How would you get your first users for this marketplace?
Developing a product is easy. Growing it, it is not that easy. So I would like to know if you have any fresh insights to share.
During the last the months, we have been developing a webapp that aims to be a global network of experts which provide 1-1 online sessions to users seeking advice. On this platform, for instance, startup founders can reach out to experienced entrepreneurs for guidance.
It connects users with vetted professionals providing tailored advice for all your questions and needs.
As a marketplace we are facing the network problem. How can we attract users and make them see value on the platform/pool of experts? How do we attract experts and make them see value on the platform/target user?
As of now, we have our beta version live with a small pool of experts which are giving their time for free - getwiser.net
Curious to hear your perspectives to tackle this challenge.
P.S: If you are in need of business/tech advice, consider checking our platform and meeting the experts, they are giving their time for free!
Experts first :) They don't have to do anything to get onboard. Make sure you give them red carpet service. Tell them you'll upload their photo, description, etc. Let them know they don't need to do any manual work.
As an expert I don't see why I would subscribe. It's all tailored to clients.
Can I set my own hours as an expert? Can I set my own pay? What kind of credentials do I need?
Once you have a few experts in a similar field you can start advertising on FB and IG and see if you can get some calls booked.
Sorry for the delayed answer @YannickVeys!
Absolutely!
"Tell them you'll upload their photo, description, etc. Let them know they don't need to do any manual work." I see your point and agree but this is tricky, to get them onboard I need to get in touch with the expert to access all this info. It is more time wasting for the expert to send me all that info than filling a survey with it.
"As an expert I don't see why I would subscribe. It's all tailored to clients." You saw the customer landing page, check the expert one here: https://getwiser.net/expert-b/
You can set your own hours and pay! We have yet to define the criteria for the experts but as of now, you just need to have a track record of your previous experience for us to see.
Let me know if you would like to join us in our beta version!
P.S: During the beta version we have a pool of experts that committed to a pro bono of 1/2 sessions (30min each) to users seeking their expertise.
I'm going through the same issue with my marketplace. Experts comprise of professional photographers but I am still struggling to get them to sign up. As @darux mentioned, social media is the best way to get something rolling.
@darux From my experience with building ruttl, I can surely tell you that if you truly want to exponentially grow your product, social media is the fastest and best possible way to do that.
I would recommend you to go after targeted audiences in places such as Slack and Discord communities of entrepreneurs. These places along with community platforms such as Indie hackers have become a major place of hangout for startup founders.
I have seen huge product growth with ruttl but if you really want to see the results, you need to be consistently engaging with other people on these platforms, at least for a month to start seeing the results.
Hope this helps you!
Cheers!
Thanks for your feedback! Do you have any advice regarding discord communities? What is the best way to find them? I tried Slack without success. Cheers
I have found conversion issues on discord as well. The best way you can honestly improve the leads is by following two approaches -
how will you transfer money from customers to advicers?
It is yet to be defined
Look at my product: https://charges.pro/marketplace
maybe it will help you to payout to advicers
same issue, different marketplace... following to share experience!
If you truly believe this, then why didn't you choose a more challenging product? What you're describing sounds technically equivalent to Codementor (which I consulted on growth years ago), Clarity (even older) or iTalki (which is over a decade old).
If product is easy for you, then do something that most teams can't!
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@dsilwal Thank you for the feedback. You're absolutely right!
We are struggling to niche down, however we already have a few early adopters experts in different areas and we are trying to attract the demand side to reach a healthy ratio. Once we do it, we will go back and refocus on the supply side again!
Cheers