Why Your New Product Isn't Taking Off
Launching a new product that's not gaining traction? Here's why:
Unnoticed - nobody knows it exists.
Unwanted - people see it but don't feel motivated to try it.
Unshared - people try it but don't tell others about it.
Unviral - people like it, but it's not inspiring them to share it.
By identifying where your product is falling short, you can gain valuable insights into how to hit the mark and succeed.
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Great post! I'm the author of a freeware budgeting app. I wrote it for my own use, but figured I'd share it worth the world. I definitely struggle with 'unnoticed'. I'm not sure about 'unwanted'. Budgeting software hit an interesting wall a few years ago... All the products reached a point where they were basically complete. Users stopped upgrading, so vendors killed their desktop products and moved to a subscription based cloud model to keep the revenue stream alive.
Users continuously complain about the recurring fees on reddit, so I figured a freeware desktop alternative might get some traction. Turns out, not so much.
I've currently got it versioned 0.5 (well, 0.5.23.62). I'm wondering if people see the low version number and bail. When I initially published it, it was missing a few key features, but now it's reliable and functional. Do versions numbers matter?
The other problem is that any post on reddit that looks like self promotion is nuked, even if on topic (i.e. someone posts 'recommend a budgeting app please...' and I reply). I haven't solved that issue yet.
https://scratchtrack.net
Hello, @KenSimone I am glad you are making your software for solving your problem.
The biggest reason you're struggling with "unnoticed" is that you're not pitching to the right people.
To know who is the right person for your software you have to figure out how people are solving the issue which your software is solving!
Hi @khadush
You can easily build:
teams using SkilledUp Lifers from https://skilledup.life to address the "unnoticed" problem.
"unwanted" and "unviral" can be solved by:
and much more by building a comprehensive product team using SkilledUp Lifers.
If there is a problem, there's always a solution out there.
All the best
[email protected]
Concise!
Idea validation is the first big thing. Make sure the product you want to build is what people want to meet one certain need.
That's one big lesson I learned after I launched my latest product, and I'm reflecting on it right now.
Great to hear that you learned a huge lesson!
Product validation is key!
@khadush You're right - no matter how good a product you've made, it's useless until others know about it.
Sharing the content with others is a good marketing strategy, and it will build a community of people who are interested in the product. Nowadays, most founders started sharing their product updates on a daily or weekly basis. This increases the visibility of the product.
At the start, I didn't pay much attention to it because we were already working on B2C projects and we could easily find customers through other digital campaigns. However, when we started working on our current B2B project, Churnfree.com, we realized that sharing is the key to success in making the project successful. Unfortunately, we didn't do it the right way.
By the way, thank you for sharing.
Is there anything I can help with?
e.g. Design, Psychology and Conversion optimization
Nice one!
I can add one more to this list;
Maybe your product is not solving any of the problems that a customer has.
In the end, our customers are not buying products, they are buying solutions to their problems.
I talked about this in my latest post here: https://www.indiehackers.com/post/5-idea-validation-tips-to-cut-back-solopreneur-challenges-35c0de3f02
Yes!!! This is what I always say!
The biggest one I've noticed is that no-one knows that it exists haha.
Marketing is probably one of the biggest keys to success in the indiehacker sphere unless you've developed the cure to cancer.
Been marketing like an entire agency for Evoke even before our launch
Most founders suffer from this problem because they focus on building the product directly without knowing how they will find the people.
One secret: don't focus on building the product directly focus on selling small info products and try to solve that problems through other ways it will help to validate the idea.
Yep, lots of small launches definitely works very well!
What did you do for marketing Evoke?
Mostly just dropping comments about it everywhere I can
www.linqmeup.com is tried by people, but they're not switching to buying more credits or subscription. It's either unwanted (not useful enough) and surely unshared (thinking of adding simple referral system that gains the users credits
Rather than guessing, why don't you take a survey?
Or ask for the reviews?
Good questions. I have, actually, reached out to my users, but got zero replies.
Even proposing some credits in return, no dice.
Always remember Value > Pain.
If people are not using it. It clearly indicated two basic things either you are solving the wrong problem or the problem you're solving is not worth solving.
💯 I’m going to add small tweaks I’d use, and if indoor have a paying customer in March, I’m taking it offline (I can use it myself minus hosting). Got some other ideas waiting to be validated
So simple, yet it makes a lot of sense.
I am trying to figure out wether my chrome extension is unnoticed or unwanted.
An in the case that it is unwanted...what would make people want it. So currently investigating and trying to get feedback on that.
_________________
If anyone want to check it out and tell me what they think, it is Get Directo, a Chrome Extension that finds the direct link of hotel or vacation rentals while you search on sites such as airbnb or booking.
The idea behind it is that by booking direct, you get a better deal on your accommodations.
You can find it here: bit.ly/41JuWsw
How did you come up with this idea?
Have you done any research, or do you just want to make money?
I guess a bit of both. I did research before, but I am also finding new things along the way . And yes, I do want to make money too.
I am working with a close friend who has been in travel tech for over 10 years. We see the opportunity to help hotels and hosts get more direct traffic, and to help travelers get a better deal along the way. He knows the industry, and I have more experience with B2C.
Although I am a UX designer, I am also learning about SaaS marketing and user psychology.
I also have a few friends who are in SaaS marketing, so I would love to collaborate with you in the future in case you need some help regarding idea validation, marketing, or design.
Very cool! I am very interested in UX as well. What are you currently working on?
I am currently working as a full-time UX designer in a CRO agency.
However, I want to know how we can collaborate and help each other building excellent products.
If you have a few minutes, you can mail me at [email protected] or drop your email so I can contact you personally!
Your extension looks cool, but since I have no plans to travel in the foreseeable future, I just hoped that I'll recall it when I need it.
And the hard truth is that this is not gonna happen, as my memory will wipe it out tomorrow as unused information.
That is definitely true!
May I ask, why you choose to not download it now even if you have no inmediate travel plans, and just keep it for the future? (Trying to understand and get a clearer picture on potential users)
Big thanks for checking it out!
I'm not that smart to realize right away that I might just install and keep it. My approximate thoughts at that moment were like "It's not essential to me right now, close the tab". Longer reasoning is apparently not something I would do in a situation like this.
I didn't see how much money I can save with it —> I had no enough incentive to pay more attention to it.
There was no Big Red Blinking Suggestion™ like
"Install it NOW and it will sit quietly until the right moment and serve you exactly when you need it"on the Chrome Store page or in the video — that would gently nudge me toward the realization that I can install it and it will jump in next time when I'm on Airbnb or Booking.com.Slight fear of having a mess in my Chrome extensions — I already have quite a bit.
THIS IS BRILLIANT! I think you are absolutely right, I hadn't thought of exploring that message in the communication.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. Makes a lot of sense.
And if there is anything I could help you with, definitely let me know!!
No worries, I'm happy to help. Good luck!
Thank you, I think that is why my side hustle is failing and falling!
At which stage are you right now?