

Ask HN: How do I market my product? - combiclickwise

I have just launched a product that is basically a plugin for websites. I am looking for channels to market it. The obvious one is to sell it to webmasters/web design companies but the true challenge is to sell it to the website owners themselves as that is where the maximum value is.<p>The challenge I am facing is that "website owners" mean pretty much every one who has a website which means any company really. I need advice on how I can go about from this as the starting point.
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JacobAldridge
One thought - even though your product isn't niche, you can market it as
though it were. Eg, instead of "a plugin for websites" you're selling "a
[solution] for small accounting firms with their own website".

I face a comparable problem (I'm a business coach, which means my clients are
pretty well any business). Especially for professional services, talking the
talk and appearing more specialised than you actually are (as long as you can
actually back it up) helps open more doors.

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combiclickwise
I guess you are right. You do seem to have a comparable problem as you grasped
mine perfectly.

So instead of buying google adwords for "website plugin" I could spin it for
each industry maybe with relevant anecdotes. looking at it this way, it looks
like not being niche is suddenly a great advantage because I can run through
each industry.

Thanks :-)

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JacobAldridge
And the beauty of Google adwords is that you can also tailor landing pages,
even the website domains, and the sales funnel to maintain that niche focus.
Good luck!

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combiclickwise
Brilliant. I could have a sub-domain for each industry, offer visual themes
related to it as well. Thanks

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aspir
My two tips:

1)Try to find out what type of website owners would see the most benefit
(large, small, ecommerce, blogs, Wordpress?) and target them heavily. Get it
to as concise a group as you possible can, then make it yours. Then find your
next niche, repeat. each niche will take a while to work through though, so do
your homework?

2) Try to find the individuals most likely to adopt and try the product
quickly. Often this is not the same group as #1, though it may be. Follow
similar rules as in #1 and try to take hold of a smaller group of user rather
than just going after the huge number "website owners" out there. Web savvy
folks are, by nature, early adopters, but with your product, some will always
adopt faster than others. Find them.

EDIT- Also, if you can include a more detailed description, or a link, that
would help the HN community wrap its head around your tool

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combiclickwise
Wordpress is a huge universe by itself and it makes sense to start from there.

here is the link <http://www.updatesitenow.com/>

Its a way for website owners to talk to customers directly. most of them have
to talk to a web designer/webmaster, probably outsourced, so the idea is to
allow the website owners to share day-to-day news about their company in a
casual manner (via SMS, Email), not just by issuing press releases.

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aspir
Good call. Wordpress is also pretty thick with lots of people paying for
extensions. I'd even narrow it down further- perhaps bootstrapped, wordpress-
built companies of 3 or more, where speed and customer relationship really
matters. $40/month may be a little high, but the market will pay if it
provides that much value.

The link really helps with "seeing" what the product can do. The video is a
good start as well. I'd change it a bit, though. For a great example and a
good laugh watch this video:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuReA-AGa8>

Within 30 seconds you know:

-Company/product name

-Elevator pitch (The easy way to fix, fill, and seal virtually anything fast, and make it last). Yours needs to be as short and succinct as this.

-What's not/what makes it awesome.

-Why competitors are bad, and why this product is good.

-How to use it.

The rest is all ways to use this cool new thing that you were just introduced.
90 seconds of continuously reinforcing the initial 30 seconds. Then the price:
"only $x for all of this great value that you just watched for 2 minutes."

The video you have right now is ambiguous until the end. If you're trying to
quickly explain your product to a site visitor, you have to get to the point
ASAP.

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combiclickwise
yes. I do realize it is ambiguous. Other people have complained too. They see
the point but they can quite get hold of what it looks, behaves like.

industries where speed and CR matters is what I am looking at as well.. export
businesses, the hospitality and travel industry for example. Thanks :-)

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staunch
Build distribution into your product. Add a little link somewhere "XYZ
Functionality powered by XYZ Product". Other business owners will see it and
sign up. Make it tasteful and small so it doesn't annoy people.

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combiclickwise
I have that built in already :-) luckily the product allows for that. Its here
in case you haven't seen it <http://www.updatesitenow.com/>

I am also writing to a couple of popular blogs in industries I have chosen to
start in, to give it away free as an experiment. It is in the hope that the
"powered by" link could get me other users in that industry interested.

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revorad
Im building something to solve exactly this problem. Sign up here -
<http://laughingcomputer.com>

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combiclickwise
Thanks. I have signed up :-)

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bmelton
If it's technology-related, you should check out <http://loudstartup.com/> \--
it contains a list of all the tech-related media sites I know of.

Disclaimer, that's my site.

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combiclickwise
Very useful. Thanks.

