Go slow to go fast
This is the first lesson I learned today: Go slow to go fast — sometimes, not taking shortcuts is the fastest shortcut.
In the past couple of days, I have been researching how to attract the first batch of early registrants for the MasterChinese.net website. The landing page has already been set up, but I encountered setbacks in acquiring the first group of seed users. It seems users are very hesitant about the method of leaving their email at the end of our survey, which is different from what I had expected.
Honestly, this was somewhat discouraging, but when I took a moment to reflect, the outcome was not really surprising.
If I were a user taking the survey, how would I feel about being asked to leave my email at the end?
Wait a minute, who is this guy? Why does he want my email? Will I be bombarded with continuous spam emails after I leave my email?
This concern is normal because I hadn't explained clearly in the survey what product I was building.
Asking for users' information without gaining their trust first is unwise. I was too eager to achieve everything in one go.
But the reality is, we must follow objective principles. I need to gain users' trust first and provide high-quality content or services to my target audience to create value. Only then is it possible for users to connect with us.
This afternoon, I read an excellent article titled "Level up within YOUR founder context" (HERE). In it, the author introduces "The Laws of 'Level Up' Games":
1. When you start playing you start on level 1
2. To start leveling up you need to learn basic skills
3. Level Ups happen 1 level at a time. There is no skipping levels.
4. When you level up the game becomes more fun over time because you get super powers.
5. Experience points don't carry from one game to another. (For example, if you switch from AdventureUp to Mario you start at level 1 again. The same goes if you're switching from online computer sales into SaaS.)
When I read this, I realized I am currently at Level 1, but what I want to achieve might be at Level 3. I was trying to "skip levels" instead of learning the basic skills first.
So, it all comes back to the core question: What value do you need to provide to persuade users to exchange their email addresses?
That's what I need to focus on next, and fortunately, I already have a new idea.
Let's go!
This is the first lesson I learned today: Go slow to go fast—sometimes, not taking shortcuts is the fastest shortcut.
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