How do you start marketing your SAAS as a founder with no experience in marketing?
Kostya Bolshukhin
14 replies
I worked as a Head of Sales and Customer Success in series A SAAS but never did marketing or svales SAAS from 0 to 1.
Where do I start?
My current bets:
• Daily LinkedIn posts with active engagement
• Heavy commenting and inviting people from my ICP to connect
(no InMail)
• Outreaching to get feedback on the product in exchange for 3 months free
• Trying videos on LinkedIn
• Prepping to launch on Product Hunt (shoutout to legends who already did it)
• Working on testimonials with current users
• Tweaking the landing page
• Posting on Twitter daily & following cool makers
Should i add anything to the mix or double down? And what do you do?
Replies
Narmina Balabayli@narminablb
vevy.ai
What is the hardest part of doing marketing?
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@narminablb sucking at it 😂
no, really — when you try any channel and have 0 reaction is tough
you don't know is it a channel, product or execution problem
double guessing and overthinking here slow you down
vevy.ai
@kostyabolsh connecting with like-minded founders/marketers of single product is tough. been there! in the early stage of product each team member should engage in marketing/sales. Marketing is about how do you help people achieving their goals, how you support their journey. So focus on helping them before they become your customers. And I higly suggest reading this article: https://paulgraham.com/ds.html
@narminablb @kostyabolsh I'm just gonna jump in quickly to remind that social media and SEO take at least 3-6 months to pick up, and even ads take at least 1 month to generate anything decent 👀
As a founder with no experience in marketing, one good way to start promoting your SAAS is by leveraging the power of social media. Create engaging content that showcases the unique value proposition of your product and try to interact with your target audience on different platforms. Another idea could be to collaborate with influencers or industry experts who can help promote your product to a wider audience. Additionally, consider participating in online communities and forums where your potential customers might hang out and share valuable insights without directly promoting your product. This can help you establish yourself as an authority in your niche and attract more customers to your SAAS.
We are building a marekting AI called Contentify AI. It's free and easy to setup. Check out the "Launching soon"
It seems like you've already done your research into market (bonus points for flaunting "ICP" 😉) - that's usually the first step!
Second, I recommend you use your personal brand leverage (if any) - continue to personally engage with social media users on various platforms, that's likely to give you some initial following/user base. Also, feature your startup everywhere - social media, listings, SaaS directories, etc.
Third, make sure your website is ready to receive any new traffic - optimise your landing for conversions, set up analytics and Tags (Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, any other platforms that may direct traffic), implement emails sing ups, fix bugs, check your Core Vitals (google PageSpeed Insights)
Fourth, invest in some content and basic SEO (if resources are tights) - organic users are often the best ones
Firth, chat to other founders or marketers that offer consulting services/free calls
Good luck!
@alex_skazka do you have "Go-to" material on SEO for dummies to recommend?
@kostyabolsh if you want to learn, Semrush academy is pretty decent + Neil Patel's blog will have all the checklists and step-by-steps (https://neilpatel.com/blog/)
@alex_skazka @kostyabolsh if I may recommend a resource, the LearningEO by Aleyda Solis is great (and she is great, too) : https://learningseo.io/
AutoAE
Join the build in pubic community, there are a lot of mkt resources.
And, from my personally experience, never try to do marketing organic when ur team already in series A.
Investment in mkt can change everything, especially when your product is not bad.
Launching soon!
Starting from scratch in marketing your SAAS can feel like diving into a new codebase, but your approach shows promise! To enhance your mix, consider exploring SEO strategies or collaborating with industry influencers for more reach. Remember, just like debugging, marketing requires patience and persistence!
Fleak
Hey Kostya - Executing tactics is a part of marketing. Having a strategy and defining what the goals are will help you focus your tactics and evaluate whether they are effective or not. Have you defined what the brand is for your company? How do you want to competitively position your company?
Keep on going on your tactics. Spend time defining your marketing strategy. Then pivot your tactics to support it.
Don't just push your product. Engage with potential customers online, answer questions in relevant forums, and participate in industry discussions. Building genuine relationships and establishing yourself as a thought leader can be a powerful marketing tool.