

Mistakes I made while launching Non-app Calendar - pmzy
http://www.entrepreneurloop.com/7-mistakes-I-made-while-launching-Non-app-Calendar/

======
themartorana
I think it might be harder than you think to capture non-conversions - I am
personally wary of PDF/eBook/non-software downloads that want my email address
as a primary capture. But I may be wrong.

There's also a weird thread that runs through most products that actually sell
- if it sold, people must be willing to pay more. You'll have to balance 5
people at $5 vs 1 person at $25, and what that's worth to you. So often people
tell other entrepreneurs to raise their prices! Raise them again! But there is
a sweet spot, and good sales don't mean the price was too low.

I bought Non-app Calendar. I liked what I saw, but I doubt I would have paid
more for it. It's a nicely constructed PDF, not a book or game or SaaS or web
hosting or any number of other things that cost around or below what I paid
for NAC. (Write a companion book on project planning with a fresh take and
maybe it would be worth more.)

That's not to say I don't like the product. I really do. I've recommended it
to friends and we use it as an exercise tool for planning at the office. So,
thanks for the good work, I'm just not sure I'd listen to every opinion that
comes your way. :)

~~~
pmzy
Hey, thanks a lot for the comment. I agree on your points. I would probably
not double the price or anything. But at one or two euros more, I would have
probably sold the same amount.

Regarding capturing non-conversions, you're right: it's probably more tricky
than it seems.

~~~
themartorana
You're right. I would have happily paid €6, in the end. Forgive my ranting.

------
johnrob
The mistakes you listed make it sound like you're trying to move too fast.
Moving fast is good when it comes to product development. But not on the
business side. Just focus on these two things:

1) Find a few users who _love_ the product

2) Improve it to the point where they start telling people about it

Forget about analytics, pricing pages, press, etc etc. If you can't get some
family and friends to rave about it, you won't get the masses.

Realistically, it will probably take years to really nail 1) and 2) above. But
once it happens, you'll very quickly become the next big thing. Read up on the
history of Pinterest for a great example of this.

------
williamvs
All of them are very common mistakes that when avoided can have a significant
impact on the ROI. Even if it is just a side project app you should take
promotion and marketing as part of the development of your app.

What worked wonders for some friends who launched a small pet project recently
was to get very specialized and local blogs to publish a review of their app
for the launch date. It's an easy way to reach an audience of potential early
adopters.

------
steveraffner
The email robot as teaser who would have dispatched drops of info in 4 days
before sending the link to buy could have been an interesting scenario to
test.

~~~
pmzy
agreed Steve. But you know.. sometimes you gotta stop trying to reach
perfection and launch! :)

------
fsloth
Most insightfull, thank you. What is the 'proper analytics' approach to
website user tracking if google analytics does not cut it?

~~~
pmzy
Hey! Thanks for the kind words. GA can do the job, but if you take time to set
up a goal etc. If you just include the snippet, you're missing some precious
information.

------
ChrisNorstrom
I've been looking for something like this. I'm actually going to buy it right
now.

Feedback:

● It's hard to buy because there aren't any full screenshots or product
pictures of the actual calendar. I can't see exactly what I'm buying. I know
you don't want people to rip off your design and re-create it in excel, but a
lack of screenshots is what really made me doubt purchasing N-AC.

● Your call to action button isn't at the top, instead it's somewhere in the
middle and end of the page. This just adds purchase "friction". It should
always be at the top above the fold, and even in the top menu for single
product sites.

● Instead of a blog format, you should stick to a traditional webpage design
for selling products and services: [Anchor links menu] at the top, then above
the fold right where the reader can see it [screenshot] on left [description
and call to action button] on the right, with [testimonials] underneath and
further info below that.

● You use way too much text to explain your product. If you use more images
customers will be able to see what you mean instead of reading what you're
trying to say.

● Use pictures of your testimonial authors next to their testimonials. A/B
testing has shown time and time again that people trust pictures of faces over
text and descriptions.

● Change "Get it now!" button to "Instant Download"

● Change the purchase button color to the same color red as the word
"calendar" at the top.

● You may want to switch to GumRoad or at least A/B test it. People not only
trust it more but its checkout process is a lot more smooth and doesn't take
your customers away from your site.

● Include American currency in the price: From: [4€] to [4€ | $4.50], You'd be
surprised by how many people get scared off when they see a Euro sign.

● Include your full name, your email, and the name of the country next to your
flag (Sweden?). I don't know who you are. Your picture looks very professional
and I feel like I'm getting a high quality product designed somewhere in
Europe but there's too much information left blank. More information about you
builds trustworthiness.

● After printing it out I just realized, it's not really a calendar. It's a
planner. A calendar tells you what day of the week a date falls on. It's no
big deal but it doesn't really need to be re-designed every year to be
updated. So you could just leave the "2015" spot blank and people can write in
whatever year they want.

~~~
pmzy
Hello! First, thanks for purchasing. Also, thanks for your feedback: very
interesting to read.

\- I'm a bit surprised that you say there are no product pictures. I included
the whole product in pictures where I describe the process. What do you mean?

\- I used to have a "buy" button before the fold. I removed it because it
caused losing sales. People where getting right to the price without reading
the benefits of the product.

\- The sales letter format is a choice. I could have used a traditional
webpage but didn't want to. Still a valid point and I understand that it isn't
your favorite.

\- Agreed about the pictures next to the testimonials, that's something I
should do!

\- I'm not happy with the current copy of the purchase button. Although I
don't think I like "Instant download" much more. I might try something in
between whenever I have the time.

\- Gumroad doesn't handle the VAT mess (for now).

\- Good point on the currency, I've had some other feedback stating the same
point.

\- Again, good point. I should improve the "About" section.

It's "just" a side project and while the sales page has performed really well,
there's definitely room for improvement :)

~~~
ChrisNorstrom
Ah, I see. If the "buy button below the fold" and "sales letter format" works
then ignore my first three feedback points. I based them on general design
principles and A/B testing I've seen over the years but you're right, they
don't work for all startups.

