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Looking for feedback from parents of 0-5 yo children!

Hey everyone!

I am a mom entrepreneur living in the Netherlands. I'm building https://apparent.today, an online service that teaches you about parenting&child psychology with 5-minute listenings organized by context.

I've just rolled out a prototype of 10 listenings for free and looking for brutal feedback from parents (of 0-5 yo kids).

We have topics like emotional regulation, co-regulation, positive boundaries and empathy. We are avid advocates of positive parenting principles.

I'm posting here because being a founder is tough on every level and asking for feedback from founders who happen to be parents will help a lot. Your feedback will be very useful in improving my product and creating something that's going to be more useful in the long run.

Plus, there's some cool science-backed knowledge packed in these listenings. It'll be a win to learn sth new & give feedback to a fellow founder.

Sign up here (https://apparent.today) on our website to get access and looking forward to your feedback on every level!

Thanks for reading, cheers! Basak.

PS: I'm building this in public, so feel free to connect on twitter to see my everyday challenges and progress: @basakbuilds

  1. 2

    Hi - I love this idea. How's things going thus far?

    1. 1

      Thanks! It's going well, I just announced the new landing page & platform :)

  2. 2

    I would echo things said here already.

    First, the part about learning to keep your cool at difficult times is the most appealing point. If that point was more prominent on the page, I think I would be more drawn to the product.

    Second point is that the thought of having to put time or effort into a new service is very much a mental block. If there was an almost effortless way to start with this, I would be much more likely to start using it. Since becoming a parent I just don't feel like I have the bandwidth most of the time to be experimenting with new things. But if there is a very low effort entry point to this service you might be able to draw me in.

    1. 2

      Oh, one follow on point. I see you have some blog posts which is cool. It seems like a good way to draw in interest.

      I don't read as many blog posts since my son was born but with extra household chore burden I find myself listening to podcasts far more often. That's just me. Not sure if others share this experience. Even podcasts as short as ten minutes are appealing to me.

      1. 1

        Great comments, thanks so much!

        You're so right. I can feel the bandwidth problem in my core (mom to a 1yo baby boy). I wonder if my attention will ever go back to normal :) This is such an important thing to point out. Although I share the problem, it's so easy to miss it unless someone (other than yourself) points it out for you. I might place a little except that you can listen right away, so that you'd get a taste of what's inside without putting any effort in.

        I understand your comment about the blog post. I have a quick question, the fact that Apparent's main content is in audio form, does it make it Appealing to you bc you prefer podcasts these days?

        And if not, why wouldn't you commit 2-5 min of your time to listen to and learn from Apparent? Your answer to this would be super helpful bc I'll understand why a podcast lover (that can easily spend 10 min listening to a podcast) wouldn't commit 2-5 min to Apparent. I so so hope to hear back from you!

        Thanks for all the valuable points you raised! Cheers, Basak.

        1. 1

          There's just a low barrier to me listening to podcasts because I spend a lot of time doing laundry and at the kitchen sink in the evening so I listen to a ton. I'm more open minded with podcasts because I have more time with them and not enough

          The blog post may only be a few mins to read but I have very different priorities when I'm sitting at my laptop. That might be just me. I was wondering if other parents in this thread felt the same.

          1. 1

            I see. It makes so much sense. And there're similar comments in this post from other parents.

            What I'm wondering is this: would the listenings on Apparent qualify as a podcast for you? (Even though they technically aren't podcasts)

  3. 2

    Not a parent but the images on your landing page are so cute 🤗 one suggestion "Learn to manage stressful parenting moments" is your tagline but how do i do this ? it is not very clear from the tagline itself, also the right image on your landing page should be a lot smaller, best of luck

    1. 1

      Hey @faqlo thanks so, so much. I draw these characters by hand, and then apply some archaic methods of digital editing. 😅 I enjoy the process a lot, and although I got a few feedbacks saying they couldn't understand what those characters are, I'm willing to improve and keep them, as it makes the page a lot more authentic than a stock photo would! I'm so glad you like them.

      I aim to help users "learn to manage stressful parenting moments" by listening to short audio clips, but it's written a little down below and I've heard that it's easy to miss. Definitely noted!

  4. 2

    Hi Basak, looking forward to checking out these listenings with my wife (we have an infant boy) and getting back to you on our thoughts!

    1. 1

      Hey @leeto thanks so much for joining, it's great to have you! I'm so looking forward to hearing what you guys think! How many months old is your boy?

      1. 2

        hi @basakbuilds our boy is almost 5 months now! My wife and I enjoyed the first audio lesson. We listened to it on our computer, next time I will try listening to it on our phone using your instructions. We typically listen to our podcasts and radio shows on our Alexa in the kitchen while we are cooking or cleaning, so that would be a nice place for us to listen but I think we can get a similar experience right now using my phone.

        1. 1

          Hi @leeto I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed the first audio! Listening to podcasts while doing those things makes so much sense. I'm honored to hear that you'd squeeze a few Apparent episodes in there as well!

          5 months mark is such an amazing time! It's also a great time to start learning about emotions and regulation. Soon he will turn 6 months old, sitting upright and joining you at the table. :) He surely will be taking a first step into being an individual. You two seem like amazing parents to be interested by these topics already!

  5. 2

    I wanted to sign up but then I didn't because I felt there were too many hurdles and not enough reasons. Don't ask for the last name. Only ask for the first name if your really intent to use it and deem it absolutely necessary. I don't want to consent "to take part in written/spoken conversations and/or surveys" – this sounds like a huge commitment and time intensive. If I like the content and get asked directly by the founder via email after I have received a couple of lessons I might be ready for that – but definitely not at optin time. Instead reassure me that I can unsubscribe at anytime and that my email is save with you. If I can get free access now then mention it (free is a very powerful word and it's not mentioned anywhere) otherwise I wonder if I might get charged for this out of the blue. Change the "Submit" call to action to something benefit focused like "Get the first lesson immediately". Maybe add a demo of the first lesson to the page so that I don't need to imagine but see what exactly I am signing up for. Hope this helps :)

    P.S. Sounds actually super interesting – I am being harsh because this was the exact conversation that happened in my head while looking at the page and I am pretty sure other people (that don't even give you the benefit of an indie hacker) think similar or worse ;)

    1. 1

      Hey @jaschaio, thanks so much for reviewing the landing page! I see some very valuable opinions here. Your comments have given me a nice push towards the next iteration.

      I understand and appreciate the harshness. That's why I'm here. :) I'm lucky to be reviewed by an IndieHacker. Thanks for telling me the exact conversation that happened in your head.

      I was wondering what you meant by "too many hurdles and not enough reasons." Are those specific to your personal situation, or are you referring to my copy?

      I saw that you signed up and am just sending you an access link. I would love to hear your thoughts on the listenings' page and the content as well! I'd consider myself lucky if I can get some of these valuable comments over there too. :)

      PS: Your email is always safe with me. I just didn't invest the time to tailor a privacy statement yet. But it's a great idea to state it as a sentence at least.

      1. 3

        Glad that I could help :)

        With hurdles I mean that you should make it as easy as possible for potential customers to sign up.

        The more I want whatever I am signing up for, the more willing I am to take a couple of hurdles. But it must be in a good ratio.

        So for example: If I might get a free macbook I am more than willing to give you my firstname, lastname, social security number, address and won't spend too much time actually looking at your page as the value proposition of a macbook is pretty clear for me already.

        But if your service is unknown I am not willing to fill in so many form fields. I might want to get some reassurance. You need to work harder to convince me.

        Just try to think of any possible objection a visitor might have and try to eliminate it with your copy or the design of your forms.

        I was just reiterating the objections I had when I was looking at your page and what you could do to overcome them.

        1. 1

          Oh, I get it now! You're right. Removing the surname field is an obvious next step now.

          I wanted people to submit their real names because I want to be able address them with their names in my reach out.

          When it's only name, people might type a nickname instead of a name, I thought. But at a second thought, a nickname is just as good for my reach out. :) Thanks again for your clarification!

  6. 1

    I signed up, was kind of curious. The landing page is ok, but maybe a sample would be helpful, it may reduce signups, but the once joining will now what they are in for.

    I listened to one clip. It was good content, I liked the idea of emotions as a messenger. The bird chirping in the background I found unnecessary. Generally it feels like you want to go for a style of meditation, but I am not meditating when listening to your content. I am trying to learn. Therefor I would find a higher pacer more helpful. Think getting a second person on board, because jut listening to one person in a smoothing voice to me feels like you want to make me medidate, not learn. Separate actually practicing / demonstrating mindful practices from talking what there is to learn.

    For the signup experience, I wanted to dive right in in that moment, but the email for the access was delayed at least a few minutes, which made me almost forget about it alltogether. Please give me direct access as soon, as I provided my e-Mail address.

    I hated, absolutely hated the audio player you had on your website. I missed the first sentence, and was not able to back. It was not playable in the background, so I could not put my phone in my pocket to continue listening. Not being able to go back a few seconds almost made me stop using it at that moment.
    (btw: I was using it on an iPhone SE.
    Somehow I also was not able to submit the feedback form, pushing the button seemed to do nothing.

    After listening one episode, I will not go back to listen to another one. It was good, but not good enough for me, to go to your specific website. Now if you had allowed me, to just subscribe to this as a Podcast I would give it a few episodes, but having to go your site, and then having to keep the phone unlocked to listen to it, is just a no go.

    Generally I would not pay for podcast like content, for me the barrier is very high there. There is so much great content out there available as Podcasts, you have to really shine and convince me.

    1. 1

      Hi @tsrolae thanks so much for your feedback.

      You're right, we have already decided to place a short sample listening on the landing page as a part of the next set of improvements.

      I understand your comment about the meditation vs. learning modes of listening. It's such a tricky point for me to figure out because there will be meditation exercises in there, because mindfulness has been proven to help ease parental stress, but I get it, the learning parts can be less "relaxing" and more engaging. I'll try to hack this.

      I'm so sorry to hear that your experience with the signup and the player were frustrating. Unfortunately, because this is (a bloated form of) an MVP, this is all we could deliver at this moment. We think that the actual value is in the content and the convenience of being able to listen to it in short clips. So people would forgive us for the technical problems, we thought. The signup involves me manually giving access to users, so the delay is inevitable for this MVP. In the future, it sure will be a seamless process.

      I understand that you wouldn't pay for a podcast, neither would I. :) Apparent is free and will forever deliver the core value for free. I have a freemium revenue model in mind, since I absolutely hate ads too. So there might be paid parts in the future. But yeah, I believe that everybody should have access to high quality educative material for free, especially when it will result in the wellbeing of children. I'm not a podcast person at all, but I enjoy Headspace's audio clips on various topics (not the meditations) so that's what I'm aiming at.

      Again, thanks so much for reviewing Apparent in detail. May I ask what age group is your child(ren)? And what would be your top topic to learn about if I delivered a spectacular piece of content to you in audio form?

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    This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

    1. 1

      Hey @confact thanks so much, there's some great feedback over here!

      Got it! The copy was too vague for you. I have been collecting some valuable feedback including yours, so a set of improvements on the copy and the value prop is upcoming.

      The service is a set of lessons (audio tracks) that explain to you various concepts and offer you guided exercises on emotional regulation --and also some meditations are upcoming (but not yet included in the current 10-pack). It's more like Headspace (or Calm) but the emphasis is more on learning right now and guided exercises complement the learning.

      I was curious about what kind of a service were you looking for initially and for which problem exactly? Hoping to hear from you!

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