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10 Comments

Should I invest in ads when still in beta?

Ciao guys,

I'm new to the community (actually I've been silently spying for years 😁 ) and I recently launched the beta of ChartBear (https://chartbear.app), a side project born of my need.

So far I've collected a bunch of beta users but I'd like to have more, hence my question: should I invest in ads at this stage, or is it better to wait until the final product is ready?

In a month I'll be also featured on betalist (according to what they say) so I'd also like to be ready to maximize that opportunity.

Thanks in advance!

  1. 4

    If you have no paying users (nor product/market fit) I would not run ads now. But I wouldn't "wait" for the "final product" to be "ready" either.

    Think where your users are and go participate there. From the top of my head: browse the r/dataisbeautiful subreddit and post original data visualization of trendy topics using your product (describe your methodology and tool in the comments). Check out "Related Communities" in r/datascience for more subreddit ideas.

    Also, I would love to see your charts in action on the landing page (maybe tracking the total number of charts generated or sign up users or charts per user etc.). You have the perfect opportunity to instantly show how your product looks (an interactive editor would also be great but an embedded chart is easier ;)) Good luck!

    1. 2

      Hey, thank you!

      Yes, I get that being more active in the communities it's something that I definitely have to do.. and I will.

      Love the idea to show my charts 💛 in action and I'll for sure figure out something.
      Keep you posted!

  2. 2

    I think you should focus on the old users. Ask them for the feedback and see if they are ready to pay you once the product is launch ( you can give some discount to early bird ).

    Because sometimes, what happens is that you get a high number of beta users, who are expecting something much higher from you and when you finally launch the product they don't get converted. So it will be a loss of money.

    But if you don't have a small userbase during launching the product then you can spend little on ads, just to have some users who can give early feedback by this way, you will save yourself from extra ad's money loss and a brand bad reputation loss incase something is missing.

    GO SLOW, BUT DON'T STOP

    1. 1

      GO SLOW, BUT DON'T STOP will be my motto from now on 🙌

      Thank you!

  3. 2

    Nice logo!

    Your product looks good and inviting, so it's weird that you don't have more beta users. In how many places did you share it?

    My product has been in beta for more than a year. We haven't launched on betalist or product hunt, and I still got 10k+ visits along the way, just by posting and participating everywhere.

    Places that come to mind:

    • all the startup directories (10words, fiddy.co, betapage.co... there are dozens more).
    • indiehackers
    • indiehackers product (create a product and add milestones from time to time, this puts you on top of the pile and attracts viewers)
    • r/startups
    • product hunt discussion boards
    • twitter (reply to threads asking to share what you're working on)
    • there are also subreddits dedicated to charts / data visualization I'm sure

    I suspect that you haven't gotten the word out too much, since you mention that you've been silently spying for years. 👀

    1. 2

      First thing, thank you for the very helpful feedback!

      I started participating in some subreddit (r/saas, r/dataisbeautiful among the others) but I'll definitely have to do more.

      The same goes for Twitter and I'm slowly getting better.
      I'll also create the product page here and in all the startup directories you mentioned (I already have a list).

      So the main takeaway is that I have a lot of work to do before investing in ads 💪

      Ps: the Logology LP blows my mind! GJ with that and good luck with it!

      1. 1

        Thank you!

        Yes, you have lots of ways to get users before needing to run ads, go for it 😉

  4. 1

    I'd say it depends.

    We sometimes run ads just to test certain things, the messaging, get email signups, validation etc but not for a long time, it's expensive 😛

    The thing is that most people are not gonna be your typical early adopter persona tho so you need to factor that in, depending on who you're selling to.

    Good Luck 🎉

  5. 1

    My only question is why all these bears love to generate images so much :D

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