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How I Got 2200 Pre-Signups for My SaaS in 2 Weeks, Then Failed Hard

13 points by heelhook 12y ago

goshx 12y ago
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 12y ago
  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-validating-my-side-project/ https://mattkremer.com/how-i-made-2033-in-4-days-while-valid...
  - IkmoIkmo 12y ago
    Nice work, congrats!
  - goshx 12y ago
    Way to go! :)
coffee 12y ago
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 12y ago
  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 12y ago
    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.

13 points by heelhook 12y ago

goshx 12y ago

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 12y ago
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-validating-my-side-project/ https://mattkremer.com/how-i-made-2033-in-4-days-while-valid...
- IkmoIkmo 12y ago
  Nice work, congrats!
- goshx 12y ago
  Way to go! :)

coffee 12y ago

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 12y ago
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 12y ago
  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.