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Real quick - How important do you think feedback is for a product? (on a scale of 10)
- 5
- 7
- 9
For me, it’s a 9 always.
Especially when starting out, when the product hasn’t hit “Product Market Fit” yet, getting external feedback is the best way to improve it.
It’s the best way to guard against your own biases and limiting beliefs.
But the world is noisy and indifferent.
So it can become hard to get actual, valuable feedback for your projects.
I’ve found 4 strategies to work well for me so far, that I’ll discuss today.
So let’s get into it -
This post will take 4 minutes to read, but if you only have 30 seconds, here’s what you can expect-
- 🤔 4 Feedback Strategies -
- 🗣️ Ask your customers
- 🤩 Ask your heroes
- 💪 Ask a mentor
- 🫂 Ask your peers
- 🔗 Super Links - Useful links you don’t want to miss
- 🤗 How can I help?
Feedback Strategies
🗣️ Ask your Customers
The best feedback you will get is from your customers.
People for whom you’re actually building the product for.
Reach out to your network.
If you already have an audience or are part of an active community, you can reach out to them, ask questions, get feedback and even do some qualitative user research.
Every time I pre-sell a product, I setup a feedback form, where I ask users what their biggest pain points are, and what they expect from the product.
This helps to shape the product well, because the exact people who will be using the product are telling you exactly what they need.
I have 1 great example of this.
So back in June, I tweeted out that these days it’s so easy to setup a product page and pre-sell a product.
I asked people what was stopping them from making their first dollar online?
The answers to this tweet gave me the idea for the InfoProductPlaybook.
I tried to address all the problems, reservations people had in the replies.
Also, when I launched that product, I setup another form for people to share their feedback. And those answers were even more powerful in improving the product.
But this strategy only works if you have an audience, or at least a presence in a community.
If you don’t have that, then the next strategy might be useful to you.
🤩 Ask your Heroes
Reach out via cold DMs.
One of my heroes, Derek Sivers has a great quote - “Call the destination, and ask for directions”
Whatever you want to achieve, there is someone else in the world who has already achieved some version of that.
Try reaching out to them via direct messages on Twitter/LinkedIn or even email.
Replying to someone’s newsletter is actually a great conversation starter. I’ve used that strategy myself and have seen many people use it extensively on me as well 😄
Let me tell you, it works!
If someone is creating content on Twitter/LinkedIn/Instagram, or writing a newsletter, or publishing a podcast, then they want to help their audience.
So unless they’re drowning in inbound requests, they will get back to you and answer your questions.
Just be mindful that you’re not in ‘ask’ mode immediately.
Warm up the relationship a bit by talking about their work, how you like it and then make your ask. Be genuine about the help you need, I’m sure you get valuable feedback.
Also, if your heroes are too far out of reach, then just reading their books, listening to their podcasts and watching their videos is a good option.
I’ve learned so much from Derek like this 🤩
Whenever I need feedback, I channel my inner Derek Sivers and ask him for feedback.
I imagine what would Derek think of this idea? and more often than not I get an interesting answer that I can work with.
Of course, for more hands on advice, you can pay an expert.
💪 Ask a Mentor
Hire a mentor.
This is different from a “hero” because here you’re actually paying for someone’s expertise and time.
There are plenty of platforms where you can pay for access to an expert and get their advice.
This works great, because you get help from someone who is experienced in a particular topic. And they’re accountable to deliver value because they’re being paid to help you and give you feedback.
2 things to keep in mind -
- It can get expensive over the long term because these platforms charge a hefty fee.
- You need to know exactly what you need help with, because these experts usually are categorized vertically. So the same person who guides you with idea validation may not be able to help you with conversion rate optimization and vice versa.
But if you don’t mind that, then you should definitely hire a mentor.
🫂 Ask your Peers
Reach out to communities you’re a part of - Free or Paid ones.
This can be a hit or a miss though.
Every community has a “get-feedback” channel where you can post your questions.
Free ones are too noisy most times and it’s hard to cut through to the signal.
Paid ones do have quality members who would go out of their way to give you feedback. Leverage that.
There are entrepreneurs from around the world, who are building businesses just like you, maybe a couple of steps ahead or behind you, network them and access their experience.
It’s way more valuable than consuming passive books and courses.
Final Word
These are some of the ways that have worked well for me when it comes to getting feedback for my products and services.
Do try these methods and let me know how it goes.
I’m all of building solo, independent businesses, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need feedback. In fact, if you’re a solopreneur you need to go out of your way to get feedback on your work. Because in a traditional corporate job setup, there are always bosses and peers to tell you where you’re going wrong and how you can improve.
But when you work for yourself, it’s hard to find that kind of a feedback mechanism.
Cheers!
🔗 Super Links
Useful links you don't want to miss -
- Most people suck at reading, but it can be built up like a skill, here’s how.
- “Money loves speed, Wealth loves time, Poverty loves indecision” watch 41 more such recession proof money hacks.
- This is 80% of all the writing advice you will ever need.
- How to get insanely rich in the creator economy. Funny, irreverent, Nat Eliason at his best.
🤗How can I help?
Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you -
- 🗞️ Sponsor the SuperFrameworks newsletter. Get your work in front of 2300+ ambitious creators, makers, solopreneurs and founders. If you’re interested, just hit reply.
- 🧠 Solopreneurship is hard, but it doesn’t have to be lonely. You can get honest feedback, support and accountability from a trusted mastermind group. Let’s work together
