Progress and Adventures of My Productivity SaaS

[GuestUserX09]

I've began working on a SaaS and this feels different. I've never invested so much into a venture or genuinely cared about it's cause beyond the idea of making profits, or believed in it enough to tell my friends and family. I'm taking this one to outer space.

I'm creating a platform to create a fun, motivating, and simple way to organize and do your tasks. I'm not talking Trello or Evernote. No. I'm talking interactive, goal setting, rewarding, accountability checking - productivity. It is for desktop and mobile version available but under development.

Lightweight but full featured, rewarding and holding you accountable. Data driven productivity. That's the goal here.

I am building it with a development team in California (I'm from Atlanta). As of writing it is still in beta and I used PPC and some forum buddies (shoutout to y'all) to do some testing and get feedback. Total stats for the 8 days of beta so far is 26 users and 18 very comprehensive/solid feedbacks.

I now have dozens of people holding me accountable and checking up on my progress, so I am adding another layer to keep me to keep this thing to my objectives.

Round 2 of development is underway and It's looking solid, hopefully done within the week. So, I set some goals, or intentional directions, based off of the 10X Rule.

Checkpoints: (Official launch date will be, June 3rd or 4th, or both)
First 30 Days - 50 paid sign-ups
Second 30 Days - 500 paid sign-ups
Third 30 Days - 1500 paid sign-ups
Fourth 30 days - 2500 paid sign-ups

My main approach to on-boarding this volume of users will be PPC channels, guest blogging, and influencer marketing. I am bootstrapping this project and highly focused on LTV of each customer. The developers are polishing the platform and integrating methods/features that will reduce churn.

I'd love to hear any input, I'll be updating this thread almost daily.

 

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[DaRK9]

I'm managing a SaaS project right now. Watched and good luck.

Are the trial signups 100% free or or discounted?

 

[GuestUserX09]

Are the trial signups 100% free or or discounted?

Awesome! Thanks. Trials are currently free, no cc required for beta.

I will be implementing a 7 day trial - cc required when it officially launches. I've been struggling with that idea and have seen many conflicting opinions on when to collect the cc and how long to make the trial.

 

[Empires]

Looking forward to seeing your progress. My web app launches tomorrow, so we are in a similar stage.

We are also taking similar marketing approaches. What type of influencer marketing are you planning to use?

 

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[GuestUserX09]

We are also taking similar marketing approaches. What type of influencer marketing are you planning to use?

Awesome, I'll be getting in touch!

I have targeted several websites, thought leaders, influencers.. Basically places my target market hangs out. I'll spend a few days getting in touch offering compensation for promotions. I will also submit some guest posts to certain blogs.

I'm pretty aware how influencer marketing works but have never tried it.. I'll be looking into their audience engagement rates thoroughly. I'm tempted to just old the boat with PPC on a few different platforms.

 

[GuestUserX09]

Today's progress:

The developers made some huge progress with implementing the user feedback changes. I was slightly disappointed that I've thought up more upgrades as the new stuff is finished.. This reminds of of "It's better to be done than finished".

I'm very curious on how much I should invest into the product and at what times. My instinct wants to keep building this thing, my logic says to get to market.

As of now, the launch is still either tomorrow or the following day. I'm not going to update this thread daily as I said above, maybe just 2 times a week with updated user totals, spending, revenue, churn.

 

[DaRK9]

 

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[GuestUserX09]

Running a couple of days behind launch schedule. It was an arbitrary date but I wanted to hit it. I have all ad campaigns locked and loaded, ready for A/B testing. All marketing materials ready to distribute to the chosen channels and influencers.

Current state of the applications are that I reviewed the development over the weekend and found multiple errors/hiccups that could impair the user experience, especially through the clarity of the payment process. I'm told it would take a couple of days to have all of that fixed. At that point, I will launch no matter what. It was just imperative to have the payment process clear to the users. We also needed some pretty crucial changes for the mobile version as well.

 

[dzk1991]

Sounds awesome, watched!

I've also always been interested in SaaS. I wish you all the best, get those customers!

 

[GuestUserX09]

I wanted to also preface in here that this isn't a money fueled adventure. Nothing's wrong with that but this is sort of personal for me. I've always found it terribly upsetting to motivate myself to get things done that I didn't necessarily want to do, I.e. College courses. The focus of my attempt here is to add fun/motivation/reward to people who need the push and accountability.

To boost/motivate the struggling solopreneur. To support/progress the uninspired student. Those are the primary targets. I've been both for many many years and I want to do something about this. This is my first attempt.

Developer reached back to me just now and we're all green lighted. Running some last minute tests tonight and hopefully I'll return with some juicy stats for y'all.

 

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[GuestUserX09]

So, here are the juicy numbers I promised. Update here at the end of day 2.

I edited the initial post to exclude free trial users since cc is needed at sign up now and trial is 7 days. I will focus primarily on paid sign ups now.

Day One: I had 5 sign ups and realized that one particular sign up form wasn't even registered to ask for payment, yikes. Glad I found that quickly, only 1 payment had went through of the 5. I launched Bing and Pinterest Ads on this day also. I set an appointment with a Bing representative to get a help on maximizing my campaign. Got some great feedback from people that basically, the app is solid but nobody knows how to use it at first.

Day Two: I overhauled the landing page and any page that would help to explain what this application is for. I also found some friends who wanted to help spread this by word of mouth on college campuses for a fair cash payment per person who they signed up(It's about the same as my PPC cost per conversion). I have 4 new signups today and 2 are free accounts I made for friends. I am seeing solid results from my Pinterest ads. For both, I've averaging around 20 cents per click.. the problem is I need more clicks. I'm literally getting like 10 clicks per day from each platform.

Current Summary:
Systems are looking sharp and coming into place. I have a marketing budget with no idea how to spend it and that is usually my specialty so.. I'm going to work with my friends selling in person and brush up on my previous strategies. All I have on the idea list is influencer marketing or guest blogging and I wanted to save my big guns till the long haul.

*EDIT - I was also considering making postcard sized advertisements and offer to leave them at tutoring centers and schools/colleges nearby.

Current Goal is 50 paid users in the first 30 days. Currently at 3/50 with 28 days left.

 

[GuestUserX09]

Quick update on the project:

A few days ago I was curious and put some job listings up for a 1099 sales position. I had a few people apply and I hired one as a contractor. Specifically, I wanted people with easy access to college campuses. A large portion of this application is to help students/solopreneurs so I looked hired the one who happens to live between 4 campuses in New York.

I created a sales guide and a custom independent contractor agreement. I'm offering compensation as: 83% off the first months payment + 16% per month residual per customer signed up. I implemented a referral page to track the progress of sales people. I plan to ramp up the job listings and hire 10 within the next week.

Reason for this is, my PPC was ineffective. I used Pinterest and Bing, and quickly realized that productivity software really applies to almost everyone. I haven't defined my niche small enough to target effective keywords. Did lots of A/B testing and have concluded for now that having human promoters will pay off much more than PPC. I may even introduce cash bonuses as well.

I revamped my landing page completely and am still not very happy with it. I've probably made 30+ solid landing pages before but this one just doesn't feel just right yet..?

Several small improvements have been made to the software. Mostly just UI enhancements and a couple of bugs fixed.

Current Goal is 50 paid users in the first 30 days. Currently at 4/50 with 23 days left.

 

[JokerCrazyBeatz]

Quick update on the project:

A few days ago I was curious and put some job listings up for a 1099 sales position. I had a few people apply and I hired one as a contractor. Specifically, I wanted people with easy access to college campuses. A large portion of this application is to help students/solopreneurs so I looked hired the one who happens to live between 4 campuses in New York.

I created a sales guide and a custom independent contractor agreement. I'm offering compensation as: 83% off the first months payment + 16% per month residual per customer signed up. I implemented a referral page to track the progress of sales people. I plan to ramp up the job listings and hire 10 within the next week.

Reason for this is, my PPC was ineffective. I used Pinterest and Bing, and quickly realized that productivity software really applies to almost everyone. I haven't defined my niche small enough to target effective keywords. Did lots of A/B testing and have concluded for now that having human promoters will pay off much more than PPC. I may even introduce cash bonuses as well.

I revamped my landing page completely and am still not very happy with it. I've probably made 30+ solid landing pages before but this one just doesn't feel just right yet..?

Several small improvements have been made to the software. Mostly just UI enhancements and a couple of bugs fixed.

Current Goal is 50 paid users in the first 30 days. Currently at 4/50 with 23 days left.

Keep it moving ! I like your progress

 

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[Tapp001]

Hi @Square1Hype, if you don't mind me asking, why did you go the Bing/Pinterest route over Facebook or Adwords?

 

[GuestUserX09]

Hi @Square1Hype, if you don't mind me asking, why did you go the Bing/Pinterest route over Facebook or Adwords?

I've tried Facebook in the past and found that it works best for quick one-shot items like t-shirts, coffee mug, iPhone case, jewelry, etc. From that experience and observations, I decided Facebook wouldn't convert well for me. I may even still try it, but I've been hearing lately that it isn't converting as well across the board.

I chose Pinterest because it is a sort of hidden gem still. I just haven't really figured out how to use it still. I had the lowest click-through-rate of my life but the clicks converted to sign ups at an all time high. (Not all sign-ups completed the payment process - So far about 1 of every 4 actually fully signs up - I follow up the flakes via email). Attaching a couple of the photos I used below:

http://pin.it/2Yzoc3C
http://pin.it/D1Tbp1z
http://pin.it/gKhogL1

Bing Ads, I used because their search volume is always very low for me.. I put an huge budget on there with as many terms as I can imagine all with way above average bids, like 100+ and I usually only get about 3k impressions and 15 clicks fulfilled per day. Therefore, my clicks are all at like 17 cents each... which I can't pass up. Also Bing Support will give you free PPC training and $25 credit every several months by phone appt.

1 week Bing: 147 clicks - 43,187 impressions - .34% CTR - Avg. CPC $0.14.... Total spend $20.57!! for 147 clicks. Yes please.
1 week Pinterest: 84 clicks - 46,800 impressions - .17% CTR - Avg. CPC $0.53... Total spend $41.52 for 84 clicks. Hmmm.

In Pinterest's defense, those clicks converted about 3x better than Bing for email leads. Making them actually the best value. They also have no shortage of traffic. I'm sure they could fulfill a $100+ daily budget if I had allowed it. Bing, on the other hand was scraping the floor for impressions it seems.

My two options now are to give Pinterest a big budget and let it roll... It would cost me about upfront $1,000 to reach my current goal with them and I would have paid $1000 to have created a $299 monthly income from 50 users. I don't think my value per lead is enough to make Pinterest a viable option. Assuming a LTV on each user around 3+ months makes sense but I don't want to make any assumptions on how long each user will stay, although I have created the product in hopes they stay for a lifetime.

It would cost $0 upfront to hire salespeople. So... I'm going that route. I will ramp up PPC again when I'm more confident in the trade-offs and break evens.

 

[GuestUserX09]

Current Updates:

So..... I'm totally overwhelmed honestly. But in a controlled way. I have so many people offering great ideas and the developer is working around the clock on all sorts of exciting upgrades. We have some exciting plans to promote the platform on college campuses, with free pen and wristband promotions as well as flyers. Mega phone, lemonade and all.

Now notice above, I said "we". Yep.. I have a few friends who want to partner and buy equity, etc. I'm totally confused by the various offers since, I would love help but don't know how much it's worth. And yeah, I'm not profitable or breaking even yet but they want to buy a piece, I'm okay with that completely.

All in all, I've spent more than I'm comfortable with. I'm silently freaking out. Good news is, everything has pretty much been paid for including marketing materials. I'm spending time now to get all the partner offers sorted out and agreed as well as the pending state registration and trademarks, etc.

Hoping in about 7 days all will be set and we can take this to the streets and really market it. Trial is currently 60 days free now, but I am having the developer change it to no credit card required.

Current Goal is 50 paid users in the first 30 days. Currently at 5/50 with 18 days left.

 

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[GuestUserX09]

I've made nearly no effort to make sales the last week. I've been sorting out the paperwork with making the business legit, protecting the product, registering, etc. Also taking care of the business partnership. I came to a good agreement with (2) 20% partners, both making cash investment upfront and already in action showing value. We meet to sign the papers tomorrow.

We began a hiring process for sales people, today is the first day of receiving responses. We have had 5 responses and hired one so far. We are hoping to interview at least 50 candidates this week and hire at least 10. Requirements are basically just being familiar with a commissions sales job. We don't want to hire known duds, just to preserve the brand image and not to waste our time.

In light of the new partners and cash contributions, I've ordered plenty of marketing materials in which we will have some various small launch parties and promotions locally. Our main focus is hiring salespeople and hitting the first 30 day goal of 50 paid users.

We are back to a 7-day free trial, cc needed up front as well.

Current Goal is 50 paid users in the first 30 days. Currently at 5/50 with 13 days left.

 

[GuestUserX09]

I hate to restart the clock, but I'm resetting my goals as shown in post one. I am getting paid sign-ups but much slower than anticipated. A majority of time hasn't been spent on marketing or sales, it's all been spent on landing page optimization and A/B testing ads. Also, I am currently adding an entirely new feature set to the platform so it's not even done being developed yet.

I will update again when it really is time to start moving this forward but a lot of systems and background things have been the focus.

 

[GuestUserX09]

SELLING IT

So, I'm viewing it as "failing fast" or "failing forward" rather than quitting. I've ran tons of ads and tried hiring in person sales people. The business model just isn't looking for profitable, at least for my time and resources. I've been into nearly 20 interviews since launching this trying to get a mid-senior level marketing/IT/Management job which is much more appealing to build capital and take care of my financial life with.

The software/application currently on auction. Not really upset, I think I'll get my money invest back at least and I definitely learned a lot. I always pride myself on the ability to cut losses quickly and move to the next. This one has life but I believe I overshot my expectations given my budget.

As of now, this thread is practically closed but will update on how the sale goes.

 

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