It’s been a tough several months. Not because the product isn’t working, but because building something and actually getting it in front of the right people are two very different challenges. In case you’re wondering, I’ve been much better at one than the other.
Here’s an honest look at where things are at…
The numbers
After 9 months, here’s where Quotify stands:
- Sign-ups: 200
- Active users (free): 23
- Paying users: 0
- Mailing list: 163
Not headline-grabbing figures, but 200 sign-ups is something I’m proud of. That’s 200 people who came across Quotify and saw enough value to create an account. The fact that only around 10% are actively using it tells me there’s work to do around onboarding and messaging.
The mailing list is small but not insignificant. Weekly updates go out consistently, and engagement has been steady. Open rates and click-throughs have held up, which suggests the people on it are actually interested.
What’s next on the list
I’m not throwing in the towel. Quotify works, people are signing up, and the use case is real. What needs to change is how consistently and clearly I talk about it - and who I’m talking to.
Going forward, I’ll be sharing more regular updates on LinkedIn, and I’m also going to start contributing properly on Reddit. I’ve been a long-time lurker of r/smallbusiness, r/startups, and r/SaaS. It’s time to stop watching from the sidelines and start showing up.
The honest takeaway
Good marketing with a bad product will always beat a good product with bad marketing.
I’m not a natural self-promoter. That discomfort has kept me quieter than I should have been, and Quotify has paid the price for it.
What I’ve come to realise is that marketing isn’t just ads or social posts. It’s showing up regularly, talking about the problem you solve, and building an audience before you need one. I skipped most of that. I launched, got some sign-ups, and quietly hoped word would spread.
It didn’t. And that’s on me.
But it’s also something I can and am going to fix.