MVP: Going from recommendation engine to ebook
Hey IH!
As some of you may now, I'm creating a community-based recommendation engine for curly hair products. This requires a ton of engineering and data. So I thought "how can I create a simple MVP to do this"?
Well, when I was thinking about my MVP, here are the questions I asked myself:
- How do I validate that people are willing to pay for product recommendations without writing a single line of code?
- How do I build trust with people and a community?
- How do I learn more from my target user about what I'm building?
I started off using bubble to make this MVP. Check it out 👇
The problem that I ran into was that by automating this process, I wouldn't be learning and getting feedback from my customers. Yes, I can make a login page/quiz to collect people's information but I knew that there had to be a simpler way to do this.
I then thought "What about an ebook!?" (Yes, I know; it sounds lame.) But an ebook was a way to quickly:
- Deliver curly hair tips and product recommendations and see if people would pay for it
- Build trust and authority in the space
- Follow up with people who buy it and get more feedback
Although this sounds like a major step back from my product recommendation engine, it still helps me validate some of my core assumptions while interacting with customers.
If you're interested in checking out my current landing page and ebook you can check the link below. I'd love any feedback on the landing page or mvp.
https://fullreign.com/
I love this aspect, especially in a time when so many people are encourage to automate all the things. We assume we can still understand things if we have all the data, but it is all the little things and interactions that can make all the difference.
I guess this is partly why 'do things that don't scale' is popular - it encourages people to look at more than just the data and technology.
PS - landing on the page it didn't feel clear to me that it was an ebook, I actually missed the memo when scrolling. Maybe the home page image could be the one that you have on the ebook product page? (holding the book). Also, having the 'ebook' button after all the text may help too. I scrolled down and got a bit confused as to where I should head next.
thanks! Will make updates now :)
Kudos for building the MVP on bubble and using an ebook to test the waters. Using free tools is a smart way to test your product. Are you a developer or will you be doing the entire thing no-code?
I'm a developer but am still in college so wouldn't say I'm highly skilled and can whip something up quickly. I plan to use bubble for my initial MVP and as it scales start coding. Bubble has some limitations
Love how you're hacking this--keep up the great work! Maybe consider a contest where people submit their pic and get voted the best.
That's a good idea! I'll def think about how to structure the contest.
watching you work through this is an honor and pleasure — and now i'm learning things!
validating those
core assumptionstakes time but you're getting into the data like whoa.i'm a fan!
Actually, no it does not sound lame.
This is a major step forward, not back.
Most people build the product first, spend months/years doing so and then launch to nobody. This is the "Field of Dreams" syndrome. If I build it, they will come.
Intead, with the route you're taking, you'll build an audience, you'll build trust with them, you'll know EXACTLY what they want, and then you can deliver that via a software product and launch it to an existing audience. An audience who already trusts you. An audience who is ready to buy.
Well done.
Thank you so much for your feedback and kind words!
I think the ebook alone is not enough.
But you can do a free tips blog so that we can get an idea of what you offer as tips. Which will allow you to analyze and collect data.
I agree. It tests out some things, not everything. Still working on the recommendation engine in the meantime. What do you suggest?
You can start by making recommendations for just one product category.
Do you already have a small product database?
Do you have developer experience?
yes and i'm using bubble rn for this
After or before the newsletter area you can add a call action button which redirects to the recommendation list in the only product category.
This comment was deleted 6 years ago