The Art of Product 97: To Build, or Not to Build - Jane Portman of Userlist
Aug 1, 2019
28:40
While Ben’s on vacation, Derrick welcomes another podcast host who can commiserate with him about email automation.
Jane Portman is a UI/UX expert and consultant who hosts the UI Breakfast Podcast and co-founded Userlist.io. She describes what it takes to create a customer messaging tool.
Today’s Topics Include:
- Product Priorities: Slow, steady, and quality
- Lifestyle Business: Overall goal is to replace consulting with SaaS recurring revenue
- Challenges: Limited development time and resources; slow growth rate to adopt mission-critical product
- To Build, or Not to Build: Avoid feature creep by focusing on what to add or improve
- Playbook Post: 10 steps to successfully position a product
- Launch Process: People are waiting for the right time for the right tool for their business
- Customer Conversations: Pre-product interviews about problem to be solved; followed by product demos to grant access to beta version for feedback
- Finding Customers: Landing page, updates, stories, sign-ups, mailing list, and more
- We’re out of Beta! Simple and straight-forward product launch plan and strategy
- Generic Illustrations: Product design trend that has to end
- Email Experiences: Educate people on how to ethically use email to serve their business
Links and resources:
User Onboarding: The Ultimate Guide for SaaS Founders
Behind the Scenes of Our Upcoming Public Launch
How We Used April Dunford’s 10-Step Method to Overhaul Positioning at Userlist
AoP Episode 91: Feeling Superhuman with Rahul Vohra
Humans of Flat Design on Twitter
Derrick Reimer Website
Derrick Reimer on Twitter
Ben Orenstein Website
Ben Orenstein on Twitter