Roast my 'Python rubber duck as a service' landing page 🙏
I've been helping friends with their code for a while now, but I just decided to try and sell a 'knowledgeable rubber duck for Python' as a service more broadly.
I'd love some constructive feedback! Here's the landing page: https://pythonduck.com/
I will roast. The first thing I noticed when I got to the URL is that the landing page was put together using Tailwind UI. I get it - you're not looking to do anything crazy with the landing page, BUT, I did notice it... and while I would do the same thing, if I were a potential customer, I'd be like, "OK, this guy is taking the express route to putting up this website." Next... I'm hit with a BIG wall of text. I see it, and the first thing I think to myself is: "I'm not reading all of that," followed by, "What in the hell is 'rubber ducking'"? Ok, so, moving on, I scroll right to the bottom of the page. I'm about to click "schedule now," but this caught my attention: "Companies are generally happy to pay for pythonduck.com." I'm calling BS right now. Have you had any corporate customers? I work in Corporate Hell right now, and if a developer went to their manger to say "Hey, I'm stuck on this Python problem, can I use the company card for this PythonDuck thing?" The answer would be a resounding "NO." Also, if this was being used by corporate customers, I'd probably expect to see that prominently advertised somewhere earlier on...not with a "hey, all of the other companies do this and it's totally OK" type of statement. I click on the "schedule now" button, and it's clearly started that the scheduling is powered by a 3rd party. At this point, I've lost too much faith to continue. This went up QUICKLY, and I haven't learned enough about YOU and how you can help ME. Why is this better than me taking my problem over to StackOverflow? What if I have a problem that isn't captured in the bullets? Maybe I'm stuck on an issue that can be resolved in 15 minutes... if I don't need any help after that, what are we going to do with the extra time? I think the concept is great... but may need some fine tuning. :)
Great points, thanks! I think you're spot on, and the data bears you out -- I have had corporate clients, but they're people who have worked with me before. No new people who have found the site have taken me up, so it seems that the biggest hurdle here is trust.
I'll pull the statement about companies generally being happy to pay and replace it with specific companies that I know are willing to pay, that's absolutely stronger.
I'll also add more granular appointment types.
My guess is that even with all that, most of my business will be word-of-mouth :)
Awesome! I think that’ll help, along with some customization on the front end… maybe some graphics? Also, perhaps consider some cheaper / shorter consultation sessions? If I can spend $20 for 15 minutes to get a quick answer to a problem that will stump me for days - that’s totally worth it!
Hey Joe - great idea! I really like how simple and to-the-point the landing page is. Maybe you could add a simple footer with a short paragraph about you (e.g. your full name, where you're based, your GitHub / LinkedIn / Twitter)? It might help people to double check that you're a real person!
I'm not sure whether you've got around to honing the site for SEO yet but I find this tool to be super helpful:
https://freetools.seobility.net/en/seocheck/check?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpythonduck.com%2F&crawltype=1#fg-server
Looks like you've got a few simple things you can fix in there that will make you much more Google-friendly.
Fantastic advice, I'll definitely add more info about myself!
And I haven't done any SEO work yet, I appreciate you sharing the tool.
Here we go:
✅ Neat explanation of what you're selling
✅ RubberDuck is an industry term, you're targeting the right folks from the start
✅ Short and to the point
🆘 No user testimonials
🆘 CTA below the fold
🆘 Which happy companies pay for help?
🆘 Who are you? Why should I trust you?
Perfect, succinct and great points. I can tell you've done this before!
Yeah, check out other feedbacks on YouTube @ lf.gg/youtube if you're curious
Low hanging fruit - Its not responsive?
Screenshot from my Pixel 5 ->
https://s3.amazonaws.com/pf-upload-01/u-1/0/2021-08-28/k20369n/Screenshot_20210828-200844.png
Looks like a fixed size viewport problem (can't check from my phone sorry).
Other than that I think the page makes sense, it's a clear pitch. One note - I had to google rubber duck debugging (and I'm a dev), so it might be worth explaining it a little bit early on in the copy.
Thanks, great feedback! I'll address the responsiveness issue and at minimum link to a wikipedia page on rubber duck debugging.
Good stuff!
Just curious: what’s the advantage of an own landing page compared to becoming a seller on (for example) Fiverr?
I'm sure short-term discoverability is better on contract sites, but I think it's easier to build SEO strength over time on your own site, and you're not subject to the dangers of a contract site kicking you/folding/etc. In general I'm a proponent of owning the ways people connect with you, if you can.
Site is nice and simple.
It needs to be responsive - viewing from my phone the text was small.
Your PS companies are happy to pay sounds fishy. Rebrand this as an offer to bulk credits with a discount - it'll save corps getting multiple approvals and expense claims and give you more revenue up front.
Thanks, I'll make it responsive and make 'companies are happy to pay' less of a blanket statement. I'm sure it will be much more effective to have a list of companies that I know will pay.
This comment was deleted 3 years ago
Yep, right out of the box :)