How do I provide value to a Facebook Group I'm creating?

[oneac]

I have this validated idea for a Shopify app.

I've created a Facebook Group to catch my target audience.

I'm scared to death.

Too many I's, I know.

I have never created content before and am getting sick trying to think about how I'll:
1 - Grow the group.
2 - Create content that provides value to my group.
3 - Convince people to join my group (I have a list of emails, but don't know how to cold email. Or a reason for them to join an empty group...)
4 - Manage this group growing effort (marketing) with learning the technologies I need to learn in order to make my application.
5 - Whatever else I'm missing.


Do you guys have any advice for my situation on providing value to an audience I don't even have yet?

How do I even grow my audience when all I have is a list of emails and no skills?

@Andy Black @Fox @ZCP @BizyDad @Antifragile @MJ DeMarco @Tau Ceti

You guys are some of the most knowledge people I know when it comes to:
- Providing value through content
- Growing a Facebook Group
- No bullshit advice
- Taking over markets

Forgive the pin but I'm panicking a bit because I know this idea has potential and I just saw my competition make another sale!

On a piece of paper I have written down the two most important things I could be doing at any moment:
- Developing the app
-- Current action: Learn the technology.
- Growing the Facebook group
-- Current action: I don't know.

 

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[oneac]

Okay I've calmed down a bit and this is my plan.

The only two things I should really be doing is
(1) Develop the app
(2) Market and talk to customers

My current tasks that I should be doing now:
(1) Develop the app
(1 - Current chunk) Ramp up my learning. Go from 3 hours to 3.5 or 4

(2) Market and talk to customers
(2 - Current chunk) Populate my Facebook group with three piece of content this week (two days to make each post, video, whatever) on my free days this should take up 3-4 hours as well

Once I've posted the first three piece of content, I will learn how to cold email and start emailing people to join my group. Maybe I can even make a newsletter since I already have the emails, though I don't know if you can just sign someone up for a news letter without their permission first lmao

I'm going to change my oil now. When I come back, I'm going to write my first blog/ Facebook post.

Any critique will be appreciated.

 

[Antifragile]

I am not a content creator, nor an app developer… so I know nothing of the issues you are facing.

But I’ll tell you this, whenever i feel stressed in my business, I focus on the one thing that’ll make everything else easier or unnecessary.
Get that one thing done and out of the way, then figure out the next and keep going.

Action towards my most important goals is calming.

 

[Kevin88660]

I have this validated idea for a Shopify app.

I've created a Facebook Group to catch my target audience.

I'm scared to death.

Too many I's, I know.

I have never created content before and am getting sick trying to think about how I'll:
1 - Grow the group.
2 - Create content that provides value to my group.
3 - Convince people to join my group (I have a list of emails, but don't know how to cold email. Or a reason for them to join an empty group...)
4 - Manage this group growing effort (marketing) with learning the technologies I need to learn in order to make my application.
5 - Whatever else I'm missing.


Do you guys have any advice for my situation on providing value to an audience I don't even have yet?

How do I even grow my audience when all I have is a list of emails and no skills?

@Andy Black @Fox @ZCP @BizyDad @Antifragile @MJ DeMarco @Tau Ceti

You guys are some of the most knowledge people I know when it comes to:
- Providing value through content
- Growing a Facebook Group
- No bullshit advice
- Taking over markets

Forgive the pin but I'm panicking a bit because I know this idea has potential and I just saw my competition make another sale!

On a piece of paper I have written down the two most important things I could be doing at any moment:
- Developing the app
-- Current action: Learn the technology.
- Growing the Facebook group
-- Current action: I don't know.

I have some experience running groups and content.

Your first goal is to choose the right platform to catch your target audience.

Facebook groups typically are older demographics associated with clubs and associations. If I am a tutor teaching kids, that's perfect. It would be perfect if I am an agent allocating tutors to parents in the parents group. The realtors and insurance advisers are there as well. I used to do facebook for my friend who is a swimming coach. The response is great because the parents of the kids are there.

Investment/stocks/crypto: Youtube and Twitter

Tiktok: One of the best platforms right now with the lowest audience acquisition cost. If your target audience is business owner running their online stores, you can gain some traction by posting 101 of e-commerce. You will have much higher audience growth rate than any platform. Think about your target audience. What content are they interested to learn. Evergreen tutorials are definitely a good thing.

I am also learning to use apps developed for non-coders to code smart contracts. Pretty daunting for me if I screw it up. The cybersecurity repercussion is relatively high for the project. WIsh us both good luck.

 

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[Fox]

I have this validated idea for a Shopify app.

I've created a Facebook Group to catch my target audience.

I'm scared to death.

Too many I's, I know.

I have never created content before and am getting sick trying to think about how I'll:
1 - Grow the group.
2 - Create content that provides value to my group.
3 - Convince people to join my group (I have a list of emails, but don't know how to cold email. Or a reason for them to join an empty group...)
4 - Manage this group growing effort (marketing) with learning the technologies I need to learn in order to make my application.
5 - Whatever else I'm missing.


Do you guys have any advice for my situation on providing value to an audience I don't even have yet?

How do I even grow my audience when all I have is a list of emails and no skills?

@Andy Black @Fox @ZCP @BizyDad @Antifragile @MJ DeMarco @Tau Ceti

You guys are some of the most knowledge people I know when it comes to:
- Providing value through content
- Growing a Facebook Group
- No bullshit advice
- Taking over markets

Forgive the pin but I'm panicking a bit because I know this idea has potential and I just saw my competition make another sale!

On a piece of paper I have written down the two most important things I could be doing at any moment:
- Developing the app
-- Current action: Learn the technology.
- Growing the Facebook group
-- Current action: I don't know.

The group should be focused on the common questions/goals these people have.

You don't really have to make content - you have to start engagement.

Try get discussions going on what matters most and to get people to want to visit the group to gt insight, advice, feedback, suggestions etc.

Making content kinda suggests they will just sit there and listen. But a group doesn't really work that way.

So - just create a goal for people who join, add people in, and kick of topics around how to do it.

For the first few months you need to be active daily and to do massive replies on any questions. After a while the group gains momentum and you have people who will help answer also (look after those people well).

 

[Andy Black]

Are you sure you need a group?

 

[ZCP]

Could we just sell one to someone? Even sell the consulting to do one to someone?

I like the idea of the group for building an audience and finding problems to solve. I'm just asking the question so we don't miss having a bunch of money to hire someone to do this part.....

 

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[Andy Black]

Could we just sell one to someone? Even sell the consulting to do one to someone?

I like the idea of the group for building an audience and finding problems to solve. I'm just asking the question so we don't miss having a bunch of money to hire someone to do this part.....

^^^ This.

Can you get into DM with folks and learn/sell that way?

 

[LateStarter]

Are you sure you need a group?

Exactly! Can you piggy back on other groups? Provide value there. Hint at (your) solutions to their problems. Let them ask for more details.

 

[oneac]

I am not a content creator, nor an app developer… so I know nothing of the issues you are facing.

But I’ll tell you this, whenever i feel stressed in my business, I focus on the one thing that’ll make everything else easier or unnecessary.
Get that one thing done and out of the way, then figure out the next and keep going.

Action towards my most important goals is calming.

Agreed. Doing this right now!

Your first goal is to choose the right platform to catch your target audience.

Good point. My audience is definitely older and more professional. At first I figured that Linkden groups would be a better place for me to reach these people, however after really looking into it, I figured that Facebook would be the better choice.

The group should be focused on the common questions/goals these people have.

You don't really have to make content - you have to start engagement.

Try get discussions going on what matters most and to get people to want to visit the group to gt insight, advice, feedback, suggestions etc.

Making content kinda suggests they will just sit there and listen. But a group doesn't really work that way.

So - just create a goal for people who join, add people in, and kick of topics around how to do it.

For the first few months you need to be active daily and to do massive replies on any questions. After a while the group gains momentum and you have people who will help answer also (look after those people well).

Ah. That's a good point.

I figured that if I at least come up with some good content it would be a reason for people to come and have a reason to join.

As right now the group stands at one post and 0 members but your point makes sense -- more important than creating content is fostering the community, so maybe I should realign my goal to that..

But how would you go about getting the first few members with just a list of emails?

 

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[Andy Black]

You're selling an app right?

Can you list the steps between people learning about the app and buying it?


I ask because of what I say in the last part of this video:

MINDSET - For those getting started - Stop learning & overthinking. Just go off and do it

I did a call to help teens, students, and others get started in business. This 8 minute extract seems to help people so I've created a separate thread for it. I'll upload the transcription shortly, and copy/paste other people's takeaways below. What's your takeaways? What will you do...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[oneac]

Are you sure you need a group?

Honestly - no.

I just didn't know a better path and decided to stop worrying and take action.

Sometimes I wonder if my line of sight should be to just develop the app and focus all my efforts on marketing through the eco-system of Shopify apps (ie making the listing as good as possible, focusing only on customer support, etc etc).

But I wouldn't know how to stand out. My competition is doing the same thing (although worse than how I would do it, which is why I'm going to destroy them.) so I was thinking this would be a better way to stand out.

I don't know really know any other way to stand out from the competition and I figured I was an authority in my niche (by owning this group and dispensing advice) I'd have the leverage to:

(1) Ask my target audience questions that would cater the Shopify application more towards them.
(2) Direct them to my app once it's finished

@Andy Black @ZCP what are your thoughts on this? I sometimes wonder if I'm wasting my time with this group. But then I wonder if that's just me being lazy...

Could we just sell one to someone? Even sell the consulting to do one to someone?

I like the idea of the group for building an audience and finding problems to solve. I'm just asking the question so we don't miss having a bunch of money to hire someone to do this part.....

Good point. That would be another of gaining small wins before releasing the app, I didn't even consider that.

Before that point however I still have a lot of learning (languages, Shopify documentation, developer tools, etc) and building to do.

So you're saying that I should, before building the app, find someone who'd want the problem solved on an individual level and charge them?

Would this be to validate the need for such and app? If so, I'd say the idea is validated because of the success of my shitty competition.

 

[oneac]

^^^ This.

Can you get into DM with folks and learn/sell that way?

Oh wow.

Yeah actually, I have a list of roughly 10k emails that are super targeted towards my niche. Also, many of this Shopify stores that I'm selling to have Instagram pages, so I could definitely DM them...

Based on that, you'd more rather go with the cold emailing/ cold DMing approach rather than the building a group approach?

In my view, I'd have to get close to finishing the app before I do that though, because how can I DM them just an idea of a Shopify app, especially when Shopify doesn't allow for pre-sales of an app?

I like the idea of DMing / Cold emailing because it allows my focus to be

Focus:
- Learn and develop app
- Release app and then market

vs. my current attention split which is
Focus:
- Learn and develop app
- Release app and then market
- Spend time every day developing group
- Spending time marking content

What's your take @Andy Black

 

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[oneac]

You're selling an app right?

Can you list the steps between people learning about the app and buying it?


I ask because of what I say in the last part of this video:

MINDSET - For those getting started - Stop learning & overthinking. Just go off and do it

I did a call to help teens, students, and others get started in business. This 8 minute extract seems to help people so I've created a separate thread for it. I'll upload the transcription shortly, and copy/paste other people's takeaways below. What's your takeaways? What will you do...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Typical path of most Shopify app downloads:
1. Customer searches for keyword in the Shopify app store
2. Browsing the available apps
3. Picking and choosing the top app

or
1. Customer searches for google keyword (ie shopify invoice app)
2. They pick the highest result
3. They download that app

Writing that out makes me realize the typical case that someone downloads a Shopify app doesn't really involve someone from a group telling them to download it...


That was good video. If getting customer conversation is the goals, building a Facebook Group may be akin to your explanation in your video (setting up a lead magnet, explaining why xyz service is good, etc.)

In the video you ask the listeners "Do you really need a website"

I should be asking "Do I really need a Facebook Group"

My goal with the group is to talk to customers. I want to get their insight as to what pain-points they have with their current software.

Do I really need a Facebook Group for this?

Well, it would certainly make me a more credible "asker." I feel as though having these conversations with customers would be far easier if they came to me vs me going to them (attracting them with a group vs. cold DMing them)

But on the other hand, building the group isn't an easy task. It'll take time and effort that could've gone into developing.

I want to ask my potential customers questions and I literally have the means of doing that. (Cold emailing, cold dming, etc etc)

 

[Andy Black]

My take?

Start as close the the end as possible.

Are people already searching to buy an app? Get in front of them and let them give you their money.

Are people already paying money for a similar app? Get in front of them and find out what would make them give you their money.

Are people already in communities complaining about apps or asking support questions? Get in there and start helping them.

Do the above before you build a community to try and convince people to buy a product they're currently not looking for?


These might help too:

MARKETING - Just start already

It was just after midnight on 10-Nov-20 and I was annoyed with myself for not starting a particular project I'd been thinking about for a few weeks. I decided to quickly post a short note to my Facebook profile before hitting the hay. At the time I had 880 friends on Facebook and had been a...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

GOLD! - HOT! - Who have you helped?

I had a chat with Tony who describes how: One simple question got him unstuck. He's only been on Quora for 30 days helping people. He's only posted 29 times but is now top ranked for his subject matter. His bio sends people to a survey where he asks opened ended questions (as per the Ask book...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

HOT! - MARKETING - How to use forums (and Facebook groups)

How to use forums (and Facebook groups) I'm going to braindump some of my learnings about using Forums and Facebook groups. For those trying to "validate a need" (I kinda hate that phrase), then forums and Facebook groups are a fantastic resource. Not only do people nicely group themselves...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[Andy Black]

Based on that, you'd more rather go with the cold emailing/ cold DMing approach rather than the building a group approach?

In my view, I'd have to get close to finishing the app before I do that though, because how can I DM them just an idea of a Shopify app, especially when Shopify doesn't allow for pre-sales of an app?

I don't DM people cold. I post or reply and end up in DM with *some* of the people I've engaged with. People DM me quite a bit too.

 

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[oneac]

My take?

Start as close the the end as possible.

Are people already searching to buy an app? Get in front of them and let them give you their money.

Are people already paying money for a similar app? Get in front of them and find out what would make them give you their money.

Are people already in communities complaining about apps or asking support questions? Get in there and start helping them.

Do the above before you build a community to try and convince people to buy a product they're currently not looking for?


These might help too:

MARKETING - Just start already

It was just after midnight on 10-Nov-20 and I was annoyed with myself for not starting a particular project I'd been thinking about for a few weeks. I decided to quickly post a short note to my Facebook profile before hitting the hay. At the time I had 880 friends on Facebook and had been a...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

GOLD! - HOT! - Who have you helped?

I had a chat with Tony who describes how: One simple question got him unstuck. He's only been on Quora for 30 days helping people. He's only posted 29 times but is now top ranked for his subject matter. His bio sends people to a survey where he asks opened ended questions (as per the Ask book...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

HOT! - MARKETING - How to use forums (and Facebook groups)

How to use forums (and Facebook groups) I'm going to braindump some of my learnings about using Forums and Facebook groups. For those trying to "validate a need" (I kinda hate that phrase), then forums and Facebook groups are a fantastic resource. Not only do people nicely group themselves...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Andy.
Black.

Thank you.

This is sobering.

I'm going to take the night to think about this and come to a conclusion.

This is my prediction for my path tomorrow:
(1) Stop building the FB group

(2) Instead use the time I would've spent making this group building relationships, asking questions, and finding answers. I'll have to think about how to best make this relationship because my niche doesn't have a community at all (yes, there's communities of Shopify merchants, but not of the merchants in my niche.)

Cold Email or Cold DMing are my two options right now but I'll think about this if you don't believe that Cold DMing would be so effective. My bottleneck is that I don't believe there's a place on the internet where I could interact with these store owners before DMing them

I don't DM people cold. I post or reply and end up in DM with *some* of the people I've engaged with. People DM me quite a bit too.

(3) Focusing on the app will reduce the time that it takes for me to release it. When it's released, the easiest way to get in front of my market would be to dominate the rankings. Which I will.

Are people already paying money for a similar app? Get in front of them and find out what would make them give you their money.

(4) Have a list of people who've installed my competitors app's so I'll also be able to do this.

 

[ZCP]

could you work for your competitors for a bit? how can you get paid to learn how to do this?
get paid for consulting / working for others / sell one and have to do it. all versions of 'go do something'.

notice how the further you get down this path, the more you see?
find a way to get on a scooter / eventually a truck to get down the path further than walking.
create a paid success.

 

[Andy Black]

Cold Email or Cold DMing are my two options right now but I'll think about this if you don't believe that Cold DMing would be so effective.

I didn't say cold anything is ineffective. Just that I don't do it (yet?).

Tips:

Help people.

Be seen helping people.

Be seen by people helping their people.

Get known as The XYZ Guy?

If people have the problem you can solve then how do they try to solve it? Do they go to Google? Do they go to YouTube? Etc. Who do they find?

 

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