There’s a special kind of denial that comes with a signup counter. It only ever goes up, so it feels like progress. Then you actually look at what those signups are doing, and — ah.
I run Quotify solo. It’s an embedded form that gives your customers an instant quote or estimate: the sort of thing a plumber, a caterer or a designer sticks on their site so people stop emailing “how much roughly?” and just find out for themselves.
Growing it is the fun bit. Everyone likes watching the number go up. The unglamorous bit is looking under the bonnet, which I did this week, and it stung a little.
Turns out most people who sign up never build a single form. A good chunk never even confirm their email address. I’d been quietly chuffed with a signup number that was, on closer inspection, mostly tumbleweed.
So I spent the week on housekeeping instead of features.
Helping people actually start
A couple of small, friendly emails now go out to new sign-ups who haven’t built anything yet. Not a fourteen-part onboarding drip designed within an inch of its life, just a nudge. “You’re one form away, here’s a template, give me a shout if you’re stuck.” The product does precisely nothing sitting in an unopened account, so the least I can do is help people get to the good bit.
Clearing out the dead wood
This is the one that feels backwards. Accounts sat cold for six months or more (no forms, no leads, nothing) now get two honest emails. “Still want this? Log in and you keep everything. Ignore me and I’ll close it.” And if they ignore me, I actually delete it. Account, data, the lot.
Deleting your own users when you’re trying to grow feels like turning down work. But a big list of dormant accounts isn’t a business. It’s a vanity metric with a hosting bill. Every dead row makes my numbers lie to me, and I’d rather know the truth.
I’ll take fifty people getting real value over five hundred who forgot they signed up.
Lean isn’t just spending less. It’s being honest about what’s working, and pointing your limited hours at the thing that matters (people actually using the tool) instead of polishing a number that makes you feel good.
Growth isn’t more sign-ups. It’s more of them sticking around.
Right. Back to the features.