7 Warning Signs You Have Product Flop on Your Hands (and How to Fix It!)

Ever have a really great idea for a product?

You know, the kind of idea that makes you want to grab strangers by the shoulders and explain the whole thing in a rush. For the next few hours or even days, you find yourself revved up in high gear, eager to turn your big idea into reality.

It’s an awesome feeling.

There’s only one problem: what comes up must go down, and sometimes big ideas do just that – they flop, hard.

You could shrug it off and say that failure is really a learning experience, but wouldn’t you rather learn how to avoid those product flops so you can save yourself time, money, and heartache?

I know I would.

Here are seven warning signs your big product idea is about to flop — and seven ways to avoid landing with a splat:

1. You Keep Changing Your Mind

You’re burning through your project and you’re totally jazzed. Everything’s going great! It’s such an awesome idea.

But it would be even better if you add this one element.

Wait, no – maybe you should do this instead. That’d be awesome.

Or maybe you should change that – it would make your project even better! It’ll crush all of the products in the niche!

Sound familiar?

Business old-schoolers call it “scope change,” and it can seriously hamper your progress. The more you push the boundaries and keep adding to your project, the more it becomes a time-consuming, cost-heavy monster that never ends.

Risks go up, your schedule gets trashed, deadlines get blown and quality goes down.

The solution?

Give yourself a set amount of time to do research and plan the scope of your project before you start. Take a few days, weeks, or months to really think things through. It’s okay to waffle then because no one else is watching, and you don’t have to backtrack.

But once that time has expired, stop, make the decisions you need to make, and move forward. Look at it as a deadline. You can change your mind up until a certain day on the calendar, and then after that, you stick with the plan until you’re finished.

2. You Haven’t Figured Out the Price

Most people don’t bother to figure out what their business idea will cost them, not only in terms of money, but also time and opportunity costs. They just latch on, run with their idea, and work like mad for weeks, investing their time and money blindly.

Then six months after launch they wonder why they’re broke, exhausted, and feeling trapped.

Before you undertake a project, figure out what it’ll cost you:

  • Overhead Costs: Will you need office space? Employees? Equipment? Will you have to pay travel expenses? What are the total hard costs?
  • Salary Costs: What will you pay yourself? Even if you’re living on savings, it’s still an expense. Write it down.
  • Opportunity Costs: What opportunities will you have to give up? How much will that cost you in both the short-term and long-term?
  • Time Costs: When are you going to work on it? Also, what are you currently doing in those other hours that you’ll have to cut out? Will you sacrifice sleep? Time with your family? Overtime at work?

Once you’ve calculated the true cost, ask yourself if it’s a price you’re willing to pay. Your idea might be fantastic, but if you don’t know what it’s going to cost you, chances are you’ll never finish.

Before starting a project, make sure you know exactly what it will cost you.

3. You Think All You Need is Time

You’ve done the math and decided that there’s no major financial investment involved, just your time. Maybe a few weeks of hard labor, maybe a few months. You just have to buckle down and do it.

But here’s the big question: who’s paying the bills in the meantime?

Every hour you spend working on Project X is an hour less you can work on other income sources. If your time is worth $100 an hour, do you really want to invest 1,000 free hours into a project that might make you $5,000?

If you do, you’re essentially investing $100,000 for a $5,000 return. Not smart.

The reality is, you might lose money — and that isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, becoming a multi-millionaire can require losing money, as I’ve mentioned before.

But if you aren’t considering the cost of your time, you could end up with a flop.

If you want to be successful, figure out your hourly rate, and then delegate or outsource any tasks below that rate. Sometimes, you’ll be better off working for someone else and funneling that income into paying freelancers than quitting all of your projects and cutting off all of your income streams.

Smart business people invest their time wherever they’re getting the best return.

4. No One Seems to “Get” The Concept

This is one of the biggest red flags that your product is going to flop. Sadly, most people get so excited about their big idea that they don’t see the forest for the trees.

It goes like this:

You excitedly explain your product to a few people, but they don’t seem to get it. You explain even more. They seem unsure. They ask questions. You answer, but they hesitate. So you slow down and try to explain it as simply as possible, but you still can’t seem to get through.

Maybe they aren’t as smart as you. Or maybe they just don’t get it. Maybe they aren’t in your target audience.

But here’s why it matters: if your customer doesn’t understand the idea, it doesn’t matter how brilliant it is. It’s going to flop.

So, pay attention to people’s reactions. At which point in the explanation do they seem to get confused? What part don’t they understand? Where are you losing them?

These are the places you need to clarify. There’s a missing link somewhere, and you need to find it now, not later.

Or maybe you just need to get a new idea.

5. They Get It, but No One Seems Interested

Sometimes, people get your idea, but they shrug their shoulders and say, “So what?”

Maybe they point out that someone else has done it already, or maybe they don’t see the problem you’re addressing, or maybe they think it’s just plain boring.

They’re polite and they listen to your idea, but not for long – their phone or their email is far more interesting.

Watch out for that lack of interest, because no enthusiasm means no sales. You know you’re on track when:

  • They say, “I’ve been dealing with that for years. Can you really fix it?”
  • They laugh, cry, or get angry. The stronger the emotional response, the better the idea.
  • Their eyebrows go up, and ask, “Is that really possible? That would be great!”
  • They bring your idea up again the next time you see them. It shows they’ve been thinking about it, which is exactly what you want your prospective customers to do.

If you don’t get one of those responses, find out why. What do people really want? What do they need? What’s missing?

You might be able to adapt your big idea to fulfill that demand.

6. You Don’t Really Believe in Yourself

You might really, really want to get your big idea off the ground, and you believe it will succeed, but you secretly wonder whether or not you can pull it off.

Maybe you’re an engineer, and you don’t have any confidence in your ability to sell. Or maybe you are a digital marketer, and you struggle with keeping accurate financial records for investors and bankers. Or maybe you’ve never managed anyone before, and the idea of hiring and leading a staff scares you.

You’ve tried to stay positive, but deep down, you doubt yourself. You hope you can do it, but when you talk to other people about your idea, you can feel your insecurity bleeding through.

The truth?

If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will either. People have a sixth sense for uncertainty, and they’ll pick up on every signal of self-doubt you’re sending out. It can kill even the best ideas.

No one expects you to be perfect, but getting any idea off the ground requires leadership, and people expect leaders to be confident. So work on it.

The best way to build self-confidence is to start small and get some early wins.

If you are worried about sales, start generating leads you are certain will convert into sales, and approach those first. If you’re worried about financials, get example reports, and then start with the ones you understand. If you’re worried about managing people, start by hiring smart, ambitious people who don’t need much handholding.

Make it easy for yourself, and grow into the person you need to become.

7. You Can’t Seem To Find the Time for Your Idea

This is probably the most common sign of an impending product flop: you know your project will be a success — yet you can’t seem to find the time to work on it.

You keep pushing your idea aside. Other work comes up. Something else is more urgent. You’re busy. You push back your own deadlines and keep setting your big idea on the back burner.

It’s probably because you’re scared.

Maybe you’re afraid your big idea won’t succeed (even if you’re pretty sure it will). Or that it actually might succeed, and you won’t know how to handle it. Or that you’ll make mistakes and get laughed at, losing the respect of the people you admire.

Whatever the reason, if you find yourself procrastinating, sit down for a little introspection session. Think about why you’re not working on that big idea. Ask yourself:

  • What life changes you think would happen if you complete it?
  • What do those changes mean to you?
  • Why do you want to avoid them?
  • Are they realistic concerns?
  • What is the worst-case scenario?

Be honest with yourself. Often, reality is far different (and easier!) from what we imagine.

Maybe after some introspection, you realize the big idea isn’t going to be good for you. Sometimes our gut instinct sends warning messages that we should pay attention to – just because a project will be successful doesn’t mean it’s the right success for us.

And if that’s the case, then there are plenty of other – better – ideas for you to pursue. If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s this:

The next big idea is always right around the corner.

Conclusion

Not all great ideas are destined to be big hits. However, many of the largest companies in the world started as just one good idea. Review the warning signs above and make sure you are in the best possible position to move forward.

Then, it’s time to start digging in. Start by getting to know who your audience really is and do some market research. Create a business plan and don’t forget to consider outsourcing tasks that you don’t have the time — or the knowledge — to tackle.

And if you do flop? Take some time to recover, then try again.

Are you working on your next big idea? What is holding you back?

The post 7 Warning Signs You Have Product Flop on Your Hands (and How to Fix It!) appeared first on Neil Patel.

What is App Store Optimization?

With over 4 million mobile apps in the major app stores, getting your app discovered is one of the biggest issues facing mobile app publishers today. This is why understanding app store optimization is so crucial.

But what is app store optimization, and how can you make the most of it? Here’s what you need to know to help your app rank well.

What is App Store Optimization (ASO)? 

App store optimization is the process of optimizing mobile apps to rank higher in an app store’s search results. The higher your app ranks in an app store’s search results, the more visible it is to potential customers.

That increased visibility tends to translate into more traffic to your app’s page in the app store.

The goal of ASO is to drive more traffic to your app’s page in the app store, so searchers can take a specific action: download your app.

The ASO process also requires a crucial understanding of your target customer base, including the keywords your potential customers are using to find apps similar to yours.

When you learn more about which keywords are being used, you will better understand your potential customers’ language so you can hone in on the best keywords to use.

Why is ASO Important?

According to Forrester, 63% of apps are discovered through app store searches. This makes search in the app store the most used method for discovering and downloading new apps.

Recently, at Google I/O, Ankit Jain reported that “For the average app, search actually makes up the vast majority of installs.” Simply put, this means that:

If you’re not using ASO to increase your app’s search ranking, you’re missing out on the largest discovery channel available to your app.

With hundreds of thousands of apps in each app store vying to rank above one another, the amazing reality is that most publishers are not investing in app store optimization.

So here’s my gift to you: ASO is your secret weapon. Spend time every week improving your ASO, and you will meaningfully impact your app’s ranking and overall success.

How to Help Your App Rank: The Basics of ASO 

Much of what I’m about to explain is going to be SEO basics.

If you’re already familiar with these for web searches, there are still a few key differences within the App Store.

Let’s start by breaking down the various components that can affect your ASO:

Main ASO Factors:

  • Title: The keyword placed in the title should be the one with the heaviest search traffic. Spend time researching which keyword that is, because changing your title too often can be detrimental. As your app begins to rank higher and gain more reviews, your app’s news will begin to spread by word of mouth. Changing the title can make it difficult for word to spread about your app.
  • Keywords: To improve your search rankings, you need to know which keywords are relevant and used most often by your target audience. It is helpful to monitor competitors to realize how you compare week to week.

Besides being the most important ASO factor, the title and keywords can be modified easily to optimize them regularly.

Secondary ASO Factors:

  • Total # of Downloads: Your number of downloads are significant to ASO, but you don’t have complete control over them.
  • Ratings and Reviews: Also important and difficult to control. However, there are ways to incentivize happy users to rate and review

Here’s a complete breakdown of all the factors to keep in mind when optimizing your app for better rankings.

Title

The title is our first impression online. It’s what drew you to read this post, and it’s what will draw users to your app.

Optimizing with a keyword in the title increases search ranking for that title by 10.3%!

Obviously, some limitations apply, as the App Store is very regulated.

You’re given only 30 characters for a title in iOS 11, and keyword stuffing is a surefire way to risk being banned.

Users are also wary of downloading shady-looking apps for privacy concerns.

Think about it — would you rather have “Evernote” or “Note Taking Note App for Notes” on your smartphone?

Be smart about how you optimize.

Pandora, for example, does everything right.

Pandora ASO example

Its icon is sleek and simple, and with a short name, it was able to fit in three essential keywords.

When searching the App Store for “free,” “music,” or “radio,” you’ll find Pandora at or near the top.

Description

Here’s where things get a bit murky. Technically the App Store algorithm ignores the description.

Users, however, are a different story.

Rather than optimizing for SEO, focus on explaining the features and benefits of your product.

And, while it seems like you have a lot of space to do this, you actually don’t.

Truncated snippets are shown on your product page, and a few readers will ever click “more” to read beyond what you see here.

You have 252 characters to make your pitch and convince someone you’re worth downloading.

There’s no room for fluff, and you may need to A/B test several iterations to find what works best.

Keyword Metadata

iOS 11 provides you with 100 characters to enter keywords separated by commas.

These help your app get discovered through search and related content.

There’s no need to duplicate efforts here, so choose keywords you haven’t already used in the title.

Some in-depth keyword analysis can be done using Apple Search Ads.

apple search for ASO

This feature is only available to iOS app developers and is an essential tool for listing any project.

You can also use a keyword research tool like Ubersuggest to find common key terms and test them.

Subtitle

You’re given a subtitle below the title in search results. This is also limited to 30 characters.

It gives you another chance to use more descriptive keywords.

ASO example

TypeShift, for example, uses the space to input its SEO.

This is a cleaner look and can work well.

I would’ve still taken the opportunity to use some keywords in the title, but that’s out of my control.

Which is a great segue to my next topic.

App Reviews and Ratings

Customer reviews and ratings are an important consideration for users, especially those unfamiliar with an app brand.

Apps with higher ratings also ranked higher. This raises a tricky dilemma: you want more ratings and reviews, but not if they are negative. So, you need a way to connect with your customers inside your app, giving them a place to vent and talk directly to the developer.

On the flip side, you want to guide happy customers to leave positive reviews for you.

The average rating of the top 100 free apps in the App Store is 4 stars!

Quality clearly matters.

The lower your rating, the fewer consumers who will be willing to consider downloading it.

Think about it. When was the last time you downloaded a one-star app?

You may have rated an app one star, but it was likely rated 3 or more stars when you downloaded it.

Ratings also affect conversions.

Maintaining a high rating is often easier than raising one from 2 to 4 stars.

That’s why it’s important to solicit reviews from customers within the app.

One time is all that’s necessary, and it needs to be done within the first 72 hours.

That’s how long 77% of users will use an app before never again turning it on.

It’s also important to wait until after the customer has a chance to use the app.

Instead of basing it on a timer, consider a push notification when the customer completes certain actions.

Examples of great times to do this are after the first level of a game or after a customer sends their first message through your encrypted messaging app.

Try not to be too spammy, though, and keep in mind your app’s performance can affect its rating.

Ultimately, you want a page full of glowing reviews.

And don’t be shy about replying to negative reviews.

It’s possible a bad customer experience happened due to an error or glitch that’s since been corrected.

Thank users for their reviews whenever possible, good or bad, and correct issues brought up. This is your time to gather valuable user feedback.

This is your time to gather valuable user feedback.

Downloads

Ultimately it’s a download that matters.

An app preview video and screenshots help convert indecisive users.

Both the App and Google Play stores use the number of times an app has been downloaded to determine ranking.

More specifically, it’s the current download rate.

For example, while an app may have 1 million overall downloads, a newer app can beat it by getting more downloads this month.

The preview video and images can be a major factor in this.

The majority of top apps in the App Store use app previews to increase customer conversions.

Once you have a user, however, you’ll need to keep them.

It’s harder than it sounds, and Apple is paying attention.

What can you do to get more downloads for your app?

Improving your ASO is a great place to start. Beyond that, work on marketing your brand and app to improve recognition, awareness, and appeal, from app store description to images, ratings/reviews, and social media presence.

Retention Impacts ASO 

Retention rates are important for mobile device rankings, but the bar isn’t set very high.

The average app has only a 36% retention rate in the first month.

ASO average retention rate

Further breaking things down, we can look at the retention rates by industry.

Media/Entertainment, Lifestyle/Travel, and eCommerce/Retail apps have the best three-month retention rates.

There are so many apps available in the App Store that users download plenty to never use them.

A study found Americans use an average of 30 apps each month out of the roughly 90 they have installed.

This means even if your app is downloaded, it’s unlikely it’ll ever be used beyond the first 72 hours.

How long your app stays installed and how many times it’s used while installed can help App Store search rankings.

Now that you understand how the search rankings work, it’s time to explore best practices for publishing an app to ensure it’s seen and downloaded.

Do Apps with Higher Ratings Rank Higher in Search Results?

This test was done by taking a random sampling of keywords and categorizing them by difficulty related to rankings. 

An “easy” keyword results in fewer than 25 apps trying to rank for that keyword. “Medium” keywords are included in 25-100 apps, and “competitive” keywords are those in 100+ apps.

How app ratings correlate to search rankings

Based on this test, there is a clear trend showing that apps with higher ratings also rank higher for keyword difficulty.

Do apps with better ratings rank higher? Yes.

(But don’t beg for them; earn better ratings for your apps the right way.)

Conclusion 

ASO is a process that needs to be monitored and constantly tweaked over a period of time. Your optimal set of keywords rarely is the set that you first opt to put in the app store.

In most cases, little or no research on keyword searches occurs before the app submission, leaving most apps hidden, and the likelihood of discovery quite low.

To reap the rewards of ASO, you need to invest time and effort. If you do, you’ll have a consistent channel driving traffic to your app.

Being found is one of the most difficult challenges for mobile apps, but it is a problem you can actively solve with the tips above.

Have you found success with ASO? What has helped your app rank better? 

The post What is App Store Optimization? appeared first on Neil Patel.

New comment by seointern in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (October 2020)"

Remote | Front-End Developer | Sharetribe Platform | Full-Time | FunnelRolodex.com

As a sister company to ClickFunnels.com ($10M+ MRR), we are a digital marketplace, connecting their 140k+ paying clients to freelancers. We are looking for an additional front-end developer to rebuild our marketplace on the Sharetribe platform to improve the user experience and usability for all our users (buyers/sellers).

Requirements:

– User Experience: We’re looking for someone who understands what it takes to deliver a quality user experience. There is a massive difference between building what is simple from a development perspective and ultimately delivering the best user experience. You will need the ability to see and feel what it’s like for a first time user going through the projects you develop.

– Communication, Communication, Communication: We are looking for a developer who understands the importance of team communication. Working remotely requires an added layer of good communication. It’s important to keep the team up to date on what you’re working on and if you’re running into any issues, that you’re clearly communicating them to the team so we can work together to figure them out.

– Timelines/Deadlines: Understands the importance of setting and hitting deadlines. Each project you will be expected to set an estimate on how long it will take to accomplish and the work towards hitting that target.

– Detail oriented: Someone who pays attention to detail and cares about the quality of their work, enough so that none of the details slip between the cracks. With each of your commits, it will be important that your notes are accurately reporting what was updated within each of the commits.

– Development Stack: React, Redux, CSS, HTML, Node.js, Github, Stripe, PayPal.

If you’re interested and feel you would be a good fit, please email me your work experience and examples of your work to bj@funnelrolodex.com

New comment by ramix in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (July 2020)"

Location: Latvia, Riga GMT+2 Remote: Yes
Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: PHP,Laravel,Javascript,Ember.js,Html,Css,Lucee,Sys admin, websockets.

Resume/CV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vxdncAETa8S7I-VQQoygIQGNVa1….

Portfolio – https://www.raimondsplume.com

Email: rpluume4@gmail.com

Hello,

I am remote web developer seeking remote role. I have over 4 years of experience with PHP(Laravel), Javascript(Ember.js, Electron.js, a bit of React.js), Html, CSS, SASS, ColdFusion(FW/1), system administration and other technologies. If you are interested, let me know so we can arrange a chat or call. Thanks!

What is the FASB?

What is the FASB?

The FASB is one company that offers standard standards for economic coverage. The goal of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is to develop as well as enhance requirements of economic bookkeeping and also reporting for the support as well as education and learning of the general public, consisting of companies, auditors as well as customers of monetary details.
Accountancy requirements are important to the reliable performance of the economic situation due to the fact that choices concerning the allowance of sources depend greatly on qualified, succinct, reasonable as well as clear economic details. Financial info regarding the procedures and also economic setting of private entities additionally is made use of by the public in making numerous other sort of choices.

To achieve its goal, the FASB acts to:

— Improve the efficiency of monetary coverage by concentrating on the key qualities of importance and also integrity as well as on the top qualities of comparability and also uniformity;
— Keep criteria existing to mirror adjustments in approaches of operating and also adjustments in the financial atmosphere;
— Consider without delay any type of considerable locations of shortage in economic coverage that may be boosted with the standard-setting procedure;
— Promote the global merging of bookkeeping requirements simultaneous with boosting the top quality of monetary coverage; as well as
— Improve the usual understanding of the nature as well as objectives of info consisted of in monetary records.

The FASB establishes wide accountancy principles as well as requirements for economic coverage. The structure will certainly assist to develop affordable bounds for judgment in preparing economic details as well as to boost understanding of, as well as self-confidence in, monetary info on the component of individuals of monetary records.

The FASB creates wide bookkeeping principles as well as requirements for monetary coverage. The structure will certainly assist to develop practical bounds for judgment in preparing economic details as well as to raise understanding of, and also self-confidence in, monetary info on the component of individuals of monetary records. It likewise will certainly assist the public to recognize the nature as well as restrictions of details provided by economic coverage.

The post What is the FASB? appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

The post What is the FASB? appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

The Different Types Of Online Affiliate Marketing

The Different Types Of Online Affiliate Marketing Associate advertising programs has actually never ever been as prominent prior to as it is today. The most potential factor, nevertheless, might be the reality that the advantages of associate advertising and marketing have actually come to be more clear to a whole lot of individuals currently than … Continue reading The Different Types Of Online Affiliate Marketing

New comment by benlower in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (July 2019)"

Tableau | Seattle, WA | Sr. Product Manager

Looking for a great PM to take the reins of the Tableau Extension Gallery and grow it. Lots to figure out like what new product types should we add and if we should facilitate commerce. Gallery delivers a lot of customer value already and this is and opportunity to amp that up as well as help grow and enable our partner ecosystem.

More details and apply at https://tableau.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job/Seattle-W…