudos on the launch, the product seems nice. Although, the mental space for this product is already occupied by a first-comer (Excel Formula Bot).
The key to "not being spammy" is permission. And it is a tricky concept by itself and will depend on the context.
Now, the policy on posting links changes per subreddit. If mods do not see a problem, there probably is not a problem, from a subreddit policy point of view. That said, if people feel that they are spammy, that's something else. And since zero idea about context and messages, it is impossible to assess and advise.
"Getting the word out" depends on completely what you are trying to achieve, as in, who you are trying to reach out, what is your expectations around that, objectives etc. I'd first go for defining a very niche audience (instead of all excel users, for example, focus on journalists who have to use excel) and try to go from there.
But I'll bite:
This is all really good advice! I will use this as a ToDo list for myself over the next couple of days!
Do you think the landing page is still needed in my case? What would be the benefit of having a landing page?
And to your question:
It depends. It depends on what is your objective. It depends on where you are going. It depends on how you want to play this. It depends on a whole lot of parameters. Assuming you want to / will need to monetize it at some point, yes, probably, at some point.
First and foremost, you need to ensure you’re an active participant in the community and continually providing value. As the adage goes, “You give before you get.”
Second, promote your product in the comment section, as new submissions are heavily moderated. Also, focus on recent conversations as you’ll get more eyes on your answer.
Finally, only plug your product if it addresses the question or request. Context matters, and no one likes when someone pulls a bait-and-switch or drops a shameless plug.
Congrats on your launch Juan. It's normal to be called a spammer (or worse) on reddit. I realized that reddit is a great platform to launch but to get consistent traffic, indie hackers or twitter are much better...
Anyway, at the end of the day what is important is the analytics. I use splitbee to track the income traffic to the WBE Space website and if you see that you are getting some nice traffic from reddit just continue doing whatever your are doing :)
ps: be aware that you can be banned from subreddits... Maybe ask the mods if it is ok for you to continue
Hey Juan! Congrats on the launch! It’s fun seeing people with a similar idea approach their site design in different ways. I love your UX! I have a new site rolling out tonight, actually. Would love to see if there’s opportunity to collaborate.
David
Never realized that you are a part of IH. New page seems excellent! Congrats on the launch of it. I actually wondered about the costs side of your product. Do you think that you will ever write a piece around that?
Long time lurker, coming here for inspiration :)
For sure - I just launched the new site and will definitely give a write up on my journey.
Hey David! I hadn't noticed your site! Congrats on the huge number of requests and traction you have gotten! I would love to collaborate! I'll give you a follow on Twitter and keep an eye out for the new launch :)
Unrelated, just some landing page feedack.
Change "Enter what task you want" to "Enter your task".