Validating an idea: landing page only vs. building an MVP
https://baby-steps.carrd.co/
I'm developing a concept of a tailored checklist for pregnant women. The idea is to lead women through the process of figuring out what's important to them in a pregnancy and output a checklist of things they should do as the pregnancy progresses.
To validate the idea, I set up a landing page in order to see if women find interest in such a product - https://baby-steps.carrd.co/
The problem - I'm not convinced that a landing page is enough.
- If no one signs up - maybe it's because the landing page is lacking a demo / something more tangible about the product.
- If many ppl sign up - maybe it's because I'm promising things I would not be able to deliver later when the product is ready.
How would you approach this problem?
Why not get offline and go to a baby section of a store and ask mom's if they'd buy your service. Then try to actually sell it. You don't have to have it built yet. Maybe throw together some screenshots, but you don't necessarily need a demo or trial.
Thanks! why would you say reaching out in person is better than somehow doing it online?
Also - can you point me to good examples of a product that's being showcased using screenshots only which you think is good?
It's a direct way to reach your customers. You could do it online too. I don't have an example, but when you ask someone to reach for their wallet, they'll give you much harsher and more real advice.
Hi there! Your checklist seems like a great idea! And trying to validate before building is the way to go, in my opinion.
Here's how I would solve both problems.
I don't to there's any real reason why your landing page needs an actual working demo. How many times have you signed up for a product based on what a landing page's copy, an advertisement's message, or a simple screenshots shows? A lot of times the only way to try the product is it to sign up for an account. Or think about apps in the Apple App Store / Google Play Store store - you get to see some screenshots, some description of the features by the developer, and probably some reviews. But you have to download the app and try it out to actually get any value.
OK... but you don't have screenshots yes, without building an actual product, right? No problem! You might not realize it, but a TON of apps/products don't use actual screenshots at all on their landing pages, because their products are better represented by mockups. Check my soon-to-launch product out: I haven't written a single line of code for the UI yet, but I have a clear image showing off how it would work, which I made in Sketch: https://www.annotateright.com
So make it clear when they sign up that you haven't finished building the product yet. Is anything that you're promising technologically impossible? (I doubt it.)
You can tell your users that you are working on the product piece by piece, and that you'll be releasing new features constantly, starting with the ones you promised. Your users will actually appreciate it if you are upfront and open about the fact that you're still working on the product, and you can build engagement that way. Each new feature release is an excuse to email users, and they'll love getting each email, knowing that the app is getting more valuable to them.
Good luck! You've got about 40 weeks to launch your product once you get an email sign up ;)
I just looked over your landing page, can you share your conversion rates or any other relevant statistic? The page looks awesome and I would really like to understand the impact it's making.
Thanks a lot! that's a great reply. I will try to work in the directions you suggested.