Hey,
Thank you for taking the time to read, and for your potential advice.
In the case of a digital product MVP, without funding, how do you generate relevant traffic without breaking the bank (as you don’t want to over-invest from the get-go)?
For context, here’s what I know about how to generate traffic:
- Personal network
- Pros: Free, and quick exposure
- Con’s: One trick poney, Usually a low match in terms of potential customers
- Virality
- Pros: Awesome, free, recurrent
- Con’s: Completely out of your control or what you can do in early stages
- MVP sharing spaces
- Pros: Free, Wide exposure
- Cons: Very low relevancy, I feel like all of the known MVP-sharing space is filled at 99% with people sharing their own MVPs. Everyone wants to talk, no one wants to listen.
- SEO:
- Pros: Long-term traffic building
- Cons: It takes such a long time, has no guarantee, and doubtful future with incoming AI search engines. Also is a debatably too big investment when just testing the water with an MVP.
- Ads:
- Pros: Effective, potentially more relevant, Quick
- Cons: Costly, can take a while to fine-tune for good targeting/costs.
In my case it’s not a “have been working on it for 3 years mvp”, it’s literally a 2-week free product, put three links on a couple of subreddits and I am getting a new user a day. My current plan would be to ask users to register their email if they are interested in a paid pro version, put a small amount of $ into ads, and only continue and build the pro version if I can get 100 registered interest.
But I wanted to know what is your usual process for this, how do you handle it? I would love to hear from people who have serially launched digital products, if you have a pattern in how you do things, regardless of the industry for the product.
And as a related question, are there things you can do as a non-marketer person to build up coverage in a way that doesn’t involve throwing money at it and that is value-adding, ethical, and non-spammy? I am happy to spend some time and energy, I am just not sure how to go at it.
Thank you again, and have a fantastic day!
Before spending 2 weeks building an MVP, you should spend 2 days (or more… however long it takes) doing customer discovery through conversational interviews with early adopters.
Early adopters are people who:
- have the problem you’re solving
- know and care that they have the problem
- are actively trying to solve the problem
- have spent time and/or money to solve it
- ideally… they haven’t totally solved it yet
The “customer discovery” phase / method accomplishes many things, including answering your specific question.
While validating the problem, you experiment with locating and engaging “early adopters.” If you can’t manually successfully find a few dozen passionately interested early adopters to interview, then you’re gonna have a very difficult time selling something, because you simply don’t know what channels to use to find them or how to speak their language.
The customer discovery method is useful for far more than exploring product ideas, features, etc. You should also be learning from early adopters:
- what other types of solutions they’ve tried — how successful those have been, the good and the bad
- how they feel, think, talk, and behave about the problem and solutions — giving you insights that inform Your marketing messaging, imagery, stories
- where they look and what they search for — insights for where to put your ads when you launch
- how much time and money a solution is worth to them, based purely on their past behavior and how much they’ve invested
- what related problems might arise when they try to fit your solution into their life
Even though you’ve built something, it may be very wise to go back and just try to find and interview people who fit the description of early adopters. If you can’t find any… shrug emoji.
The alternative is to simply keep trying to get people to interact with your MVP. But you won’t learn nearly as much that way as you would just asking questions face to face.
It’s easy and common to do customer discovery wrong and get bad results. Don’t waste your time! Study these first.
Resources:
- Steve Blank’s website / blog
- Justin Wilcox videos on YouTube
- Rob Fitzpatrick’s book The Mom Test
- David Bland’s book Testing Business Ideas
Hey!
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such an extensive answer!I really appreciate the breakdown and the steps. You have a point that customer discovery is something I need to learn to master.
I will go through your recommendations, could I come back to you if I have more questions on that specific topic?
I think using as many no-code tools as you can is the answer tbh. It’s very expensive to build especially if you aren’t an engineer so I’d avoid that at all costs. Once you have something that does 80% of what you think you need to do, it’s go time. The first thing is figuring out where people who want your product hang out. There’s probably a subreddit for that community. Then you can start by joining, participating, then slowly maybe start reaching out to folks who are dealing with your problem. Eventually, you can try a post with mod approval.
Laughed at the personal network cons. I recently launched and garnered a few thousand LinkedIn impressions and made zero customers from it. Very much expected and wasn’t surprised. But I did get a lot of claps and thumbs up.
Validating and gaining exposure for your digital MVP is crucial for ensuring its success in the market. Here’s a step-by-step process to effectively validate and expose your digital MVP:
Identify your target audience: Clearly define your target users, understanding their demographics, interests, pain points, and online behavior. This will help you tailor your validation and exposure strategies effectively.
Gather initial feedback: Utilize user testing tools or conduct in-person interviews to gather feedback from your target audience. Observe their interactions with your MVP, identify areas for improvement, and gather insights into their needs and expectations.
Analyze usage data: Employ analytics tools to track user behavior, such as page views, time spent on each page, and conversion rates. Analyze this data to identify patterns, understand user engagement, and optimize your MVP accordingly.
Run A/B tests: Conduct A/B tests to compare different versions of your MVP, such as varying design elements, call-to-action buttons, or messaging. This will help you determine which elements lead to better user engagement and conversions.
Engage with early adopters: Identify and engage with early adopters who are passionate about your product. Encourage their feedback, involve them in product development, and leverage their enthusiasm to promote your MVP.
Seek feedback from industry experts: Seek feedback from industry experts, such as product designers, marketers, and entrepreneurs. Their insights can help you refine your MVP, identify potential challenges, and improve its overall market fit.
Leverage social media platforms: Utilize social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to connect with your target audience, share your MVP’s features and benefits, and engage in conversations with potential users.
Participate in online communities: Engage with online communities related to your industry or target audience. Share your MVP, participate in discussions, and provide valuable insights to establish credibility and attract potential users.
Consider content marketing: Create informative and engaging content related to your product or industry. Share this content on your website, social media channels, and relevant online publications to attract organic traffic and build brand awareness.
Explore influencer marketing: Collaborate with relevant influencers in your industry who align with your brand values. Leverage their influence to reach a wider audience, promote your MVP, and generate positive buzz.
Utilize paid advertising: Consider targeted advertising campaigns on platforms like Google Ads and social media to reach your specific audience, drive traffic to your MVP landing page, and generate leads.
Attend industry events: Participate in relevant industry events, conferences, and trade shows to showcase your MVP, network with potential partners and investors, and gain exposure to new opportunities.
Submit your MVP to relevant publications: Submit your MVP for review and consideration to relevant online and offline publications, blogs, and tech review sites. Positive reviews can enhance your credibility and attract new users.
Offer incentives for referrals: Implement a referral program that rewards existing users for inviting their friends and colleagues to try your MVP. This can help you expand your reach and acquire new users more efficiently.
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Let me know if there is anything else you want be to help or review