Share your frustrations about funnels

Hi hackers,

I've been working in marketing and growth since 2012. I worked in-house roles, then did freelance, led a CRO dept at an agency, and now run a consultancy.

Looking at the recurring challenges people are facing while trying to grow their project I decided to try and help indie founders make sense of the things I know a bit about.

So now I'm writing an ebook about funnel optimization – heavily biased towards indie hackers and the unique position we're in.

Help me make this book more useful by sharing your frustrations and questions about creating/using/improving funnels.

I'll cover those topics in the comments briefly and add them to the book's content shortlist for a more thorough coverage.

Cheers!

Pavlo Cherniakov

on July 24, 2020

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Uclusion just launched this week and we are finding it pretty hard to get people to sign up as early adopters. Even when I talk to former colleagues I have to first assure them that this is NOT a lean startup proof of concept - its fully featured software that we have been using for months.

I can't be certain but I don't think the environment for new products was always this hostile - I feel like lean startup may have created a marketing problem for us that is difficult to get around.

disrael

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6 years ago
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  Hi David,
  
  This is a two-fold problem, and most of it lies quite a bit outside of your website.
  
  There are two parts to the acquisition funnel – off-site and on-site. On-site is what funnels are traditionally thought to be (and referred to), while off-site is anything that happens leading up to the website click – with or without your action.
  
  Off-site, you need to make sure you consistently explain and showcase the value of your product. One good success story that shows the 'click' of value is much better than 3-5 mediocre ones, which don't come across as relatable. That goes for blog posts, IH, HN, PH, twitter, podcasts, and anywhere else you might be trying to promote your service.
  
  On-site, it is imperative that the content of your LPs – and the website as a whole – is consistently hammering the point home. Same language, same pain points, same 'click' narrative.
  
  In the AIDA stack, off-site is responsible for attention and interest, and on-site should take care of further interest, desire, and action.
  
  I say this not knowing your whole story and situation, but I wouldn't say the problem is about convincing people that you're a full product. You just might not be showing the value that's relatable to the people you're pitching to. Whether this is the problem of the wrong audience or the wrong pitch, I don't know.
  
  Hope this helps.
  
  Pavlo Cherniakov
  
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  6 years ago
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    Hi Pavel,
    
    Thanks that does help - at this point in our marketing its probably both the wrong pitch and the wrong audience. We will work on up stream content that correctly sets the table for the click.
    
    Our basic pitch is that we are selling opinionated software and that because none of the competition is opinionated their solutions will never work as well for you. My point is that this "trust us" element is difficult to sell in an environment of new products built in weeks. However making our message more consistent surely is a good idea.
    
    Thank you,
    David
    
    disrael
    
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    6 years ago
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      No problem.
      
      I'd also work on your homepage. I noticed several significant issues with it.
      
      The above-the-fold value proposition is too vague. Even assuming all the traffic you care about comes from qualified sources with the narrative already in place, the 'It's just easier' sounds too generic.
      
      You mention that your software is opinionated and it's a major differentiating factor. Your homepage doesn't mention this explicitly. It most likely should – not only to provide clarity on what you're offering, but also to create an anchor to refer to later on your page and in the customer journey. Sounds like this should be a part of the marketing strategy really.
      
      You are trying to use the juxtaposition to provide specific examples of how your software is different from 'the old ways'. But the headings make it look like 'XYZ the old way' is your actual offering and not something you're fighting.
      
      Moreover, your juxtaposition lacks context. It shows how your product is different, but it doesn't explain or show how it's better than the rest. Always assume your visitors need explaining things. If it's not stated clearly in plain English, assume it's not conveyed.
      
      I see absolutely no info about the pricing. Chances are, the visitor is often not the person responsible for budgeting software costs. So they will need to pitch your product to that person. That's a major friction factor for conversion. Having no idea what would it cost potentially makes the visitor wonder if it's worth signing up in the first place. If the quote is going to end up $40k/yr for them, it might not be worth the time spent – the boss won't sign off on that. But if it's $200/mo, it might not be that bad. Do your visitors have any indication of that factor? Not on the LP. You don't even specify WHEN the price will come up.
      
      Hope this helps.
      
      Cheers.
      
      Pavlo Cherniakov
      
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      6 years ago
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        Hi Pavel, this is Ben, David's cofounder.
        I've taken your advice to heart and reworked our wording. Pricing page is being created (for now it's free forever for early adopters, we're still figuring out what the pricing model is going to be based on how people are going to use it). If you get a chance could you take a look at the new version?
        At any rate, thanks for the great advice:)
        Ben
        
        bfuclusion
        
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        6 years ago
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        Hi Ben,
        
        It's late here so I'll be brief.
        
        The 'Stop X start Y' thing is a good fix. Pay attention to exact wording your prospects use when describing their experience. You might want to adjust some wording for added clarity and specificity if you see a trend.
        
        The above-the-fold animation is jumpy and a tad confusing. As a rule of thumb, imagine they're reading a printout of the page. If animation is not necessary, avoid it.
        
        The H1 is better, but not specific enough (IMO). HOW are you opinionated? What's the core principle your software follows that generates tangible value for the customer?
        
        As an exercise, put together a comparison between state A to state B. State A being current painful position they're in right now, whether they acknowledge it or not. State B being the bliss (throwing big words around here) of using your software without the pains.
        
        Kind of similar to what your feature sections are. Except, now put yourself into their shoes and think real hard about the BENEFIT your software has brought to them.
        
        I.e. don't write about features, write about benefits. Think of the first iPod's '1,000 of songs in your pocket' as opposed to 'World's smallest portable music player'.
        
        The customer would rarely use your product for the sake of using it. They are solving specific problems with your or any other tool. How does your solution help them deal with that higher-level problem?
        
        Cheers!
        
        Pavlo Cherniakov
        
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        6 years ago
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        Hi Pavel,
        
        Thank you so much for your continued guidance. I put an attempt at fixing your latest critique up on https://preview.uclusion.com
        
        disrael
        
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        6 years ago
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        Hi David,
        
        I think this is much better now. At least looking at it isolated – as I mentioned, the whole thing from upstream content to the onboarding process needs to be coherent and congruent.
        
        I would tinker with copy and layout further, but that's a project beyond a quick fix. And pricing still needs to be addressed – free-forever sounds too good to be true without clarification.
        
        One thing I noticed is that your signup form isn't responsive. If your prospects have the slightest chance to visit your website from mobile (email, calendar note, etc.), you better not frustrate them with a desktop page on a mobile device. That creates a lot of friction.
        
        That said, your homepage is now better equipped to convince people to try you.
        
        Cheers!
        
        Pavlo Cherniakov
        
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        6 years ago
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        Hi Pavel,
        
        Yes we are working on making it more responsive. The guy who helps with that wasn't able to work over the weekend.
        
        Thanks again so much!
        
        disrael
        
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        6 years ago
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        No problem! Good luck with growing Uclusion!
        
        Pavlo Cherniakov
        
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        6 years ago
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