Bloggergirl, you inspired me to create an account here! Love reading about people sharing their passion and helping others along the way.
I would also like to help review copy and provide feedback if anyone needs it.
I do brand management marketing at my day job and have a near-obsession with clear messaging. It's a shame if you have a great product/service but your customer doesn't understand the benefit.
Welcome to HN! It might be helpful to include an email address in your profile blurb :)
I launched a "toolbar" (it's actually a bookmarklet) two weeks ago and although anybody I show it to in person thinks it's great, everyone else just gets confused. I put a lot of work into it, an unhealthy amount really, and as a result have found its lack of adoption frustrating to the point of just giving up. I use this thing every day, to bookmark and to search, yet I cannot adequately explain it much less motivate people to understand what it does. It feels awful.
At any rate, the URL is http://dashler.com/toolbar if you want to take a look. I'm not even sure the idea is a good one, anymore. Of about 1000 visitors, only about 2 use it regularly. I'm ready to scrap the whole thing. I would very much appreciate any advice you could offer pass along. I'm looking to ditch the video and use a slideshow of screenshots, but I'm not even sure where to begin.
I was watching the video tutorial and it helped explain the concept. I think videos are overdone these days, but this is a case where a live demo helps clarify how much time you save by not typing or clicking on different browser pages to search.
I want to play with the site and features to fully understand the benefit of the bookmarklet before providing feedback.
In the meantime, here are a couple questions for you:
What made you create this bookmarklet?
What type of person would most benefit from this tool?
(Target market)
When you explain the concept to people, at what point do they start getting confused?
(Maybe you just need to improve a certain part of the message, not the whole thing.)
Where are these 1000 visitors from and why don't they use the tool?
(You could be attracting the wrong people, or finding the right people but talking to them in the wrong way.)
Of the 2 people who use the tool regularly, what made them decide to use it and why do they like it?
(Analyzing successes provides insight for what to continue/repeat in the future.)
Why do you think screenshots would be more effective than a video?
http://diamondsandsteak.com/post/1509041951/authenticity-and...