
How I Got 2200 Pre-Signups for My SaaS in 2 Weeks, Then Failed Hard - heelhook
https://mattkremer.com/how-i-got-2200-pre-signups-for-my-saas-in-2-weeks-then-failed-hard/
======
coffee
Actually, those stats are not horrible.

If you dig around online (sorry, can't find the link right now), you'll find
people reporting conversion numbers for SaaS free trials --> paid accounts at:

    
    
      10% convert to a free account
      15% of free accounts convert to a monthly subscription
      ------------------------------
      0.015% overal conversion rate
    

To put it loosely in perspective with your numbers:

    
    
      2,200 wait list signups
      9 people signed up and used it
      ------------------------------
      0.004% conversion (a quarter of the way there)
    

I didn't read your follow up, but my first thought would be to carve out a
hyper targeted sub-niche of users.

For example, programmers who work at a < 10 person startup, located in San
Francisco, who can be found listed on Twitter/Facebook/Etc..., have purchased
monthly subscriptions for software tools in the past and wear yellow t-shirts
:)

Market to them with a very personalized message (easy since it's a very
targeted sub-niche) and see if you can get closer to that 0.015% mark with
that targeted messaging.

But you may already have done this or something similar detailed in your
follow up post :)

Just my two cents...

~~~
mkremer90
Hey coffee, thank you very much for your insights! It's appreciated :)

I actually wound up converting 4% of the 2200 to one-time paid accounts, and
am experiencing a lot higher use with the new version. 20% of visits result in
2 or more people collaborating on a file.

Sadly I'm struggling to get actual monthly/yearly subscriptions, however I
think this is more of a CTA problem than a problem with the product. I really
need to focus on getting the landing page better, and having a better CTA
within the app.

Thanks again!

~~~
coffee
Yea those sound like good results.

It would be interesting to see, over say 1,000 free trials, how many you could
covert into monthly subscriptions and understand if the numbers I mention
align or not.

Sounds like you may do much better. Would love to hear the results when/if you
figure it out.

------
goshx
That's not a failure to me, Matt. Giving up on it was, IMHO.

You don't just build something and expect people to use it. You have to get
feedback from them, listen carefully and adjust your product to what the users
really want. You did a splendid job on getting that initial traction and
people signing up, now figure out from the users why they decided not to use
it.

Keep it up, man. People want it and you have proof :)

~~~
mkremer90
I completely agree goshx! This article was actually from a few months ago,
I've since relaunched Kobra and it's doing well! Almost 700 users, over 5000
files collaborated on and my initial launch sale netted me $2100:

[https://mattkremer.com/how-i-made-2033-in-4-days-while-
valid...](https://mattkremer.com/how-i-made-2033-in-4-days-while-validating-
my-side-project/)

~~~
IkmoIkmo
Nice work, congrats!

