Serious question, how do you know whether it's your product or your marketing that sucks?
For example, I tried twitter ads for my product [1] and I got zero sales after spending $50.
What are good marketing strategies for niche hardware products?
For example, I tried twitter ads for my product [1] and I got zero sales after spending $50.
What are good marketing strategies for niche hardware products?
At least it works without Javascript.
I find it really, really hard to take good pictures and even harder to take video. I am getting help with that and I hope the situation will improve.
yes, there is a companion app, should I make that more clear?
The contact page is labelled imprint because that's the law here in Germany... I could have an additional contact page though.
The two privacy policies are because one is for visitors of the website and one is for users of my product. Two totally different contexts, and I was unsure how to fuse them. Probably also something I should get help with.
I cut down on the about us section. But I agree this needs some work still...
On clickthru Shopify page, there are some decent photos. But would replace/remove the Amazon text in one of them.
Also would show the back / cord & connector.
Yes, would have apps page with direct links to store.
Re: contact page. Is this actually true? This page for example still says contact when viewing Germany version of page. https://teenage.engineering/contact
Re: privacy: you could have one link, with some way to show both once you get to that page. Few will read this anyway, may as well not clutter home page with 2 links.
Good luck my friend.
That is a Swedish site and as a foreign organisation, they are exempt from the Imprint requirement in Germany.
Imprint is generally something that should be present on a german website, though it isn't really enforced. You could get sued though if you don't have it.
So it has to be something people want. And it doesnt look cool/sleek/exciting enough for people to want it. The bezel is huge, its black and white, and looks overpriced.
Some marketing angles work, but your product has to honestly support them. Ex:
- hackable. Need to show off connection interface, API, some cool project examples. As far as I can tell, LEDs never hurt here.
- sophisticated/elegant.
- useful. Seems easier to use /better than what people are already doing.
- cool. Buys access to a group of exciting people you wouldn't get to meet otherwise.
But the absolute best way to market a hardware product is to stop making it about tech. My dad bought a digital picture frame a while back as a gift. Thats a way easier bar to clear, its emotional, sentimental, symbolic, so the technical execution doesnt need to be as flawless.
My instant wonder and would be a deal breaker until I found out if the device pulls from the calendar directly or via a proxy you run if it helps any
Going by the language in the privacy policy it’s the proxy method. I’d have to pass, personally. Looks great but I got no use for it if you shut down
Also it’s “sold out” so I assume it doesn’t and won’t exist until you get enough interest. For me this is more an impulse buy, give me a week thinking about it and I’d forget about it completely (then 2 years later I get an email “xyzzy is complete and shipping now!” with no reminder of what it is)
But I want to be upfront about the fact that there are things beyond my control that might force me to shut down some or all functionality. For example, if google shuts down access to the calendar API, the calendar feature will be in trouble.
I was actually thinking about exactly this product earlier this week. I have kids and their schedule is really complicated these days - some days some of them need packed lunches, uniform is different on PE days etc etc. I want to walk into the kitchen and have the details for the day right there. There’s a real use for the product, you need to work on the landing page (I’d suggest considering starting again with a template)
Do you have a template that you think I should use?
And do you know maybe somebody who could help me build a better landing page without costing me all my life savings?
- Webflow: https://webflow.com/templates
- SquareSpace: https://www.squarespace.com/templates
- Shopify: https://themes.shopify.com/
I'd recommend Shopify, and a minimalist, light theme such as the one below, since your product is made of light wood.
https://themes.shopify.com/themes/craft/styles/default?surfa...
But I’ve been wary of using it for the whole website since I didn’t want my whole page structure and content coupled to shopify.
And I didn’t want it all to feel like a shopify store.
But maybe that was a bad priority and I should just get over it.
Thanks for the tip with the theme, btw
As sibling comment says, use a website builder instead. Something like shopify will have everything you need (though I’m not massively familiar with it myself).
Another suggestion I have is to focus on the target audience. I skimmed the doc you linked to about uploading images (couldn’t find any extra docs on the site at a glance btw) and it felt geek heavy in terminology.
The shots of the device look nice, but there’s an app for managing it? Is it easy to use? If I buy this device would my wife ever use it or is it too complicated?
Are you actually making these devices yourself? If I were hand making these my starting point would be to sell to friends so I could iterate on the whole thing. There are a lot of people on here talking about ads and marketing but honestly, hustle is how you get started.
I don't define myself by my design skills so you didn't hurt any feelings :D
I am a bit wary of using Shopify for landing pages because I'm worried it will make it feel even more like a dropshipping enterprise...
But maybe that's the smaller problem if at least my website looks good then!
I was expecting some geocities crap. From what I see, the landing page is clear, concise and shows me the relevant info I'm looking for.
Google Search Ads and Facebook/Instagram ads are seen as more effective in comparison (results are likely higher as Facebook/Meta are relatively better at analytics, so advertisements appear to more relevant people).
In addition, $50 is not a lot to spend on an ad campaign. It generally takes a higher number of advertisement views by the same person (preferably across different websites and channels) to produce an intended result.
I wish there were a scientific study to lean on as a more credible source. I personally don’t have direct experience for budgets smaller than $1,000 a month, back when I did work with some non-profits.
Roughly $100 a month sounds plausibly viable at the lowest uncomfortable end with skill, but you also need that skill in graphic design to make an effective ad, persuasive writing, and a good idea of how to target the right audience. That perspective also costs time to learn from books and/or money if outsourced.
That said, I would love to have my calendar always just sitting there on my desk. This is the perfect item for anyone with adhd or similar. I would target that niche.
You can leave your email to be notified when it's back in stock.
1. Is this solving a pain point the user has already?
2. Do they currently have some less-than-great solution in place?
3. Are they willing to pay for something which will solve their problem?
Looking at your product, I see a possible market, but it might need to be tuned (UX and/or marketing) to be successful.
A relative of mine needs 24/7 in-home care. There are a number of people involved and a decent number of Dr appointments etc to coordinate. The people involved with elder care are super low tech, but in her case, a shared visible calendar could be useful.
In general, the products for seniors and/or people with dementia or other disabilities tend to have horrible design and still aren't really suited to physical/cognitive challenges of the users and their caregivers. It's a niche, but one that could use a lot of developments.
I'd say I have two customer groups in mind:
1. Technologically open-minded people who have a bit of money and want an e-paper calendar in their office or for their family. They can buy my e paper screen and set it up with the mobile app in 2 minutes.
2. Developers who want to build their own e-paper application and need a platform to build it on. They can buy my device and use the image-url feature to display their own designs.
As an example, for my own subscription box service the cost to acquire a customer from YouTube ads was ~$49.
Rather than doing online ads I think a promo vid with a progressive looking family / hipsters would be more effective. ;)
Here are the instructions, so you can see how it works: https://www.invisible-computers.com/invisible-calendar/image...