Side Project Checklist Marketing
- How to use the side project marketing checklist - Why I created the side project marketing checklist
* Chicago Tech Slack/side projects * /r/IndieBiz - https://www.reddit.com/r/indiebiz/ * /r/SideProject - http://reddit.com/r/sideproject * Show HN - https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html * /r/ShamelessPlug - https://www.reddit.com/r/shamelessplug/ * /r/OpenSource - https://www.reddit.com/r/opensource/ * Product Hunt - http://www.producthunt.com/ - https://www.producthunt.com/posts/the-side-project-marketing-checklist
Make a list of competitive/alternative services: See competitors.md file
Set up Google News alerts for "side project marketing" and "startup marketing".
Make list of blogs, subscribe to RSS feeds in Feedbin:
Come up with a name and domain name
Write a site tagline and elevator pitch: Side Project Marketing, A checklist of tactics for marketing your side projects.
Create a logo.
Set up email and form on Mailchimp: marketing@portablecto.com.
Create email alias in Gmail for marketing@portablecto.com to karl@portablecto.com.
Set up a website/blog using GHPages/jekyll. Key elements:
Set up custom domain: sideprojectchecklist.com
Add favicon/logo to site and readme
Create a standard email template for your brand.
Create welcome email for when user signs up: direct them to blog, suggest improvements.
Create custom landing page after signup, track on analytics
Set up Google analytics to learn about who signs up, bounces, etc.
Set up weekly feedbin email for marketing blogs
Set up webmaster tools to track SEO, keywords
Create anchor pages for keywords you'd like to rank for.
Research keywords that you'd like your site/blog to rank for.
Write blog post for personal blog.
Write blog post for Linkedin.
Write blog post for Medium.
Have a blog post brainstorming session:
Build/update publishing calendar for your blog.
Meet another entrepreneur who has a similar or competitive product.
Turn checklist into an eBook with nice looking checklist pdf, exchange it for email signup.
Add to personal social media post cycle.
Set up referral program:
Better analytics tracking with email signups as goal.
Ask subscribers for feedback directly (individual outreach).
Request to guest post on other blogs.
Run a customer poll (can also generate content for your blog or social media channels).
A/B test your landing/payment pages (check out Optimizely).
A/B test email newsletters and promotions.
Implement Twitter cards on your blog posts.
Implement rich snippets in Google search results.
Collect and show testimonials from your happy users.
Analyze user signup flow (check out the teardowns here).
Test your website on multiple platforms, make sure speed is good.
Use Website Grader to pinpoint website improvements.
Create and track weekly traffic and growth goals.
Time social media posts and email newsletters to when your audience is most likely to respond.
Make sure each page on your site has a clear call-to-action.
Implement live chat to capture leads and allow them to ask questions (Intercom seems to be the most popular).
Segment traffic by source and audit conversion rates.
Set up automatic analytics reports to be emailed to you each week.
Experiment with various signup form locations, colors, and sizes.
Add "Exit Intent" popup to your blog/site.
Create an FAQs page.
Build a "best of" page with your best blog posts that you wrote or contributed to other sites (ProBlogger calls this a "Sneeze Page").
Write how-to guides/videos related to your product/industry:
Repurpose existing blog posts: