What ain't I getting about my product?

by 7 replies
8
Hi Copywarriors,

A while back I posted my plan for marketing and selling the product I've been working on, a project timer called Project Time Machines, available on the Google Play Store.

Things are going well, though slower than they could be.

I got the app built and released it to the play store on time (and on budget) last February.

The next step in my plan was to get 100 users and 10 reviews.

I would have liked to hire a pro copywriter to do this first step for me, but the few copywriters I approached for help turned me down. So I took it upon myself to write the initial copy and prove to myself and anyone else I'd hope to interest that the product doesn't suck and there's a market that wants it.

I wrote a couple dozen posts, dropping a few here on WF and the rest on a couple of reddit subs.

Results on WF were abysmal, getting essentially zero people to even take a look at the free app, even though it's designed specifically for warrior types.

Results on reddit were equally sucky, all except for two posts:

https://www.reddit.com/r/productivit...tivate_you_to/
https://www.reddit.com/r/productivit...n_a_todo_list/

These two articles got me a total of about 350 initial downloads, about 175 of which have actually created an account.

As of this moment, I've got 669 downloads, 368 have created user accounts, and 13 reviews, all 5-star.

So, mission accomplished. I've confirmed my product doesn't suck (and that my copywriting does), and now I'm ready to move onto the next steps in my project... hire a copywriter and have them get me a whole bunch more users and drive them to the launch of the paid version of my app a few months from now.

I posted an ad on upwork .

It's a paid/promoted ad, viewable to all upwork freelancers, and I directly invited 21 copywriters to the job.

A total of 3 replied as possibly interested, and 2 other non-invited people responded (one charging $6.00 an hour, the other from Nigeria).

The rest of the invited either replied as not interested or too busy, or just no response.

I'm hoping you can help me understand what the problem might be.

Did I not sufficiently prove that the product is good and has a potential market?

Is my plan for making money with this thing flawed beyond modification, or seriously unrealistic?

Is my job ad just so terribly written that these responses are actually better than you'd expect?

Something else wrong that I'm not seeing?

I'd love to hear from your perspective what may be so unappealing about the product I created, where it seems so many professional marketers and copywriters have no interest in taking my money to try and help me sell it.

Thanks.
#copywriting #product
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  • Right here, you have not explained your product in a way I can understand. I have NO idea what the product does, why someone would buy it and what benefit it offers.

    Perhaps even to get copywriters interested in working with you, you need a more compelling one-sentence introduction. Answer these questions:

    Who is it for?
    What does it help with?
    Why would people spend money on it?
    How is it different/better than alternative apps?

    Then put it all together in one sentence to replace your highlighted quote above.

    Marcia Yudkin
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    • If I could do that, I probably wouldn't need to hire a copywriter.

      But, these are the first few sentences I used in the job ad...
      I've created an Android app called Project Time Machines. It's a project timer for procrastinators. Well, at least this is the first the hook I went with.

      It can also be described as the best digital implementation of Scrum available (when using the Project Plan features included with the upcoming Pro version).

      It may also be marketed as the GTD killer.

      Project Time Machines monitors the time and effort you put into your projects, and through the data it collects, it motivates you to work more often and more consistently, helping you to reach your Project Goal - on a very specific, pre-determined Goal Date.
      Are these sentences pretty terrible at quickly describing what my product does? Probably. But that's why I included links to the few posts I wrote that were successful at describing my product.

      How good of a copywriter do I need to be to be able to hire a copywriter?
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  • You are trying way too hard here!

    Try just answering my questions separately without any metaphors or fancy stuff:

    Who is it for?
    What does it help with?
    Why would people spend money on it?
    How is it different/better than alternative apps?

    If you can answer those questions, then a copywriter would have something to work with. If not, then it's not even clear you have a viable product.

    Marcia Yudkin
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    • Who is it for?

      It's for people who feel they need a tool or system (such as GTD, 7-Habits, Bullet Journal, etc.) to be productive and get their projects done.

      However... this app is very much like a digital version of Scrum (one of the only ones I'm aware of, and certainly the best). Scrum is a productivity system originally designed for helping small teams get software projects completed, and is now widely used by many of the largest companies on the planet to get their projects done of all kinds. So, I think this app may also be for many small teams inside some very big companies.

      What does it help with?

      It helps you complete projects on a pre-determined date, but more importantly It helps procrastination-prone people to get started, or get back to work on their projects instantly (unlike GTD,7-Habits, Bullet Journal, where a ton of setup is required). It's incredibly easy to use, and requires no regular maintenance (again, unlike GTD, etc.) so it's easier to keep using long term than other systems and you'll make greater, more frequent, more consistent progress on your projects.

      Why would people spend money on it?

      Because it's a better, more effective, easier to use solution than the other systems they've tried in the past and quit using after 2 weeks.

      How is it different/better than alternative apps?

      Other systems require long and complex setups, are time consuming to use and ask that you turn using their system (whether organizing your to-do lists, updating your schedule, prioritizing your journal items, etc.) into yet another daily habit and thing to procrastinate doing.

      Mine requires almost zero setup, takes less than a minute to use, and motivates you to do one thing only... Get to work on your project. Now!


      The best I've been able to answer the above questions was in the reddit post I linked above (https://www.reddit.com/r/productivit...tivate_you_to/).

      The response I've received from this one post (based on the comments, reviews and the number of sign-ups) I think validate the product is viable. I just don't know why I'm the only one who thinks so.
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  • The two best parts of what you wrote here:

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  • Hi,

    I understand your problem is that you cannot hire a copywriter. I would try a different freelancing site not upwork e.g. freelancer.com and if that still doesn't work find a different one still.

    I think it will be useful to show us the complete project "ad", what you wrote on Upwork to find a good copywriter. Sometimes if your "ad" is too long it can look boring, so perhaps the "ad" you wrote isn't clear enough...

    All you have to do is tell them you want to hire a copywriter and some basic details about the product you want to them sell. You're not trying to sell stuff.

    Also on most freelancing websites copywriting isn't the most common type of project, so I wouldn't expect 20 or more freelancers to bid. It's not a webdesign or programming project, those get the most bids.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
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