During the last few weeks I was working on uFeed{:target="_blank"}. With uFeed users can subscribe to any newsletter or save any article to a personal feed. Think all of your content from anywhere online in a twitter-like feed.
The Value Propositions
I was thinking about a few value propositions I can lean into:
- "Make reading a habit": Focus on the ability to curate your own feed in an engaging format.
- "Your personal newsletter feed": Focus on people who are subscribed to many newsletters and are overwhelmed. uFeed can free their inbox.
- "Make your 💩💩💩 productive": Focus on productivity - help users use their breaks to catch up on content.
Designing the test
I decided to run an ad campaign on Facebook and Reddit to test different copies. I allocated $50, which should buy me around 5000 impressions.
Reddit campaigns are quick and easy to set up. I recommend it as a testing tool. You can target specific subreddits, so you know exactly who your target audience is.
Because Reddit Ads are mainly text, it's fast to spin-up and you don't need to worry about images. You can focus on the message.
Before diving into the results, I want to caveat that my sample size is small. It's a fun learning opportunity, but I need more iterations and $$$ to make a conclusion.
6 out of my 7 clicks came from the "Make your 💩💩💩 breaks productive" ad. Also 6 out of 7 clicks came from users who are interested in personal finance. One of them even converted to a user.
Reddit ads are great (easy to set up, easy to target). Here is where they lack:
- I can break some of the results by subreddit, but not all of them. It's probably a sample size issue, but it's inconsistent and the UI is unclear.
- Reddit lacks A/B testing capabilities. Even though I've launched all of the ads at the same time, some got 800 views while others 200.
- In the first few days I only had 3-5 impressions per day. I thought there's something wrong with my campaign. But then, w/o changing anything, it exploded . I went up to 3000 impressions in 3 days. I have no idea why.
Facebook campaigns are harder to set up. There are way more settings and you need to create images in different sizes (for different placements). It's just annoying.
The great thing about FB is their targeting capabilities and that you don't have to define CPC or budding. Just specify a daily budget.
Anyway, I created two ads.
And with Facebook I could run a true A/B test.
If the results for the Reddit campaign are questionable, here it's simply not usable. The sample size is so low, I cannot conclude anything. My power is 0.06%, so I have a high false negative rate.
I hoped that FB could show me the type of users who would be interested in my product. My sample size is anyway too low, but I don't even see a tool like this available. I wish I could just spend, let's say $1000, and have FB tell me what kind of people are most likely to convert. I guess I need to set-up different campaigns, targeting different audiences and see what works best.
Conclusions
- This was a great learning experience. But, I'll need a significantly larger budget to actually draw solid conclusions.
- I learned from Reddit that "Make your 💩💩💩 productive" attracts clicks. It may not be the best converter of paying users, but for now I'll stick with that.
- The personal finance angle from Reddit is an interesting one. Nothing strong enough to change my marketing plan, but a good tidbit to keep in mind.
- Reddit is easy to use but lacks many features and the UX is confusing. FB is highly complex, with many different tools and settings. Reddit is your best bet if you are pressed on time or budget. FB is the way to go if you have the time to learn and figure out the platform.
- Either way the most important factor to decide between the two platforms is where do your customers hang out.
- Before spending big $$$, take a short online course and learn the ins and outs of the platform. You don't want to be surprised afterwards.
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