178 Comments (page 1)

Love it, going to do that RIGHT NOW! Thanks, bros!

HELL YES LORENZO! If nobody else does anything with this post it was worth it :) Don't stop! Keep on it!

Let us know how it goes too!

I like what you are saying Will. Can you add a share button so I can share with my students?

Of course Kelly, I will add one right away! Are you looking for an e-mail share, or something to share to anywhere?

Thank you. A fb share where I could choose which fb voice I use would be great. An email share would work too.

Thanks for the reply Kelly, Ill be adding that immediately... You can disregard the email I hastily sent you :)

Love it! Straight out of the four hour work week. I've used a similar approach to verifying 8 of my last business ideas. Currently pursuing 2 of them.

Your template has a box that opens in the bottom right that has the default; "Your HTML-content goes here.."

Awesome - then you know as well as I do how awesome this type of validation testing is! Imagine the amount of time and money you saved just by running those little tests. I take it your web design company was one of the winning ideas?

Thanks a lot Mike - fixing it now. Appreciate the help.

Excellent advice, and thanks for making it practical. So many people get caught up in the first stage of starting a business -- the stage wherein they over-think the business without actually doing anything with it to test the idea (as I've written here http://www.bizopy.com/2012/10/24/testing-business-ideas-the-kickstarter-principle/). Your tips will come in handy to counter this problem.

Great post Dane, I couldn't agree with you more. 95% of aspiring entrepreneurs will sadly never get past the idea stage to the execution stage. As entrepreneurs, it is more valuable for us to <strong>FAIL FAST </strong>- it leads to quick learning and thus quick success!

I have been working on this idea for weeks, and was getting ready to buy about $10,000 worth of inventory, and take my idea to market. I came across this idea validation process from a reddit post, and am very thankful. I setup a placeholder site a few weeks ago, started working with suppliers, getting all my tax and business license info in place. Right now, it's all getting paused, and am running a validation. Thanks Bros!

The most awesome comment I've seen all month 8-)

Great article bros, I use a very similar approach with testing my ideas... quick, easy, measurable. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.

Unrelated, can you tell me what plugin you used in WordPress for that "Stay In Touch" thing inside a WordPress post? I like the look of it.

First time I ever heard of Unbounce. Sounds like a great service. And I like this blog already -- I tweeted it: https://twitter.com/volomike.

That is one of my favorite plug-ins ever - OptinSkin, were using it for all in-content forms. It also allows for a/b testing of forms, all sorts of design and placement features, direct integration into email service, etc... I highly suggest it! - https://startupbros.com/optinskin

Thanks a lot for the help Mike! Unbounce is awesome, my secret weapon for quick, high converting landing pages...

Thanks Ross, would love to hear about your experiences with this method sometime

Thanks for the tweetage Mike! You are going to hace so much fun with Unbounce

I noticed at the end you said this approach would cost about $25, but that is the first time you mention costs. I'm just curious what part of this process is costing money?

Hi Ben, Thanks for taking the time to comment. The main costs in the beginning will be your samples, which depending on product will cost $25+ per sample (and I recommend getting 2-3 at least). You can usually flip those on eBay/Amazon/Etsy if they are good samples and make your money back. Then you need to buy your first load of inventory, which again depending on product will be $200-750. Ideally you'll have done good research and flip those within a month and then go back for a $500-2000 order, and just keep building from there. Hope that helps! Will

That is OptinSkin

Very informative, thanks for the quick response! Is this strategy intended to be used injunction with your other article that discusses importing items from China?

Hey Ben, thanks for commenting! I didn't write this with that intention, but you can use this in conjunction, and I certainly would! Hope that helps, Will

With unbounce, do you need a different credit card # every time you want to validate an idea? Or is it more of a one and done kinda thing? Thanks for the blog, I love it!

Hi Chris, Thanks a lot for reading and taking the time out to comment. I usually try to do validation in a big spurt, so I'll validate every top level thing about my new startup I need to (brand name, logo, tagline, etc). If it were me and I didn't want to pay for Unbounce, I would try to do as many tests like that in a 30 day spurt as I could and then drop the subscription on day 29. You could do this on different cards to extend it. Unbounce is a great tool though, I pay for it now :) Hope this helps, Will

awesome response time! thanks for the advice. I cant wait to try it out with an idea I have. Keep the posts coming

No problem! Thanks again for commenting, keep us updated on your progress!

Great HOW TO and thanks for showcasing Unbounce. This is awesome! For all of you at an early stage and just trying to test a few ideas, contact our support team and they can set you up with a sweet longer-term deal. Best Regards, Rick Perreault, Unbounce CEO

Thanks for making Unbounce possible Rick, it has saved me an incalculable amount of time and money! A must have for any internet entrepreneur :) Thanks for taking the time out to comment! Will

good work :)

Thank you! Hope it helps at some point :)

This is fantastic information. I have a salon with few existing clients. Could you tell me how I could best use this information, or the concept of "CrowdSourcing", to very inexpensively (free being even better until I have the "test" results) test advertisement or headline copy? Thanks.

Hi Meena, What do you want to test your headlines or copy on? If it is web-based (your website, landing page, etc.), it should be pretty easy. If not, it is still possible, but a little more difficult. Just give me a few more details and I'll try to help you out. Talk soon, Will

Hi, i want to test 2 different domains for the same idea, therefore i would have xx.com and yy.com but the same launch/landing page, can i use Unbounce for that purpose too. Hope you understand what i mean.

Hi Frank, Yes, you can definitely do that with Unbounce! Unbounce will let you use their domains on the Free Trial - you just need to change the Logo of the landing pages you test. That's actually what I talk about in this article! We chose www.StartupBros.com based on this type of testing. Hope this helps, Will

I don't understand, is this basically making a simple website and seeing if people come to it, to try and see if it's popular or not? Sometimes I just need things explained differently, sorry to sound so thick!

Yep, you have it right Rachel! It's all about building a simple landing page to see how much interest the idea will generate. That way, you can see if there's a problem in your business model before dropping a bunch of time and money into it :) Hope that explains it, Will

Hi Will, I am a novice in the trading business. I would really like to start trading your product, LED light bulbs, as a start up. The above website is srill under construction, but is online. I greatly need your advise..

Hi Andrew, Thanks for commenting! Can't wait to see your site once it's done. What do you need help with? Talk soon, Will

Is this idea compatible with testing a product for an importing business, such as the ones talked about previously on start up bros? It seems like it might not work. For example, one of the examples you used in your other post (in looking for a potentially profitable item to sell) was decorative pillows. It seems kind of weird to use a landing page to sell a single decorative pillow. But maybe not? Let me know your thoughts.

Hi Jim, Great to see somebody combining multiple concepts, many entrepreneurs fall short there. Not you! :) You can definitely use a landing page to sell decorative pillows. However, with importing specifically, there are better ways to test. I'm big on A/B testing and validating my ideas before scaling them, so it's the same concept in a different method. Here, you're testing an idea, a brand, whatever. On the importing post, I walk through how to buy small sample orders and sell those samples to see what happens. It's all about getting some hard data behind your hunches to help you make a more educated decision. Let me know if this helps, Will

Hi Thanks for idea, it sounds great... Let me see if I understand this concept. So in landing page you user will give their email address, that's how you consider as successful lead.. Or just how many mins user are on the landing page... Can you please clarify this for me. And I have mobile app ideas, so I guess I can validate my idea of mobile app as well right and not necessary logo or any value prop statement... Just validate idea...

Hi Sean, You're correct - emails captured are successful leads. Looking forward to seeing the mobile apps you test!

Hi Sean, Glad you like the idea, it's one of my favorite methods! You pretty much have the idea set - the more action a user takes the better. For me, I usually want them to fill out their email. It's important to set a goal to measure before you go into it, or else you'll always be able to find a good statistic (that is really irrelevant). So for a mobile app, people can put their email in to get notified of the beta release. Or maybe there is a download now button, and you measure based on how many people click to download. Whatever you do, just make sure you're actually measuring the demand of your idea/concept/brand/whatever you're testing. Hope this helps, Will P.S. - Let me know how it goes!

Hi Will, Can this work to test an interest for a potential regular brick &amp; mortar business - a sandwich shop? Thank you in advance, Catherine

Hey Will, Great work here, it really hits the mark with everything that I found myself wondering about before I stumbled across your post. I have a couple of questions, the first being, I found my product and found a particular market, but it seems that with everything said and done I still seem to have large mistrust of all of the companies that I am speaking with in China. Alibaba is a great site, the biggest flaw is that their is no rating system for users to comment on or rate those businesses. I really have everything figured out expect the supplier, and seeing the post that's the major thing. I need direction on how to approach this, before finding your post it seemed as though I was following it to the tee! Got samples coming, only issue with that was I used western union, not a large amount just for the shipping but your advise on this matter will be a great help! Thanks again

Hi Catherine, Yes it could work for that, but it would be a little more complex to run (and get reliable data). It would be very important for you to know the hypothesis and goal of the test before you set it up. You'd probably be testing one of two thing - general branding and concept, and if it will work in your exact location (or, what location would get the most attention and perhaps be most profitable). I call that geo-testing. For the branding and concept, it depends on your overall vision and strategy for the business. You may want to geo-target that campaign by State, or by County, or maybe just the U.S. For the geo-testing, you'd want to set up a different ad and landing page for each town, or address, or ZIP, or whatever. It depends on how deeply you want to test. But basically, you'd set up a landing page for the business and just market it to different location segments, and see where the demand is. Like I said, those are more complex campaigns - but they will get you some REALLY interesting data! Keep me updated on the new business! Hope this helps, Will

Thanks a lot Mohamed, glad to help! The truth is there's no way to completely remove the risk of importing. That's why it's essential you always have third-party financial protection, just in case you miss something. As long as you do that, you'll always at least get what you asked for. And that makes it relatively low risk. Here's a guest post we had a friend post, it should help verify the legitimacy of the factory - https://startupbros.com/how-to-avoid-scams-middle-men-and-fraud-on-alibaba/ Hope this helps, Will

Yo dude your link is dead! "Here is a landing page we used to test different taglines with StartupBros" Fix it! Peace!

How can I NOT...Here We GO!

GOGOGOOGOGOGOG!!!! Let us know what happens!

Let me know how it turns out!

Thanks for the heads up Terry, I'll get that fixed ASAP :)

Thank you for this article, I'm sure many fall into the trap of registering LLC's and patenting names without validation.

Absolutely! Might as well know it can work :)

I am testing an idea for an ebook that is not out yet (because I'm testing to see if I should write it) Do you think I should use the "ebook" theme or the "coming soon" theme?

For our book we used LeadPages (the "Basic Squeeze Page" design), check out the details on how we tested our book cover: https://startupbros.com/how-to-get-a-book-cover-that-is-guaranteed-to-sell/

No one follows up...wantrepaneurs is right. The test an bail or die off? I need feedback. A success or fail story. Everyone is asking redundant questions. Me i have questions only one...what happened after you unbounced?....... _____+______=_____

I have a product development idea for an iPhone case that would use a special material that is not used for any other case currently on the market. It is still in the planning stages because I'm short on funds to get a prototype made. I'd like to get a Kickstarter campaign going to fund the manufacturing, packaging, etc, but they require that I have a prototype first. However, since the iPhone case market is so saturated, I think testing the idea/design with a landing page containing CAD drawings and my company name/logo (maybe a pre-launch or pre-order page that collects emails for when it's ready for sale?) would be beneficial before spending more money on this project. What do you think? Also, do you have any advice for raising money for my prototype?

Unbounce is brilliant. Startup Bros as well ;)

I'm a little confused with unbounce. I opted for the free one that will have the unbounce url(?) at the bottom so I could get a feel for it. I haven't been able to figure out how to add actual text to the landing page. I can drag the box over but I can't type in it. What am I doing wrong

This is an outstanding post. Thanks for the information. I love searching the web and discovering all the interesting tricks to help small businesses become success.

I like this but What are you thoughts on Validating an Idea without actually spending any money??? I have been studying business idea validation recently in great depth and have applied many tactics to my own ideas to fully validate ideas and in most cases actually make money before validation is over. I just launched a new course as well specifically catered to this idea validation process. I would like to hear your thoughts though on how to actually validate without spending money on google adwords. Or how effective has that process been for you??

Thanks for the helpful advice...what about risks of idea hijacking if the business is a service rather than a product...thanks again!

Didn't realise it at the time but this is exactly what I have been doing with trialing fb ads. I found distinct results, although none actually resulted in sales. The main thing holding me back from google adwords was the cost involved. So thanks

Glad to hear you liked the article Joshua! It's always good to get positive feedback from people experienced with the concept :) FB Ads are another awesome way to do this method. I don't do it as much, but maybe I should try... Adwords is quite a different beast, I definitely needed that $100 coupon the first time I ran a campaign :-P

No problem, thanks for reading it! Glad to hear you liked it, especially since you're always out there searching :)

Following up is definitely key! Too many people like the idea of being an entrepreneur, but not the work it takes. Going out there and asking people to essentially criticize your idea can be tough. Those that can manage it will reap the rewards :)

That's definitely possible Janet! You could even run your own crowd funding campaign. There are Wordpress themes that duplicate the Kickstarter look/feel, and a bunch of other crowd funding themes. You could run that to raise money, or you could make a standard product page and pitch that to investors. Either way, I think testing it with the CAD drawings and testing everything is a good idea...

Glad to help Shawn, and thanks for the love ;)

Not sure what you're doing wrong there Robin. Unbounce is pretty simple, so it may be a browser issue or something. I would contact Unbounce support, they're pretty awesome and should be able to help.

I don't know of any ways to get reliable data for free. I've had people pitch me on using Craigslist for free and things like posting flyers around and spamming Facebook groups. While all of that can work, they're all extremely limited and easily tainted data sources. I think if you can't put $25 behind your idea to test it, you need a new idea.

No problem Diane, glad I could help! I haven't had any problems with ideas being stolen in my career, but even if it did happen - great ideas are a dime-a-dozen. Businesses are built on the execution of the idea.

I have more than a few defunct LLCs in my name - it took me a while to learn :)

just opened an unbounce account. i'll keep ya updated! PS, my company bro studios and ya'll should be bros :)

Awesome, glad to hear it! Definitely let me know how it goes. Haha, great branding! :)

Awesome validation will. Everyone here needs to learn that validation is WAY more important than making something look pretty. When you validate you save time and money. two thinks that suck when you lose em. Great Stuff buddy!

Hey Bros! I requested an Adwords voucher, but it's been almost 2 days and I haven't received my code. Can you hook a brother up?!

Thanks for this! Is this process still valid? Thanks again!

Couldn't agree with you more - thanks for reading!

Hey Nim, thanks for the comment and the request! You'll get an email soon, it usually takes longer than two days :)

No problem - it's definitely still valid and working!

Great info, Can you please better explain the last part about conversion tracking? I have no idea of how to implement what you explain the your last paragraph! Thanks

You want to set up your ‘Goals’ for Analytics or Adwords so you can track when a conversion is achieved. In your account, you’ll find a script you can put on a page to mark it as a converting page. Copy that script, and put it on the Modal Popup that pops when you submit to an Unbounce Page. Ultimately, you want that script to be on your thank-you page or confirmation page after they’ve filled out and submitted their email. Hope this helps!

Will, Great site I have been pouring over everything to stop the wantrepenuer. I have a trio of products to import and brand, should i still use lead pages to validate or should i try a wix site and track those conversitons using stock photos etc?

Hey Will -- another great article -- Thanks!! OK, some questions, then a suggestion. I have an idea for a new product, something that may be patentable. Let's say it's a do-hickey kitchen item to organize your drawers (it's not). If I disclose it on a landing page, a) I think it's an issue for patentability because of the disclosure and b) it's very easy to steal (we're now a "first to file" jurisdiction, so if someone beats me to the patent office with my invention, it doesn't matter how far along I am in the development process). Also, what exactly am I offering people on my landing page? Am I just telling them to sign up if they think this product would be of interest to them if it ever gets made, without telling them exactly what it is, just what it does? And now for the suggestion. I would like to see the dates comments are posted so I know how recent and active these discussions are. What do you think?

Great article. Thanks for sharing. And here are so much comments, I had some queries but you did so nicely that I already found my solution. :) Thanks a lot. Hope you will keep sharing such good stuffs with us in future also.

Hey bro's, Love your website &amp; recommended it to "my bro's". Some very cool articles and this one is definitely my favourite post of yours. Just a quick question regarding the 100$ Adwords credit. I put in my details a few days ago and still waiting for it. What can I do to help with it? Cheers

Τhat is a great tip especially to those new to the blogosphere. Simple ƅut very accurate infօrmation… Thank you for sharing this one. A must read article!

I'm sorry to hear we lost you as a customer Will, would love to know what we could have done better. Feel free to hit me up by email [redacted] Georgiana Laudi Director of Marketing, Unbounce

This is great and I'm going to do it! Do you have any resources for people like me who have an idea for a web based business but have no experience developing websites and all this tech talk and terms are new? I'm so brand new that I'm going to stumble through this but it's a great resource. Thank you!!

ok, I have an idea for a b2b website like alibaba.com should i build a survey on my iPad and get out and interview 100 business owners or build a landing page and piss off a stack of potential customers with a landing page that goes nowhere , I want a lot of questions answered, how many is too many, should they be yes/no or open questions where they must type their response or record it verbally Im a quadriplegic so I can't type.

Hi Wil, great article! I understand how a landing page is beneficial and how to set one up (thanks to your article). But here comes the very novice question, once I have my landing page live, is it absolutely necessary that I connect my page with a 3rd party, or is that what the point of sites such as 'unbouce' etc do for you...are you supposed to enter any keywords anywhere etc.

Like everyone else has already said, great article! I've got a product in mind i want to produce. How would you go about testing a product with a landing page minus product artwork? Thanks!

I just stumbled across this website and it is fantastic! I just wanted to know how did you decide what taglines to test? Did you just brainstorm these or had you decided on your target market and did some research to what may be appealing and best positioning for that particular market?

Thanks for this superb article! However, since we already have a kind-of validated idea &amp; around 600 potential leads, would you mind sharing some links or thoughts on actual requirements collection? Basically, I have more than 600 emails that I can contact, but I'm looking for the best way to approach the requirements collection part :-) Any help would be definitely appreciated! P.S. Once again, thanks for super-awesome article ;)