Hellooooo.
Inspiration is flowing through this week more than ever before. The source? I've been listening to some of the best music I've heard in a very long time. From Ultra Music Festival to Coachella (both from the comfort of my own home, lol), The Alchemist just released a new album, Taylor's new album TTPD (WHOA!!!), Lauv released a new song called Potential today, and the list continues. But you're not here to talk about music, are you?
What's Inside
A spicy hot take
A spicy hot take
I don't talk much about my background in advertising, CRO, and paid media. Something I realized early on in my career was to look to partner with companies that had a few things going for them:
A solid product
Brand recognition
Reviews/social proof
You can drive traffic (organic or paid), and the key differentiators to the campaign's success depend heavily on those attributes. If your business is strong in those areas, the load will become much lighter on the pre-click side (the ad or traffic driver content) to get someone to click and way more gratifying on the post-click side (the conversion).
App growth stages
My rule for working with Shopify apps typically is that they need to be established (at least $15K MRR) and "good" regarding reviews (support), tech (great UX/UI, ahead of the competition), and have brand recognition.
Getting to that point can be the most challenging part because you are starting from zero unless your company's face of the brand is already well-established from other projects. Some days, it might feel like moving a mountain with a pickup truck. Unless your app (or eCommerce store) is solving a particular need that no other app is doing and is in high demand from the jump (essentially a unicorn), there will need to be a ton of work to get to the level I am speaking about. Some might say that 0 to $15K is the hardest stage in the growth journey.
Last week, I had a call with a collection of Shopify apps, who pressed me to give them a timeline and expectations for growth. None of their apps had a competitive advantage other than price. Some apps could have been condensed into 1 or 2 or not made. Here’s a secret: it’s not like I can throw a playbook at you, and we work on the book to get to the place in X amount of (short) time. Many more factors play into the success of Shopify apps, and a lot of it has to do with you. For those of you reading this that have been in the trenches for months or years know exactly what I’m talking about. Am I wrong here?
My ideal clients understand this, and regardless of how busy they are, they roll up their sleeves every week to drive the business forward without standing on top of a hill delegating. Or expecting me to wave a magic wand so we end up in Neverland. They prioritize “working the program” just like most prioritize going to the gym weekly.
I have recently started working with a couple of newer apps that are looking to reach that threshold despite my rule. Full transparency: I realize that my mental health has suffered. It's hard. My fees and their MRR don’t make me feel comfortable. I feel bad for not getting there faster. We’re not playing with funding but instead someone’s life savings. The resources are limited, and the mountain to climb is steep. It's harder to feel weekly wins like you do with a more mature business.
Measuring wins
I have to constantly remind myself about this stage that every single step forward is a win. Does this sound familiar? Wins are initially measured in action rather than direct revenue. I'll give you an example of something that recently happened with one of these apps. The app dev came to me with an agency that was interested in getting a demo. We threw together a short deck. We researched the agency’s clients. It turns out their clients are dream clients. I wish I could say more, but obviously, I can't. The app developer had no idea who these companies were, and my jaw was on the ground salivating. I'm glad he didn't realize the brevity of the opportunity, as it might have made him nervous lol.
To me, it was a win. Why? How in the heck did this outstanding agency find the app? It was a step forward for discovery (awareness or top of funnel). Some of the ground work that has been already laid led them to the app. It was a win.
I alluded to this last week but wanted to hammer it home this week. Wins must be celebrated at every stage in your growth journey. Wins motivate you to get up in the morning and do it all over again today.
There isn't a magic wand, and I am not a magician. You’re not a magician. Most apps will not be overnight successes. But if you measure your wins by actions that eventually lead to revenue growth, you will succeed. The long game is not a bad game. It's a hard game. It takes patience and grit. You must be ready to roll up your sleeves a lot, but eventually, it will pay off. “You’re doing amazing, sweetie.”
Okay that was deep, but it had to be said. Right? Was that a lot? Sound off in the comments and let me know if I went too far or just enough.
Until next week…
Happy selling,
Deb