Best way to test interest in a mommy site?

December 9th, 2014

I'm testing interest in a mommy site. Here is my issue. If I post on facebook, I don't actually know how many people will SEE the post, particularly given that facebook screens posts and makes it harder for businesses to advertise for free (Even though mine is free). The link includes a survey, so obviously I know how many people end up doing the survey... but at what point do I say, X number of people have seen this, but only Y number are interested? Or will it just become clear with time?

I've also thought of google adwords, although ideally I don't want to spend anything. I'm also going to have friends share it and stuff, but that's a bit artificial in terms of results, because obviously my friends want to help me succeed.

I'm pretty new at this - any suggestions, book suggestions, etc...

Brina Bujkovsky User experience designer with 3 startups in the bag

December 9th, 2014

I think it would be worth $25 - $50 of super targeted Facebook ads to see if your idea has legs. That seems like money well spent.

Aaron Ellsworth

December 9th, 2014

Christine, Try google consumer surveys. They've worked well for me in the past and are relatively inexpensive. Otherwise, hit the streets and do personal interviews in high traffic areas. Good luck! Aaron Sent from my iPhone

Manish Parekh Director, User Experience Design

December 9th, 2014

You may want to try some sub-reddits on Reddit. If you are familiar with Reddit, you could try posting on /r/parenting. Although most posts on /r/parenting are for parenting advice, it is visited by a lot of parents on a daily basis. That may be one.

Other possibilities would be mommy specific forums or reaching out to popular mommy bloggers / twitter and ask them if they can help out with this. Some may oblige by sharing it with their followers.

Kristin Fitch Co-Founder ZiggityZoom Media-Online & Mobile Ed Tech- Content & Games- Business Educator & Mentor, Author, Speaker

December 9th, 2014

Hi Christine- can you provide more information regarding what type of site you plan to start (will it be focused on certain categories or just general mom posts? Also, what is your plan to monetize it? I have experience in the parenting/kids/education space and experience with many sites we started. Many things I could recommend but i need to understand more about what you want to do. Kristin

Anonymous

December 9th, 2014

Hey Kristin,

The site is a mommy matching site. It helps moms find other moms within walking distance, with similarly aged kids, interests and/or parenting philosophy. It's all about bringing back the "village" feel to being a mommy.

Anonymous

December 9th, 2014

Monetizing could be ad-based, or user free based but I have a feeling the ad-based would be better. But I'm in testing stages so I'm not worrying about that too much at this point.

Michael Brill Technology startup exec focused on AI-driven products

December 9th, 2014

You can try something likehttps://quickmvp.com. I think what you want to test is conversion at your site where you have the ability to deliver the full message. It may be quite difficult to get people to answer a questionnaire off of an fb post. (your conversion numbers off of a fb post will be very discouraging I think)

As you pointed out, you probably shouldn't rely on friends' responses. If you are, then I'll save you the effort and just tell you it's *awesome* idea. ;-)

Can you afford to take $200 and throw it at adwords? I'm not sure what Per Diem Crown Attorney means, but it sounds very cool... do an extra diem of work to find the money, give it to Google/Facebook and answer your question quickly.

Kristin Fitch Co-Founder ZiggityZoom Media-Online & Mobile Ed Tech- Content & Games- Business Educator & Mentor, Author, Speaker

December 9th, 2014

I guess then I'd first ask if you have researched similar sites or other sites with similar function (ex. are moms using meetup.com to connect, FB groups, etc.) and are you planning to first launch the matching function in specific cities so you can get enough moms into the site? I am assuming your survey asks moms if they would use this sort of site? But a question I have is who would use it? Is it moms with 1 to 3 year olds who stay or work from home? In other words, I am guessing if it is needed its for a very specific person, and in certain areas. I see mommeetmom.com and playgroup.meetup.com as places to start to see who they attract, how is your idea similar and different, etc. Then I'd work on defining your idea clearly (ex. define problem, your solution, who is your customer, how will you make money,etc). Also, what is your background? What role will you play in your effort?

Sanjeev Rao

December 9th, 2014

I believe cost is an issue for you. Let's say your budget is $100. You should do the following:

Walk/drive to a school or a mall where you find your target audience with some leisure time at their hands. For a school, don't go on the school grounds and please wait for the kids to be dropped off. As you may know parents talk to each other after they've dropped their kids off. If they are good friends, make a judgement call on whether to approach them. Tell them: "I am starting a new website/startup and want to get your thoughts on what people might want in it". If they seem to nod their head, jump into your 30 second pitch. Give them information about you early on so they feel like they are talking to someone relatable. You can obviously expect to hear all sorts of positive and negative comments here, but go to step 2 regardless.
Based on that early feedback, create a wufoo form survey with 1 question. It costs something but not a whole lot of money. Additionally set up a CPC campaign for either Adwords (ads next to google search results) or, if you have access to someone who can design an appropriate image ad, then do that. CPC and CPM campaigns both track the number of people who see the ad even if they ignore it; the difference is that in CPM campaigns you pay for your ad to be displayed whereas you only pay for clicks in a CPC campaign. Each has pros and cons in terms of cost.

I suggest you spend you budget carefully on the 2nd part. Test out a small amount of money on this and iterate until you get to a point that you are satisfied with.

Patrick Colmenar Development Manager at LDProducts

December 9th, 2014

I worked on a site nearly identical to the concept. We initially focused on the LA region and grew our user base to at least 1K active moms before branching out to other cities. But growing beyond the first 1K proved tough. The initial core audience liked the familiarity of close friends being on the site, but once the site opened up the registration process their activity diminished. Ads are the worst possible idea to get consensus. I suggest you build a network of friends of at least 50 and share your idea with them. If you can get 10 people who are willing to participate, you might have enough to proceed. From there you'll have to get them to invite their friends. I like the earlier suggestion of starting a private meetup group that is invite only.

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