Talking to other entrepreneurs and asking for feedback can teach you many things. You just have to be prepared to hear the truth.
Yesterday I shared Underdog E-Commerce Con with a partner. I wanted her help to share the event with her audience. And boy, did I get hit with some hard truths.
- My content wasn't catchy. (Not leveraging TikTok & trending music.)
- I didn't have ANY Malay speakers. (It's even Ramadhan month.)
- Speaker titles weren't focused on one single problem.
She flipped her laptop open and Googled "how to sell on shopee". Then she said, "There... you should get speakers to answer these questions".
DANG.
I've shared this in marketing classes, only to ignore it when building my own product.
So, in today's newsletter – I'll show you three tools you can use to find problems to solve.
Let's gooo!
1- SEO Toolbar by Ahrefs
This is a free SEO Chrome extension by Ahrefs.
Once installed, you'll get a toolbar that shows you keyword ideas on Chrome. These are "problems" that you can solve.
Of course, Ahrefs' goal is to get you to buy a paid plan. The smallest plan is USD99/month. (ouch!). The free access is limited but has some good data.
No search volume on the free limited access though.
2- Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest works better as a web tool, but there's a free Chrome extension too.
An advantage of Ubersuggest is that you can select the location. (I've chosen Malaysia here)
Honestly, I find Ubersuggest's extension buggy. (I keep getting signed out & the Chrome extension doesn't always work). Plus, I'm forced to see Neil Patel's face again & again as I use the tool.
You get only a few keyword ideas on the free version. But it's only USD12 per month if you choose to upgrade.
3- Keywords Everywhere
Keywords Everywhere is an SEO tool that I've been using for YEARS.
It started as a free tool. Few years ago, they decided to charge for it. What's good is it isn't expensive. I pay USD21 per year for 100,000 credits and have never run out of credits.
The downside is the tool only has data from a few countries (Malaysia isn't one of them). So take the keywords as general ideas only.
The more you do, the more you learn.
Studying keywords and analytics can turn you into a donkey – you over-analyze and never start.
All marketers make mistakes. But successful marketers see mistakes as lessons. They know the biggest mistake is never starting.
Looking at keywords can give you a sense of the problems people want to solve.
Still, the best way to know what your customers are willing to pay for – is to offer them a product and ask them for feedback.
More action, less talk.
Most conferences are filled with NATOs
NATO = No Action, Talk Only
It's easy to spot such speakers. They talk concepts and say things like, "Ooh, AI is gonna change everything!". Yet, when you ask if they have implemented what they said and gotten results, they look you funny in the eye.
At Underdog E-Commerce Con we ask speakers to share what they did, not what they think is cool to talk about. That a huge difference.
