2 builders who never spoke to each other

Show the product working, do not describe it

Short screencasts of single features, screenshots framed inside the tool the buyer already uses, and step by step images of what they will produce all do work that prose cannot. The corollary is that whatever you link from a launch post has to be flawless, because a broken demo is the first impression of everything behind it.

The method

1. 01

   When you sell something visual, show the work early: no amount of copy substitutes for samples of what buyers will produce

2. 02

   Match your screenshots to your buyer's technical comfort: show the interface inside the tool they already use, and drop terminal shots if they are not command-line people.

3. 03

   Record short screencasts of individual features and link them from both the landing page and the onboarding email sequence.

4. 04

   Keep your public demo store flawless, because it is the thing people click from your launch posts and the errors there are the first impression of the product.

What it returned

• Step-by-step images of what the reader builds shown on the page

• Justin rejected a continuous-delivery SaaS because its screenshot showed a terminal workflow, and chose WP Pusher partly because its screenshot showed the setup screen inside WordPress.

• Zue recorded three feature screencasts in one day covering accounts, teams and examples, and linked them from the landing page and the welcome email.

• Quantity changes on the company's own shop reliably threw incorrect totals and broken error states.

Sources

• Checking in on FastChris Frantz · chrisfrantz.com · Checking in on Fast · 2021-03-12
• Why I bought your softwareJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Scene 3: "I think I've found the solution!" · undated
• $39k in eBook Sales Part 2: Design, Testimonials, and TrafficNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Transcript · 2012-10-08
• The Indie Hackers "30 Days of Growth" challengeCory Zue · coryzue.com · Day 18 · 2019-07-01