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Chicken before the egg?

by tnob
7 replies
I am building out a Saas app. I am also building out a content site in order to attract users that would potentially subscribe to the app.

Any insights on which to launch first? Any benefits to one before the other?
#chicken #egg
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  • Profile picture of the author DWolfe
    Originally Posted by tnob View Post

    I am building out a Saas app. I am also building out a content site in order to attract users that would potentially subscribe to the app.

    Any insights on which to launch first? Any benefits to one before the other?
    You should spend time to determine, if there's any interest in your product first. If that is the case, the content site should be built first. If you build the app and nobody cares your just wasting time.
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    • Profile picture of the author tnob
      You should spend time to determine, if there's any interest in your product first. If that is the case, the content site should be built first. If you build the app and nobody cares your just wasting time.
      Thank you DWolfe. I am glad you brought this up. I started toying with this idea ~1 year ago because an office mate had a need for it. So I have drawn it up several times and gone back and forth with my office mate, tweaking and making it better for him.

      So, I know that there is 1 person who needs it!
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  • Profile picture of the author Serene Carmen
    Hey there

    Have you already confirmed whether there is demand for your SaaS app? If you haven't it might help to run paid ads to a "Sign up for Launch" landing page (with some % discount if they sign up pre-launch). This way you can also collect email addresses while gauging the interest. Also post on forums to see if there is a need for your Saas.

    If you have already determined that there is demand it probably makes sense to launch the content site first so that you can start ranking and maybe get some organic traffic while you are building the app. You can have a pre-launch page on this site too.
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    • Profile picture of the author tnob
      Have you already confirmed whether there is demand for your SaaS app? If you haven't it might help to run paid ads to a "Sign up for Launch" landing page (with some % discount if they sign up pre-launch). This way you can also collect email addresses while gauging the interest. Also post on forums to see if there is a need for your Saas.
      Thank you Serene. As I mentioned to DWolfe I am glad you brought this up. I started toying with this idea ~1 year ago because an office mate had a need for it. So I have drawn it up several times and gone back and forth with my office mate, tweaking and making it better for him.

      So, I know that there is 1 person who needs it!
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  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    I dont think this is a question of which comes first, its more in line of the cart before the horse.

    in selling, there is generally a pretty well laid out idea of how the process works. You make a product, you advertise the product, you sell the product. I would suggest that is how most people look at the process... and as much as this is true - it is very misleading. I say this because it may be how it looks like selling works, BUT when you introduce how someone BUYS, the process falls to stuff hitting a fan.

    When you goto the store to buy cereal as an example... are you gonna buy General Mills or Kellogg's or some Unknown Bobs cereal brand you have never seen or heard of before? In the realm of apps Unknown Bob only works if the app is free... after that to reach an amount of success there has to be an effort of brand in place. I think a better term might be "Authority".

    If you have a SaaS product that is going to solve a problem I am facing.. WHY would I choose your product over any of the others? A website that clearly gives the impression of Authority is a great place to start right?

    So what does "Authority" look like? It goes in 2 directions... we have discussed these already.. there is ME and WE ( point of context for others: https://www.warriorforum.com/warrior...l#post11652444 ) ME will look like Hi my name is X and I have been working with X industry for Y years and I am qualified to be the source of your solution for Z. And then there is WE aka BRAND that would sound like We are X and we have been in the Y space for Z years and are more than qualified to solve your problem.

    Authority also takes on the appearance of Testimonials.. ME / WE saved the day and the like. Testimonials happen to be the silent deal sealer. We live in a digital / social selling buying environment. Think about this for a moment... do we buy things because we only do direct research on something or do we ask our peers? Have you had Unknown Bobs cereal?

    I would start pumping authority and then offer the SaaS for a time for FREE in exchange for Testimonials and then and only then may you be off to the races.
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    Success is an ACT not an idea
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    • Profile picture of the author tnob
      Do they have an app yet that lets me download the knowledge from your brain to my brain? I appreciate you taking the time to answer so thoroughly.

      If you have a SaaS product that is going to solve a problem I am facing.. WHY would I choose your product over any of the others? A website that clearly gives the impression of Authority is a great place to start right?
      I really like this. As you may have seen in my other replies, I still have some discovery to do on this. I will be able to really solidify this WHY as I confirm users's needs.

      So what does "Authority" look like? It goes in 2 directions... we have discussed these already.. there is ME and WE ( point of context for others: https://www.warriorforum.com/warrior...l#post11652444 ) ME will look like Hi my name is X and I have been working with X industry for Y years and I am qualified to be the source of your solution for Z. And then there is WE aka BRAND that would sound like We are X and we have been in the Y space for Z years and are more than qualified to solve your problem.
      Glad you brought this up again, too. Makes me wonder if I should do a blog series documenting ME/WE going through a use case with the Saas.

      Authority also takes on the appearance of Testimonials.. ME / WE saved the day and the like. Testimonials happen to be the silent deal sealer. We live in a digital / social selling buying environment. Think about this for a moment... do we buy things because we only do direct research on something or do we ask our peers? Have you had Unknown Bobs cereal?

      I would start pumping authority and then offer the SaaS for a time for FREE in exchange for Testimonials and then and only then may you be off to the races.
      Love this, too. I think I can get some people local to me to use the app for free in return for testimonials. This would be a great beta test for the app as well!
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  • Profile picture of the author Charlotte Rosenberg
    Build content site and grab their email address with a lead magnet.

    Promote your Saas app to the lists after building rapport with them.
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