2011 The Year of The Marketplace and How to Win

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I got some quick advice from Gary Swart of ODesk and he said the best way to build a marketplace is to make sure the “buyer” and “seller” are the same person. If they aren’t the same person building a marketplace will be very costly and time consuming.

Lets take a look at eBay. Buyer and Seller are practically the same person. You only really need to market to one type of person and both sides of your marketplace grows.

Now for example lets look at Twitter. I joined twitter to just follow a few people. After a few weeks I started tweeting as well. Same thing happened with me on Quora. The “follower” became the “contributor”. You will see similar patterns with StackOverflow, Airbnb, StumbleUpon, and Fon.

If you take a look at ODesk or Etsy (both very successful companies) they both spend a lot of time and money on advertising (Search Engine Marketing in ODesk’s case and Grass Roots Community Building in Etsy’s case).

Conclusion: If you want to build a marketplace make sure you only have to market to one person.

This blog post was inspired by a tweet my buddy Noah posted a few days ago.

Email Template to get Customer Testimonials

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I’m a big fan of adding customer testimonials to a website. People love buying things if they have
proof that other people are having success with it.
Recently, my buddy Rich started a company called LucieBot that helps you find customers on forums on QA sites. He has about 70 users and is ready to turn on the promotion engine. He asked me how he should go about asking those users for customer testimonials to increase conversions on his site.
Here is the email template I gave him:

Hi fname,

I’m Rich, the lead developer of LucieBot. I really would like to know how I can help you better.

Have you made any new sales because of LucieBot?

If you haven’t yet, tell me about your business a little more and maybe I can help you come up with some better keywords.

Looking forward to your reply.

Thank you,
Rich
Your Phone Number
Your email

CC nextweek@followupthen.com (this way you can follow up with them every week to get a reply).
This email template will help you get customer testimonials and feedback on your product. For really amazing customer testimonials checkout 37Signal’s Highrise HQ.

PS Customer testimonials work because they don’t look biased. Instead of a sales guy selling you it is your neighbor or friend or someone you trust. In infomercials you will notice 50% of the commercial is customers telling you how much they love the product.

Grub With Us uses Meetup.com style marketing

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Grubwith.us is an easy way to meet new people over dinner. My buddy David Kadavy keeps telling me about how awesome it is.

I also love the way they are marketing the concept. They now let you create your own meals and invite your friends. Pretty similar to meetup.com but instead focused around just meeting people over dinner. Currently the way they make sales is simply word of mouth and press. A customer has to learn about the site (either through press or friends), go to the site, and then sign up.

Now, in the new model they are trying out, they will be getting direct sales from people wanting to throw their own dinner parties. The value proposition for you to do this is pretty high, grubwith.us takes care of splitting the check and figuring out the best menu possible.

In the future I can see going to GrubWith.Us anytime I want to eat. Eating dinner with like minded people will be way more fun than eating alone. I’m really pumped about their new marketing initiative this will definitely grow their brand.

 

Train your viewers to view your ads (and how Reddit rocks at this)

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I pretty much always ignore the right hand side of all blogs and websites that I visit. I do this so often that I don’t even notice the ads anymore.

The more and more we get bombarded with ads the easier and easier it is to just ignore them. This is why companies really have to work hard on getting you to notice ads. Take a look at Techcrunch and WSJ. They have to show you a fullscreen ad to get you to notice their sponsors.
On Reddit I have an entirely different reaction. I notice the ads more and more. Mainly because every few days I notice games on the right hand side.
Adding fun or useful content in your ad slots every now and then will get your viewers to notice your ads more often.
The goal is to train your audience to actually view all aspects of your site and then Bam! insert an advertisement so they actually see it. If you are familiar with Pavlov’s law it is all about training your viewers where to look.
Here is Google’s Heatmap from 2008:
Google noticed this and now you will find a ton of ads on top of the page (just not on the right hand side).
Compare Google’s heatmap to a few other sites:
1. A wiki like site:
2. The U.S. Census Bureau
My point is if you want more people to notice your ads. Doing a complete ad takeover isn’t your only option. Train your viewers to notice other parts of your website from time to time.
2/19/2011 UPDATE:
My buddy Ali of Peanut Labs just pointed out that Facebook does a great job with this as well. Recently (last 2 months) they show you nostalgic pictures of you and your buddy and then BAM! lots of interesting ads to click on beneath it.
Thank you Kadavy for helping me with this blog post.

How I would improve this "Get Fit Immediately" Ad

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I loved this ad. Because it brings in new sales (not sure if the product works). I asked the owner how many people bought it and he said about 10-20 people a day. He also said people come in and ask about it all the time. This is amazing to me because he is selling it out of a general convenient store… not a health focused store.
Here is what I would do to improve this ad:
1. Show me before and after pictures. Can my gut really be eliminated by wearing that thing?
2. Show me the price. Looks expensive… but I would consider buying it if it was $19.99. This advice might not be good for the convenient store because customers won’t come in and ask about it.
3. Guarantee me results with a full money back guarantee.
4. Tell me I can try it on in the store
5. Show me a real customer testimonial
What would make you want to buy this product?

Quaker’s Instant Oatmeal Packaging

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I started eating Oatmeal in the morning because it gives me a jump start on the day. Quaker has done an amazing job with their packaging. They answer all my doubts right away.

1. They say “1-Minute” and show and image of a microwave

2. The show hearts next to the nutrition facts. Makes me feel like I’m doing something good for my body

How Yobongo gets you to tweet

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I found out about Yobongo from a friends tweet. He doesn’t tweet often so when he tweets I click. I went to the website and decided to sign up with my email address (mainly because my buddy tweeted it). After you enter in your email address they ask you to refer 3 friends to get early access into their beta. I thought this was a great way to leverage other people to share on their social networks.

Update: Great comment about yobongo’s execution
Yeah dude they put a lot of pressure on me to tweet so I could get invited. They had a perfectly executed PR stunt. 
1. They got techcrunch to give them an exclusive. 
2. They then created a special link for TechCrunch readers to get priority on the beta invite. 
3. Then once I signed up they put even more pressure on me to tweet so I would get invited. 
I was intrigued enough with the product that I thought what the hell might as well do it.

How to Win with an Online Store (hint: Don’t sell things on Amazon)

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Squishable is my favorite company this month. You probably never heard of them unless you are a frequent visitor of cuteoverload. They are doing everything right as an online store.

Here are the things they are doing well:

#1 Their product is something that Amazon doesn’t sell. It is unique and different.

#2 They show people actually using and enjoying their products right on the homepage. You don’t have to feel weird about buying the product… it is normal.. because other people have bought them! Customers using your products are the best testimonials. They also have a massive photo gallery of their fans using their product.

#3 They are social. When I say social most people think Twitter and Facebook. These guys give “Social Media Marketing” a whole new meaning. They have daily pictures, video contests, shareable avatars, vote for new squishables, travel blogs, and much more.
#4 They offer products for fanatics. For example checkout this Android Squishable. It is perfect for Android enthusiasts.

#5 Their sales content (the stuff you read on their website). It isn’t markety. It isn’t gimmicky. It is fun to read. The girls that started it really love it.

Read their description for the Squishable T-Rex:

Psychology 101 says that humans deal with scary situations by making jokes. It’s true! Say you were a proto-mammal out in the primeval savanna, and you saw a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex thundering towards you. Would you stay rooted to the spot in terror, or would you say, “What a silly looking creature…let’s make fun of him from that tiny, safe cave over there!”. 

If you said the latter, congratulations! You survived to reproduce and your many descendants continue to make fun of terrifying bipedal carnivores to this day.

This particular T-Rex is adorable and fuzzy and wants only to cuddle and maybe nibble on your nose. Best part? He was designed in conjunction with Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics! Read his comic! It’s good!

 

#6 They know where to find customers. You will find their advertisements on cute focused blogs.

Get your First 10 paying customers – 1 on 1 Coaching from Rishi

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Have you launched your web based product (can be in the form of an online store, a web service, or a website) and still have 0 real paying customers?

I would like to sit down with you and help you figure out your marketing strategy. This is a 100% free service from me. Please apply here if you are interested.

Why am I doing this?
I enjoy putting together marketing plans. I have helped a handful of friends get their first 10 paying customers and now I’d like to help you. The most vital part in your business is getting paying customers and I’d like to be a part of your journey to success. Getting your first paying customers will instill confidence in your business and get things rolling.

Can you help me get users?
Yes. I can help you get users. However, my real focus is on paying customers. I strongly believe in charging people. We can talk about how to convert your users into paying customers when we meet.

What is the catch?
1. You must have an already launched product. It is okay if it is in beta but it must be something I can see on the web. I will not help you build your product, only market it.
2. You must be able to meet me in person on Friday from 3-5p in San Francisco.
3. I can’t guarantee you 10 paying customers if you don’t follow my steps exactly. You are of course welcome to not follow my guide at anytime, but it isn’t recommended.
4. In order to get the free 1 on 1 session from me you must apply here.

What is a real paying customer?
A real paying customer is someone that you don’t know. Someone that actually went to your website, took out their wallet, and put their credit card information into your website. A real paying customer is the best feeling in the world and the only thing that matters in business.

What is in it for me?
1. I get to help people in the most critical part of their business. Getting paying customers!
2. I love marketing and I’d like to get better at it.
3. Great way to meet entrepreneurs like you!

Who am I?
I’m Rishi Shah. I write this cool blog and started Flying Cart (we have over 11,000 total stores in a heavily dominated market).

Apply Here for a free 1 on 1 Marketing Strategy Session from Rishi.

Some testimonials:

“I just wanted to say thank you for your time yesterday.  It was very educational and inspiring.  What’s even more awesome is that you’re sharing your secrets to success in a very warm and friendly way.  You rock!” – Alex Le of Marrily
“my friend @Risk is giving free marketing coaching. Do this — I’ve learned LOTS from him.” Elizabeth Yin of Launch Bit
“I feel extremely motivated. Thank you.” – Michael Hoisie of Slow Cop.
“Thanks again for taking the time to meet and go over Unanchor with me yesterday, it was awesome. I talked to Mohammad already this morning and we’ve got a game plan for the next couple of weeks.” – Jason Demant of UnAnchor
“I really walked away from our meeting feeling re-energized.” – Jim Jones of RunFatBoy.net
“Got some fantastic advice from Rishi on making the first user experience for http://new.luciebot.com/ better.” Rich Collins of Lucie Bot
(yes, it’s free)

Learn how to make money with your product or it will get shutdown

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Yahoo shutting down delicious should be a warning sign to all web product developers. Your product will get shutdown if it isn’t making money, period. Try to figure out how to make money as soon as you have a little bit of traction.
“Yes… but Delicious is different… it needs to be free!” 
No, it doesn’t. They have hundred thousand plus passionate users. Checkout pinboard.in – they are a competitor to delicious and they make money. Here is an awesome response to why they charge:

“The signup fee helps discourage spammers and defrays some of the costs of running the site.  

Thanks to the entry fee, Pinboard has remained spam-free since launch. Not having to expend resources on spam fighting means having more time to work on features, and keeps the site fast and small.“

I’m really happy that YouTube, Flickr, and Imgur are all making money. Otherwise Google would have shutdown YouTube, Yahoo would have shutdown Flickr, and the Imgur guys would have moved onto something else. My guess on why Twitter is getting such high valuations is because their “Making Money” experiments seem to be working. I’m also really happy to see Reddit trying to make money, otherwise Conde Nast will shut them down.
The companies that can keep moving are the ones that bring in cash.2/1//2011 Update: Yahoo Shutdown MyBlogLog. A company they purchased but doesn’t bring in any cash. Also checkout 37 Signal’s “What happens after Yahoo acquires you” blog post.