First off, let me just say that much of the time was actually just spent learning web development. (Go, Vue, Tailwind). I was a complete beginner one year ago.
That also why I don't regret having built the site: I learned a ton and I'll be able to build my next project 10x faster.
That said, here's what you can learn from my mistakes:
- Don't be afraid of competition.
Going after markets with low competition isn't a bad idea. You can be a big fish in a small pond.
But it gets problematic when the market is so niche that noone actually needs what you are making.
With my next product, I'll go after a proven market. Sure there'll be competition, but at least people will be interested in what I have to offer.
- Design is less important than you think.
I made 3 different landing pages for my product, thaught there was something wrong with it every time and made a new one from scratch. Complete waste of time. Pretty design doesn't change your value proposition and is never going to be a reason someone buys. Sure, good design can improve conversion rates, but if there is no instrinsic demand for what you offer then design won't help. 0•x = 0
- Know your customers
One of my main challenges when building my product (keepyourstory.com)
was that I was never really sure who it was for. I just built something I found cool and hoped people would appreciate it. Next time I'll start with a niche, find a problem people are experiencingbin that niche and market it precisely to them.
I mean, i havent seen the other landing pages but the current ones design is likely a big contributor to driving away potential users. The problem is it doesnt offer ANY details regarding the 'when?, where?, how?' regarding the product. I have the 'what?', youre helping me write a memoire via AI. cool, thats useful for the few people who want to do that. But like how? when/where/how do i give details of my life to the ai that will become my story? You dont explain ANYTHING about what your product entails besides 'a story' and 'ai' without me having to sign up for your service. no fuckin way am i signing up to an email list when i cant even tell when the product is or how it would work. Your "free demo" needs to be an ACTUAL free demo, open and available to all and not something you get to try AFTER you sign up. This is why no one is signing up, becuase your design doesnt tell anyone what theyre getting.
You're right. I appreciate the valuable feedback.