How a micro-site generated buzz (and what went wrong)
The power and pitfalls of launching a micro-site
đ Hey, Iâm George Chasiotis. Welcome to GrowthWaves, your weekly dose of B2B growth insightsâfeaturing powerful case studies, emerging trends, and unconventional strategies you wonât find anywhere else.
Lately, Iâve been thinking about how digital-first B2B companies approach growth.
For a long time, the playbook was pretty much standard, with few examples of companies doing things differently.
I think this has started to change, and Iâm glad to see more and more examples of companies experimenting with new strategies and tactics.
Spending $200K per month on paid (this is an actual number from a SaaS company Iâm connected with) is neither sustainable nor financially prudent anymore.
So, when companies become creative and break the norm in any way, I want to highlight and talk about it.
Hereâs an exampleâŠ
The company
Thereâs a company in the productivity space called Amie.
Iâm not a user, but according to its website, Amieâs product offers to-dos (read: checklists), email, and calendar capabilities.
Itâs powered by AI and is primarily a productivity tool.
Although the website discusses business use cases, the product seems to be designed mostly for personal use.
Not that this is a bad thing, of course!
Itâs a second-brain type of tool for people who want to have better control of their time.
The company does a few things here and there on the growth side but one stood out to me.
Productivity hacks
In the summer of 2023, Amie launched a micro-site using the domain âproductivity.so.â
Itâs basically a curation of productivity shortcuts.
Inside, youâll find anything from simple keyboard shortcuts to platform-specific shortcuts with a video like this one:
Back when they launched the site, they also did a Product Hunt Launch.
The launch went well and the batch was named âProduct of the Dayâ.
However, some of the commenters mentioned that they couldnât âgain superpowersâ as promised by the homepageâs main call-to-action (CTA):
Thatâs something I experienced myself when I tried to sign up for whatever lay behind that email subscription form.
So, what can be learned from this launch?
Read on to find out.
Key takeaways
Here are the key takeaways from this growth initiative (with the caveat that we donât have data to support any of them):
Launching a micro-site thatâs relevant to your audience is generally good and can be helpful.
Launching on Product Hunt can help with generating buzz around the product (or whatever it is that youâre building).
By launching it as a separate entity, youâve got to take into account the logistics (e.g., website hosting, technology stack) that go with it.
Neglecting the tool after the initial buzz should be avoided.
I know the last one sounds a bit obvious, but over the years, Iâve seen many micro-sites like this being neglected once the launch buzz fades.
The problem is that this product has your signature on it.
You wouldnât neglect your core product or website like this.
Youâd want to make sure that everything worked properly (e.g., sign-up forms) or that youâd fix them if they didnât.
So, even though I agree with the initiative (again, without having any data to prove its success) I donât really like the execution here or the fact that the website seems abandoned.
Thatâs why I recommend that whenever you launch a separate entity like this, you think beyond the initial PH launch and positive comments on LinkedIn and X.
Final thoughts
I could summarize this note as follows:
Launching a separate entity that supports your growth objectives and is relevant to your audience? Yes.
Neglecting it and not treating it as part of your product after the initial buzz wears off? No.
If you do something similar, donât half-ass it and do it only if you can commit to it (resource-wise) for the long term unless weâre talking about an initiative thatâs part of a campaign with a set timeline.
See you next week!