4 ms·

Ask HN: How do I market my product?

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. 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.

JacobAldridge 16y ago
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.
- combiclickwise 16y ago
  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 :-)
  - JacobAldridge 16y ago
    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!
    - combiclickwise 16y ago
      Brilliant. I could have a sub-domain for each industry, offer visual themes related to it as well. Thanks
aspir 16y ago
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
- combiclickwise 16y ago
  Wordpress is a huge universe by itself and it makes sense to start from there. here is the link http://www.updatesitenow.com/ 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.
  - aspir 16y ago
    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 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.
staunch 16y ago
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.
- combiclickwise 16y ago
  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/ 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.
bmelton 16y ago
If it's technology-related, you should check out http://loudstartup.com/ http://loudstartup.com/ -- it contains a list of all the tech-related media sites I know of. Disclaimer, that's my site.
- combiclickwise 16y ago
  Very useful. Thanks.
revorad 16y ago
Im building something to solve exactly this problem. Sign up here - http://laughingcomputer.com http://laughingcomputer.com
- combiclickwise 16y ago
  Thanks. I have signed up :-)
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

JacobAldridge 16y ago

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.

combiclickwise 16y ago
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 :-)
- JacobAldridge 16y ago
  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!
  - combiclickwise 16y ago
    Brilliant. I could have a sub-domain for each industry, offer visual themes related to it as well. Thanks

aspir 16y ago

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

combiclickwise 16y ago
Wordpress is a huge universe by itself and it makes sense to start from there. here is the link http://www.updatesitenow.com/ 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.
- aspir 16y ago
  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 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.

staunch 16y ago

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.

combiclickwise 16y ago
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/ 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.

bmelton 16y ago

If it's technology-related, you should check out http://loudstartup.com/ http://loudstartup.com/ -- it contains a list of all the tech-related media sites I know of. Disclaimer, that's my site.

combiclickwise 16y ago
Very useful. Thanks.

revorad 16y ago

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

combiclickwise 16y ago
Thanks. I have signed up :-)

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]