I started working in the tech industry in 2011, but I still believe I am fairly new and have very little experience with advice to startup founders and marketing strategists who graduated from prominent universities. In this post, I will be sharing my personal views and experiences I have gathered from selling internet services, software development services, and WordPress plugins.
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Who am I?
ICT Career is a training institute where I used to show people how a WordPress theme is made. I made several news websites there back in 2012. Then, I joined Zx Online Ltd., a central zone ISP, in 2013. In 2014, I joined weDevs, who were developing their famous Dokan plugin back then. A few years later, they introduced WP ERP. In 2017, I joined Tomorrow System, which was a service provider in the European Union for web-based software and other on-site hardware, maintenance, installation, and consultation services. I started working for Themeum – a brand of JoomShaper, in 2019 and continue.
Disclosure: I do not know any technical jargons and I don’t remember any theory from the online trainings and my university. I do not have any certification in marketing or vice versa.
1. Make a great looking landing page!
I am a big fan of Simon Sinek and a very strong believer in
People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.
– Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
If you are really making something great because you think that is what people need, say clearly why they need it. Even if you compete with an existing solution just because you must, say it in bold letters! But please include what you are doing differently. Let’s say there is a multivendor plugin that costs $200, and you made the same thing copied or a forked version, and you’re selling it half price; you can show a price and feature comparison to help people understand the differences and similarities.
The world is quite old, and few things are left to do differently. The only thing that is still different and unique is how people think and speak. So, write and show everything your product aims to accomplish and how you’re confident to do better.
2. Slight difference or added value
It is always better to have some added value from the available solutions in the market. It can be the design, documentation, service, developer support, community, social media engagement… anything! You can always get creative to propose a unique value and position. But this is fairly Pro stuff and the place where the big guys play.
If you can make one or two unique features in your product. If it feels too much work, don’t worry. You can still survive. But if you want to climb to the top of the market and eliminate all your competitors, this is a must-have.
Especially if you want to be aggressive with marketing campaigns and planning to earn hundred thousand dollars within one or two year span, then there is no other alternative than designing and developing something unique and doing things in a simpler and more fantastic way with far more features and opportunities.
3. Documentation
Write down every single feature the plugin has. Make video tutorials on every possible case, not just how to set it up, but how to integrate it! Create screenshots, mockups, case studies, and white papers. Leave no stones unturned! You can not write everything on a landing page; you need content to rank better on search engines. Also, if you have content ready for all kinds of debates and questions, it will save you a lot of time, be more efficient, convince people faster, and make them purchase!
Also, it will help the support team a lot and save their time as well.
4. Buyer persona
I always think of a product or service’s first customer or buyer. I try not to think about the entire world or possible markets, countries, businesses whatsoever. I never made a buyer persona, but I always think of-
Who would be a perfect user for my product or service?
This single question can help you understand where to find your first user or buyer, how you should approach them, their expectations, how much they can afford, etc.
5. Right price and discount
There is always a gap between the amount people are ready to pay and the price I want to get. You will always want to charge a higher price if you have done something better and give people better value than your competition. But you will always find people who will bargain, saying that your competitor is charging less, so you should offer discounts. You should offer discounts initially to establish that your product is worth more.
After the initial period is over, you can stop offering discounts. People have already started accepting that the price is justified because the price was out there for an extended period.
6. Start pitching
Based on the buyer persona, you should be able to find where your potential users hangout. If you are making something useful for the hospitality industry, you might think of web development agency owners. A lot of them attend WordCamps to learn about new technologies. So, if you can afford it, you can sponsor WordCamps and take a booth to showcase your products.
If you are making a generic tool like a page builder, then you can pitch in user groups and give out free licenses to the first 100 users. Or you can give 1 year free license to the first batch of users. No one says no to free stuff! These first 100 users will test your product and give you feedback based on actual use cases. It will help you polish your products more and take them to near perfection.
Besides, these 100 people will now spread the word. So, they will work on behalf of your marketing team. They will be telling more people about your product.
Affiliates are always a good idea; influencers help businesses accelerate in the first phase. So, my recommendation is, even if you have to give out 50% sales commission to the affiliates, do it! Because having $1 is always better than having none!
Also, you can display their testimonials on the product or service page to convince the visitors, which will help you convert more.
Deals and coupon platforms are still very famous. People randomly check the platforms that share deals and discounts and buy things even if they don’t need them within the next 1 year. Those platforms can be an excellent place to generate the initial funding and continue the development for the next couple of years.
Reviews, comparisons, and listings on famous sites are great ways to get traffic. Most of the sites write paid reviews or agree to add to the listing in exchange for content and affiliate commission. Hiring a technical writer, offering people free content, and asking them to post it is always cheaper. But with a reasonable budget, paid reviews on the right places can also help.
7. Great service
This is the only thing I have seen where people fail and prosper. Offering exceptional service will take you to the top, and maintaining good service can also result in exceptional profit. After generating a stable revenue stream, you must hire a support team to assist with the presales and technical support queries. The faster the response rate, the more they convert.
“I did everything, but it still does not work!”
The things I have mentioned above are like tools. You, the human, have to understand what to put where, how to use it, and when to use it. Don’t get frustrated if something is not working. I can share my little knowledge and give you some ideas, depending on your product, market, and use case. My email address is available on the contact page, or you can send me a message on social media.
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