Three Solopreneur Marketing Tips to Start Sharing Your Ideas
How Social Media Feedback Changed My Product Approach
Hello there,
It’s been a while! Two weeks ago we spent a few days in Eastern Oregon unplugged from the world (and our parental duties).
It felt amazing to watch the sunrise, sit in a sauna, dunk in a frigid river, and even cast a few flies for fish. I caught a rainbow trout and remembered that fishing is the one sport that can actually lengthen your life!
I have an enormous backlog of scribbled “insights” to share (hoping to make my List of 50 Things I’ve Learned soon!)
For now I’ll release these few ideas like a full cloud drips its first few raindrops—gentle, but a sign of something bigger on the horizon.
Sharing Product Ideas: What I’ve Learned from Real-World Feedback
I’ve had product ideas and “inventions” since I went hiking as a teenager and wanted to modify my backpack. As a small kid carrying a big load, I wanted to move the pockets around and combine elements from different backpacks I’d seen.
In my twenties, as a mechanical engineer, I actually felt even more reluctant to make something new because I had seen firsthand how long the process takes.
Then I went to grad school to study product design, and I realized the importance of getting feedback from real people as soon as possible.
Now, when I have product ideas, my main challenge is: "How do I share this with more people to find out if I’m solving a true problem or not?"
My latest approach is this: instead of convincing people to take a survey, I go where they already spend their attention—social media. But how do you reach people on social media?
Well, that’s a puzzle I’ve been tackling for over a year now, trying to build a following of rock climbers on Instagram. When I share posts about my climber sling bag on Instagram, I’ve gotten feedback that what I thought was the most important feature—its smell-proof lining—is actually secondary to how well it helps people organize their gear.
This kind of feedback has been eye-opening, and the positive encouragement I’ve received keeps me motivated to keep improving and sharing.
Here are three lessons I’ve learned filling the gaps in my marketing knowledge over the past few years of ideating, iterating, and experimentation:
To get good, you have to get started.
No one will notice your stuff, especially if it’s bad. But once you get better, more people will see the things you share. From my first year of sharing videos on Instagram, the only “harsh” criticism came in the form of challenging questions—and those are useful!
Focus on the channels you spend time on.
If you prefer to read Reddit posts over TikTok, then go share your ideas on that platform. I learned this the hard way a few years ago when I tried to build a following on Twitter. Using that platform drained me, and I actually wanted to reach climbers, not techies. When I started posting on Instagram, I found an audience much more quickly. If you like a platform, odds are the people you want to connect with like it too.
Don’t be an entertainer, be an educator.
If you want to reach people with your messaging—and more eyeballs do give you better feedback—don’t try to be the next hit comedian. The best content teaches something you can go tell a friend about. Sure, a bit of humor can act as the chocolate coating on your almond (the nut being the information part), but most of my effort goes into collecting useful ideas to share.
My favorite approach to sharing things online is to copy the format or style of someone already succeeding. It’s not necessary to start from scratch, and when you “steal” someone else’s style, you inevitably make your own version.
Here are some inspiring words on finding inspiration from the film director Jim Jarmusch:
Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination.
Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light, and shadows.
Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul.
If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.
Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent.
If you have a product idea, let me know!
I’d love to brainstorm a few ways to get feedback from the real world about it, possibly even through sharing posts online.
Worthy & Remarkable
I love this idea of the dott - a small puck-like screen that shows gifs - and they’ve raised $55k on kickstarter so far.
The FARA messenger bag is for urban commuters and made by a terrific team from Bozeman Montana - just hit their $30k funding goal!
Adidas released an interview video with Janja Garnbret, who has won all the women’s climbing competitions in the past few years
Fun video about A Weekend in Yosemite with Alex Honnold and Connor Herson (Black Diamond)
This video probably compresses the timeline a bit, but it’s awe-inspiring to see how quickly this comes together - Jazz Band Covers Nirvana on the Spot
One Thing from Me
I keep a list of the podcast episodes that have the biggest impact on me each year and I recently added an episode with David Epstein on Diary of a CEO to the list.
The author of the terrific book, Range, drops a mountain of insights during the conversation but one stuck out in particular.
People think great ideas either come quickly or not at all. But in reality, usually the best idea comes a little bit later.
For me this releases me from the need to immediately execute on my first idea. If instead I give myself a few more hours (and let my subconscious mull over the problem), I most often come up with a great solution that becomes #5 on my list.
And as Peter Drucker says, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
Exploratively,
Jono
PS - something to consider next time you gaze at the stars: