4 ms·

If you have product market fit i.e. you know exactly what your product is and who your customers are (which can take months to years), you may outsource it afte

If you have product market fit i.e. you know exactly what your product is and who your customers are (which can take months to years), you may outsource it afterwards. However until then, you will be wasting money. There is no shortcut to this. If you want to create recurring income (no matter how small), you have to work your ass off yourself initially. You need to learn how to find initial customers yourself. If you cannot, it's most likely game over. You cannot just build a cool side project and expect it to magically find customers using outsourcing. No such thing. Now, you could find someone else to help you with skin in the game but then that's different. You still need to get a few customers yourself in the beginning. So initially, the goal is to find your first 1-10 paying customers yourself. In the process of doing that, you will learn a lot about the product and the market. You will then adjust things. Anything else is premature and you will just get burnt with the outsourced marketing crowds that are plenty.

dorait 5y ago
"find your first 1-10 paying customers yourself". I agree with this. Going through this will show you whether your product is really ready for the market and customers perceive enough value to pay for it. This part cannot be outsourced. This is the founding teams job and is as important as creating a product (sometimes even more important).
etempleton 5y ago
I agree with this to an extent. It is good to have a product and some initial paying customers to understand who your customers are and how they are using your product before ever contacting a marketer, but a good marketer will be able to help you refine and position the product as well. Beware of the promotion only marketer. Promotion is just one part of marketing, but many—dare I say most—marketers see it as their only role.
- codegeek 5y ago
  Yea you make a good point. There are different types of marketers and it cannot be generic. Some are very good at using an existing brand and just generating tons of traffic to it. Some are good at helping you build an organic ranking slowly over time. So to hire a marketer, you need to first understand the stage you are at. For OP, it is early stage which means it is all about discovery and creating a brand around it. You cannot just throw PPC money at that.

dorait 5y ago

"find your first 1-10 paying customers yourself". I agree with this. Going through this will show you whether your product is really ready for the market and customers perceive enough value to pay for it. This part cannot be outsourced. This is the founding teams job and is as important as creating a product (sometimes even more important).

etempleton 5y ago

I agree with this to an extent. It is good to have a product and some initial paying customers to understand who your customers are and how they are using your product before ever contacting a marketer, but a good marketer will be able to help you refine and position the product as well. Beware of the promotion only marketer. Promotion is just one part of marketing, but many—dare I say most—marketers see it as their only role.

codegeek 5y ago
Yea you make a good point. There are different types of marketers and it cannot be generic. Some are very good at using an existing brand and just generating tons of traffic to it. Some are good at helping you build an organic ranking slowly over time. So to hire a marketer, you need to first understand the stage you are at. For OP, it is early stage which means it is all about discovery and creating a brand around it. You cannot just throw PPC money at that.