I've been working on my first SaaS - Chrome extension for 2 years. And reached $36 MRR.
Hi! I would like to briefly share with indiehackers my jurney to a launch of my first SaaS - Productpanel.io. It's a Chrome extension for Amazon sellers which helps to quickly analyze products (BSR history, competitors stock counts, profit calculator, etc.). To be clear - it will most likely fail.
I've been selling on Amazon for 9 years. A couple of years ago me and a friend of mine (both non technical guys) got an idea to create a SaaS for Amazon sellers. After months of trying to find a reliable developer it was clear we wouldn't be able to find any without a big investment.
Then I discovered Bubble.io. I decided to learn it and create something more simple - a Chrome extension which will be created mainly for my needs and hopefully find more customers in future. It took almost 2 years working an hour or two a day to finish it and remove all critical bugs.
As an Amazon seller I use my extension every day so I thought I would easily find many customers - but I was wrong.
I tried this to market it:
- I created 2 posts on reddit - it got over 2.4K views of the posts but no signups and almost no comments.
- I posted to 2 FB groups and paid for one promo post by admin of another group - I noticed increased traffic on my landing page but no signups.
- I cold emailed dozens of Amazon sellers which I found directly on Amazon - no response.
- I set up a Google Ads - this is the only way how I was able to get 4 paying customers but it's expensive.
- Some users of free trial came from organic search.
- I emailed all registered users and asked for feedback and offered them a discount if they switch to paid version - no reply.
- I launched on Product Hunt - no signups.
- I created a youtube video - it got 14 views.
So far I've got 426 registered users (most of them doesn't use it) and 4 paying users $9.97/month - $36 MRR total.
Now I have to decide if I leave it and move to something else or try harder with the marketing.
Tetrev, only you can decide the best path forward. But to be quite frank, you have done very little to market your product.
In addition to doing more marketing, here's a few other things to consider.
Your value proposition could use some improvement. Instead of saying it analyzes products, explain how it helps with specific pain points. Quantify the benefits your software offers, if possible.
Target the right audience. Instead of marketing to all Amazon sellers, focus on a specific niche.
Look for active forums, Facebook groups, or subreddits dedicated to your chosen niche and engage with the community. (That means more than creating a couple of posts).
Optimize your marketing strategies. Make sure your landing page clearly explains the value proposition and has a strong call to action. Create content addressing common seller pain points and showcase how your extension solves them.
Optimize the free trial to showcase core features and incentivize users to upgrade. Continue reaching out to all your users to get feedback and offer incentives for providing that feedback.
The reality is that building a successful SaaS takes time. Track your marketing efforts, analyze the results, and use the data to adapt your strategies.
Thanks a lot for the reply. It seems there is a lot to think about regarding the marketing.