My startup is finally ready for launch !!

[blackz_11]

Ok so 5 months ago I posted this thread on Reddit to get some validation and ideas on my gym clothing startup I wanted to set up: http://www.reddit.com/r/bodybuilding/comments/2kk8mj/gym_clothing_brands_and_the_industry/

Since then I have sourced suppliers, built my brand and we are finally ready to launch! We have set up a landing page ready for our launch with a promo video which you can see here: http://signup.muscleacademyfitness.com

It's been a long road but I finally feel that we have actually built a brand which is hard but definitely worth it !

Would love to hear some feedback

Thanks

 

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[OlatheFastlaner]

Went to the Site, loved the video concept and how you asked 5 months ago about what people want.

 

[blackz_11]

Thanks, Reddit can be a goldmine for information

 

[Esquire]

The video montage is good (from a production standpoint) ... but I failed to see a point. No call to action. No (evident) tie in to (whatever it is you are selling). Just a video ... of a guy working out.

Now ... maybe there is some call to action at the end ... I don't know ... because I never got that far. Dragged on too long with no evident reason to keep watching. If there is a call to action ... the video is too long (for the average attention span). Shorten it.

I also did not see where (if anywhere) I was supposed to go from there. I am not going to give you my contact info just because of a logo and a guy working out. I did not see any links to a main site.

My two cents.

 

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[Charnell]

Went to the website, I'm just curious why the "Muscle Academy" top portion isn't centered on the video? On of the first things I noticed when it loaded up.

 

[Esquire]

Also: I would not have assumed you were a clothing company. The only reason I knew it was a clothing site was this thread. Otherwise I would have assumed the "academy" was an fitness program.

I would not have known he was wearing your shirt (... I assume that was your shirt ... right ...? I still don't know. Nothing in the landing page tied in to what he was wearing).

 

[blackz_11]

The video montage is good (from a production standpoint) ... but I failed to see a point. No call to action. No (evident) tie in to (whatever it is you are selling). Just a video ... of a guy working out.

Now ... maybe there is some call to action at the end ... I don't know ... because I never got that far. Dragged on too long with no evident reason to keep watching. If there is a call to action ... the video is too long (for the average attention span). Shorten it.

I also did not see where (if anywhere) I was supposed to go from there. I am not going to give you my contact info just because of a logo and a guy working out. I did not see any links to a main site.

My two cents.

Thanks for the feedback, the call to action is in the words below - offering a discount off first orders in exchange for contact info. The main source of traffic to this page has been driven through social media (Instagram/Twitter/Facebook). So I would like to think people would have an idea of what we do before hand.

The video could be shorter, I was aiming for under 1 minute when putting it together.

 

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[blackz_11]

Went to the website, I'm just curious why the "Muscle Academy" top portion isn't centered on the video? On of the first things I noticed when it loaded up.

Are you viewing on a phone? Tablet? or Laptop? The page is built using Launchrock and while I used it because I am familiar with how to use it and its settings plus its ease of use, I would highly encourage people NOT to use it !

 

[Esquire]

Thanks for the feedback, the call to action is in the words below - offering a discount off first orders in exchange for contact info. The main source of traffic to this page has been driven through social media (Instagram/Twitter/Facebook). So I would like to think people would have an idea of what we do before hand.

The video could be shorter, I was aiming for under 1 minute when putting it together.

There were words there ...? If so ... I dont recall having seen them. All I saw was the guy exercising.

Now ... I am sure there were (in fact) words there ... but the video images are competing with the message. Consider making the text more prominent ... or overlaying it in the middle of the frame.

Otherwise ... it does no good to have a message the eye does not see.

 

[blackz_11]

Also: I would not have assumed you were a clothing company. The only reason I knew it was a clothing site was this thread. Otherwise I would have assumed the "academy" was an fitness program.

I would not have known he was wearing your shirt (... I assume that was your shirt ... right ...? I still don't know. Nothing in the landing page tied in to what he was wearing).

He is wearing one of the items of clothing yes. I can see where your coming from, it may be a case of slightly reviewing the message we are trying to portray. Thanks

 

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[Chaseb731]

Yea I got through probably 15 seconds before turning it off. At least put some women in there at the beginning if you are only doing a workout montage. Catch my attention and show me your brand in those 15 seconds.

 

[Charnell]

Are you viewing on a phone? Tablet? or Laptop? The page is built using Launchrock and while I used it because I am familiar with how to use it and its settings plus its ease of use, I would highly encourage people NOT to use it !

I'm on my laptop.

 

[tafy]

Thats a bad video man, well its bad for selling clothes!

I doubt you get many ppl still watching after the 1 min mark

And no way they will know its for clothes, they prob think its a personal trainer showing off his workouts.

 

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[blackz_11]

I'm on my laptop.

Ah that's strange, on all all screens we tested it was aligned. Will have to tinker with it some more. Launchrock is rather restrictive. This was built on their own platform, they now have a new one which is in beta mode with a lot of issues I believe.

Thanks for pointing that out

 

[blackz_11]

Thats a bad video man, well its bad for selling clothes!

I doubt you get many ppl still watching after the 1 min mark

And no way they will know its for clothes, they prob think its a personal trainer showing off his workouts.

Thanks for the feedback. It seems is if those who would land directly on our page with no pre-awarness of what we do would have this same thinking. But like I've said, for now the traffic has been driven through social media which accompanies the brand.

We have been doing around 8-10 sign ups a day on average, which isn't be no means something to shout about, but it gives me hope that people are interesting in knowing more/receiving discount and possibly purchasing

 

[tafy]

Well just imagine a video that shows off your designs and is cool as hell would do to your signups and shareability

 

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[Tiago]

The video montage is good (from a production standpoint) ... but I failed to see a point. No call to action. No (evident) tie in to (whatever it is you are selling). Just a video ... of a guy working out.

Now ... maybe there is some call to action at the end ... I don't know ... because I never got that far. Dragged on too long with no evident reason to keep watching. If there is a call to action ... the video is too long (for the average attention span). Shorten it.

I also did not see where (if anywhere) I was supposed to go from there. I am not going to give you my contact info just because of a logo and a guy working out. I did not see any links to a main site.

My two cents.

That is exactly word by word what I was going to write. I didn't even finish the video because it dragged on way too long and just showed a guy working out. If you're a clothing company, at least show more of your designs.

 

[teabag]

+ 1 for treadmill bunnies.

Yeh they might not lift, but your main customer is going to be a male aged 20-30 years old and well.. sex sells.

Also majority of comments I read in the reddit thread was 'prefer gym clothing with less logos - plain tees'.

Your singlet has a massive USA looking design in the middle. Personally, I'm digging it - I think it looks great but as others have said - I watched the entire video because I was waiting for 'something' to happen - but nothing did.

Hundreds of gym apparel stores are opening up - Gym Shark is one of the most successful because they sponsor every fukin youtube/instagram fitness person who then commission sell the products - giving them a HUGE reach.
If you're going to build this brand, you need exposure from people with followings.

Gym Shark was the first to do it, and they are KILLING it.

Keep it up, you got this.

 

[MindWarrior]

As previously mentioned, you need a SOLID call to action my friend.
When I land on your page the most prevalent piece is definitely your video. Your CTA is there but it's practically in fine print, demanding very little attention. I'd also suggest you create multiple versions of your landing page and split test them against each other.

I say all of this with the best of intentions so stay grinding and test test test!

 

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[Esquire]

As previously mentioned, you need a SOLID call to action my friend.
When I land on your page the most prevalent piece is definitely your video. Your CTA is there but it's practically in fine print, demanding very little attention. I'd also suggest you create multiple versions of your landing page and split test them against each other.

I say all of this with the best of intentions so stay grinding and test test test!

I just went back to check it out again.

I found the print (this time) and agree ... at first glance ... it looks like small legal jargon you would expect to see at the bottom of the page, along with the copyright notice. No wonder I didn't see it.

The benefit (discount) should be MUCH bigger and a different color. Make it pop off the page.

In fact ... I would get rid of the blue "Muscle Academy - Lead Never Follow" on the first frame of the video ... and replace it with "Sign up Below - Save 15%" (or something like that). And I would KEEP IT THERE ... during the entire video. Make it impossible to miss.

No one cares about the "Lead Never Follow" motto. The motto conveys no benefit. It is pure fluff.

The discount (on the other hand) IS a benefit. Highlight THAT.

 

[blackz_11]

+ 1 for treadmill bunnies.

Yeh they might not lift, but your main customer is going to be a male aged 20-30 years old and well.. sex sells.

Also majority of comments I read in the reddit thread was 'prefer gym clothing with less logos - plain tees'.

Your singlet has a massive USA looking design in the middle. Personally, I'm digging it - I think it looks great but as others have said - I watched the entire video because I was waiting for 'something' to happen - but nothing did.

Hundreds of gym apparel stores are opening up - Gym Shark is one of the most successful because they sponsor every fukin youtube/instagram fitness person who then commission sell the products - giving them a HUGE reach.
If you're going to build this brand, you need exposure from people with followings.

Gym Shark was the first to do it, and they are KILLING it.

Keep it up, you got this.

Thanks for the feedback and encouragement man, the reason why there is mo women in the video is because I'm working on that range now. The women's fitness industry has blown in the last 2-3 years and is probably more lucrative than the mens.

Your right about Gymshark they are massive, and that strategy of sponsoring people with a following is one that every gym clothing brand is trying to do. While I want to do this and eventually will, I have another strategy which I am trying to do which is trying to get in via 'the backdoor'

 

[blackz_11]

As previously mentioned, you need a SOLID call to action my friend.
When I land on your page the most prevalent piece is definitely your video. Your CTA is there but it's practically in fine print, demanding very little attention. I'd also suggest you create multiple versions of your landing page and split test them against each other.

I say all of this with the best of intentions so stay grinding and test test test!

Thanks for the feedback

 

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[blackz_11]

I just went back to check it out again.

I found the print (this time) and agree ... at first glance ... it looks like small legal jargon you would expect to see at the bottom of the page, along with the copyright notice. No wonder I didn't see it.

The benefit (discount) should be MUCH bigger and a different color. Make it pop off the page.

In fact ... I would get rid of the blue "Muscle Academy - Lead Never Follow" on the first frame of the video ... and replace it with "Sign up Below - Save 15%" (or something like that). And I would KEEP IT THERE ... during the entire video. Make it impossible to miss.

No one cares about the "Lead Never Follow" motto. The motto conveys no benefit. It is pure fluff.

The discount (on the other hand) IS a benefit. Highlight THAT.

Very helpful stuff man, I'll put that into action right away. I'm thinking now to possible putting Sign up for 15% off your first order in a slide before the video even starts. And changing the video to a 15 second version I created for Instagram. Plus making the 15% in bold and the font much larger

 

[blackz_11]

Ok made some changes:

- Video title (on laptop) now has the offer in the title
- Video has been shortened to 15seconds
- "sign up for 15% off" has been added at the end of the video
- Call to action writing has been made larger
- Discount has been highlighted and bolded for emphasis

 

[Esquire]

Ok made some changes:

- Video title (on laptop) now has the offer in the title
- Video has been shortened to 15seconds
- "sign up for 15% off" has been added at the end of the video
- Call to action writing has been made larger
- Discount has been highlighted and bolded for emphasis

10x better.

Nice!

One last suggestion:

When the video ends ... there are three video options ... each of which takes you OFF of your sign-up page.

My recommendation would be to get rid of that (you want them to stay ON your page and sign-up) and use a call to action still frame at the end (instead).

But no doubt ... much MUCH better.

 

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[blackz_11]

10x better.

Nice!

One last suggestion:

When the video ends ... there are three video options ... each of which takes you OFF of your sign-up page.

My recommendation would be to get rid of that (you want them to stay ON your page and sign-up) and use a call to action still frame at the end (instead).

But no doubt ... much MUCH better.

Thanks, I will look to see if there is an option to turn that off

 

[Wal-Mart Vendor]

http://www.westword.com/arts/meet-t...eighborhood-smell-like-semenville-usa-5780867

 

[Wal-Mart Vendor]

http://www.westword.com/arts/meet-t...eighborhood-smell-like-semenville-usa-5780867

oops wrong thread

 

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[Jango]

Also liked it much better, people now a days have short attention spans and 20 seconds is about all they can handle!

Consider showing a selection of your clothes beforehand, or something else to gain more interest, you have to gain the consumers trust that your clothing line is the shit before they'll sign up.

 

[blackz_11]

Hi Guys,

Just a quick update. We have officially launched our website !

You can check it out here: www.muscleacademyfitness.com

We generated some orders within hours of going live which was cool, but the best part was that only 1 of the orders were from the UK (where we are based). So people are definitely liking the brand !

Time to keep growing...