Build in Public: GoKiddo [Part 3]

It has been almost 2 weeks since my last writeup about GoKiddo and my “Build in Public” journey.

If you missed Part 2 , you will find it here.

Quick Updates

Business Listing Analytics - DONE

I have built some analytics into the site, which allows business to see how many views and clicks their listing is getting. I believe this will be an important feature, because it will be clear evidence to businesses why they need to pay a monthly fee for the listing.

I am still struggling to get the “impressions” to work, but I am not going to spend too much time on the feature, I will fix it down the line.

LemonSqueezy Subscriptions - DONE

I opened an account with LemonSqueezy.com and integrated it into GoKiddo. Now a business can create an account, edit their listing and publish it with a 1 month free trial, after which their card will be billed. I will have a monthly option and a yearly option at a 20% discount.

The exact pricing is still up for debate.

GoKiddo.com is NOT FOR SALE

I have received feedback from the owner of GoKiddo.com and they have informed me that the domain name is not for sale, even though they haven’t used it for 13 years. I will continue following up.

I have decided to use GoKiddoApp.com and I have set GoKiddo.co.za and Go-Kiddo.com to redirect to it.

At the end of the day, the domain name doesn’t matter that much, and maybe one day I will be able to purchase GoKiddo.com

Marketing > Building

For someone with a technical background, like me, the fun part of any project is the building phase. Building features, integrating services etc.

But, as anyone who has started a business will know, if you don’t have any customers, it doesn’t matter how many features you build.

Throughout the build, I have kept this in the back of my mind.

The chicken and the egg dilemma

GoKiddo will be faced with the chicken and the egg dilema.

• In order to attract traffic to the site you need business listings.
• In order to motivate businesses to pay for a listing, you need traffic.

FOMO & The Flywheel Effect

In order to solve this dilemma, I am going to use the following strategy:

1. Start with a specific location. For example: Cape Town.
2. Approach 30+ businesses in the location and offer them a 6 month early bird free trial using a function I built into GoKiddo.
3. Approach other businesses in the area and motivate them to join by using a FOMO (fear of missing out) tactic.
4. After the 6 month free trial, give the early birds a summary of their listing performance and motivate them to become paying customers.
5. Repeat in a new location.

After a while I believe the listings will become organic and it will become easier to add new listings.

The Flywheel Effect , as referenced by Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great,” is a concept that describes how sustained and incremental progress can lead to a significant positive impact over time. The idea is based on the analogy of a flywheel, a heavy mechanical wheel that takes significant effort to start spinning but once it gains momentum, it becomes easier to maintain and the speed increases rapidly. Similarly, in business, the flywheel effect describes the process of building momentum through consistent and effective actions that compound over time, leading to greater success and growth. This approach emphasizes the importance of patience, persistence, and a long-term perspective in achieving sustainable success.

Other marketing ideas

I also have some other ideas I believe might be effective for marketing GoKiddo.

• Referral Program - bloggers and influencers can join and get a % commission for succesful referals.
• For the social media startegy of GoKiddo I think it may be very effective to post funny kid videos and then market GoKiddo “on the side”. Check out Anna Macfarlane on Instagram for an example.
• Facebook and Google Ads (this will only become feasible once we have a few paying businesses)

What’s next - Beta Testing

Before I launch GoKiddo, I will do some beta testing with a small group of users to fix some small bugs and polish the website.

You are welcome to create your own listing on the testing site here. If you pick up any issues or if you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments below.

Please keep in mind, that you will be using the testing site, which means things might change while you are using it.

Here are testing credit card details which will allow you to publish your listing:

• Card number: 4242 4242 4242 4242
• Expiry Date: 12/26
• CVV: 123

Chat soon🥚