Have an idea, what next?
Hey guys!
I just had this very simple idea of developing a platform for content creators to request thumbnails and have them ready and delivered to them in a 30 mins - 1 hour timeframe.
I worked as a designer for plenty of youtubers around 2-3 years ago and I realised how finding someone 'reliable' with a quick turn around time was difficult when it came to smaller things like getting thumbnails.
I know I can get together a simple page with a request feature and payment gateway for creators to request thumbnails. But the question is, should I just follow the 'just do it' mindset and jump right into the idea or should I take it slow, plan every move, gather more insights?
Any help would be appreciated, this is going to be my first side-project.
Thanks!
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If you want quick turnaround times, the key is cutting the slow, expensive bottleneck (eg. former you) out of the loop.
A minimal processing power and can quickly extract screenshots from every second of the video for the client to select the shot that best matches their videos topic.
Add on a choice of hundreds of quality designed templates (you the designer, back) and they have a quality look, potential for consistent branding too.
Then text auto-lay on top with some basic formatting options job done.
If canva already have a hold on this auto market, thing hard about how you compete with them. Maybe premium clients you build out their own bespoke template pack (for a fee) which gives them instant branding continuity and recognisable thumbs.
Free (or cheap) auto service with paid addons, proven model if done right.
Hey @awcod
Sorry for the late response, I was doing a digital detox. Your comment makes A LOT of sense and has given me a very fresh perspective to look at things. Would you be down to discuss this more? Please let me know if I can reach out to you.
Thank you!
I vote for moving fast.
But I’d also add an angle, for example you could say the benefits of going with your service would be:
And maybe set a goal. If you get 10 requests, and discussed price, then figure out how to get payment. Setting up payments and a logo etc doesn’t have to all finished before you go live.
Thank you for your response @agerard
I plan on moving fast and getting some feedback from initial customers.
I don't think I explained it properly in my thread, but I'm planning to take a 'productized srvice' route.
Quoting a comment I just made :
I feel it'll look more like a template if I automate it and not to mention bigger companies like canva already have their foot set in this domain.
Let me know if you have any more questions / concerns. :-)
The questions that come to my mind are:
If you're new to prototyping and just want to get your hands dirty then build it on sharetribe in a week, and then worry about research. If you're serious about the idea then start with researching instead.
Thank you for taking the time to post this detailed comment @iznog0ud
I mainly worked with youtubers who were in the E-sports / gaming and online gambling niche. It's hard to collectively define the process of how they went about getting a thumbnail but usually they'd just reach out to a designer in the community, provide him the brief + payment and expect the design. In plenty of cases, it is frustrating mainly because of turnaround time.
I was thinking of starting with a smaller niche (gamers / gamblers) to begin with and then gradually scaling it to other niches as well. If it takes off, it could be huge because every youtuber needs a good thumbnail.
Initially I'll be the only one working and if it works out, and I bring more designers onboard there will be no direct communication between the designer and the client. The client will submit their files / brief via the website and the designer will receive it via email / slack / discord and once finished, they'll submit the design through the website. So there'll be no direct interaction. Worst case scenario would be if a designer spends the time to find who they made a specific thumbnail for and decide to reach out to that creator but then once again it'll turn into the same cycle as I explained in point 1.
I still have to figure out a usable number so that the service isn't ridiculously expensive, there's scope for profit and designers don't feel they're wasting their time.
I'll check out sharetribe. I think I need to move a bit fast, gather a few customers and tweak things as I go along. I'm a little bit confused, hehe.
Sounds like you've thought it through! I'd be curious to hear the results when you test some of those assumption, which is the fun/difficult part :-)
I'll keep you guys updated.
Preparation can only take me so far, it's time to actually do it. Good to know I can turn to great people such as yourself for help.
Hey, @kms123 - congrats on your first side project :)
If your goal is to gain practice building something, go for it.
If your goal is to build something AND have people use it, you may get further by validating that people actually care about the idea.
Was this a pain that you experienced (while working as a designer)? Was it a pain your clients experienced?
If it was experienced mostly by your clients, are you still in touch with them? If so, that's a great start for potential customers.
If it was experienced mostly by you, do you have any indicators that other people feel the same frustrations? And do they still feel them in light of platforms like Fiverr?
Not to discourage you - I've just built tons of projects I was excited about but nobody else was. Or maybe there were people who would have liked them, but I didn't do the initial legwork to find those people first. Launching something to crickets definitely sucks.
All of that said ^, if you're only talking about making a landing page and starting to collect customer feedback (but not spending too much time before showing anyone), that sounds like the perfect way to go.
Good luck :)
Michael
P.S. you may want to check out @yang's product "Thumblytics"
Thank you for the shoutout @marclar 😊
@kms123 Would you be the only one creating the thumbnails or would there be a team? This gives me the feeling of a "productized service" for thumbnail creation.
Happy to chat more if you want to connect @Thumblytics on Twitter
I was debating with how it should be made to work. Honestly speaking, this is like a productized service - but the USP is quality + quick turn around time.
There's also possibility of automating the process on the basis of brief provided by the client but if I do it that way, I feel the component of 'uniqueness' will be lost.
Initially, I'd be the only one working on it but if it scales, I can hire more designers and familiarize them with the workflow to ensure quality and quickness.
I just checked out Thumblytics and the product seems very useful. I'd love to chat more about my idea and see if we can perhaps figure something out together? :-)
Let me know if this sounds interesting!
Thank you, @yang
Very interesting! When you say there is possibility of automating the process, which part of the process are you talking about?
Would definitely be interested in hearing about how much you used to charge, and how much you are thinking of charging for this product.
Happy to connect, I have a few ideas around partnering (e.g. bundling thumbnail testing into your offering would make your service completely unique in the thumbnails design space).
Shoot me a DM on Twitter @Thumblytics
Hey @yang
I'll send you a twitter DM in the next 30 minutes. Let's talk!
Thank you for the detailed response @marclar, since it's my first project I want to be able to learn as much as I can from it, I do think that I'm solving a genuine problem and I also realise that validation is extremely important. Assuming too many things may cause issues. All I've been doing for these past couple years is reading case-studies of both failed and successful startups and I know how important it is to validate your problem.
Coming back to the problem, I mainly worked for youtubers who focused on gaming / online gambling content. Nearly all of them suffered this problem where they'd constantly switch designers due to not getting thumbnails on 'time' (thumbnails aren't considered that important so they'd usually just send the brief before posting a video and expect a design done in an hour or two).
Platforms like fiverr will present you plenty of designers, so it's once again time-consuming to first find a designer, then go back and forth until you have something that can work.
Yeah, getting a landing page together and collecting customer feedback definitely seems like a great start.
Thank you so much @marclar I didn't expect such a positive response from the community. I'm truly overwhelmed!
You're very welcome, @kms123
Sounds like you're ahead of the game :)
Sounds like a great idea, but don't build any back end tools/code yet. Start with an amazing front-page that shows all your ideas. Let users sign-up for a beta when you are ready. Let the list grow. Then contact some of the users and ask them about what their favorite functions are. Use that feedback to decide what your MVP will be. Build something simple, let a few of the users that signed up into your beta. Iterate until you find product-market fit.
@steban
Thank you for your comment. I will be taking this route to begin with. :-)
I just have to figure out a few things first. It won't be long though.
This does sound like an interesting marketplace. Creating a marketplace is never easy (at least from my experience) but when it does work out you are providing a lot of value in creating the desired connections that otherwise wouldn't exist. I will not repost my whole article here but I do think it is relevant to you, https://bit.ly/35QbaPw, I discusses turning your idea into a business.
Thank you @approachableGeek
Yeah, I realize it's not going to be easy but I'm willing to do all it takes.
Your article seems very interesting, I've bookmarked it and will read it as soon as I answer all the comments.
Thank you once again!
If you have a good market you can already message and release to then just get into implementing the most basic version of what you are predicting to begin with.
If you don't create a landing page, generate some leads and validate its a service people would use.
Thank you, @mike_tempes
I believe I do have a decent market, I will start reaching out and gather initial customers and tweak things on the basis of the feedback they provide. Thank you!
You should do it, honestly!
You have access to your target market already and they already trust you. You're starting with a bigger advantage than most of us!
"should I take it slow, plan every move, gather more insights"
Making stuff is a sport. You'll only get better by practicing (making more stuff).
More seriously, before you start a project it's very easy to start planning unnecessary things and think about how to gather unimportant insights. By putting your project out, you'll get some initial feedback and that is what will inform you where to shift your focus.
Your comment is very helpful @jevinsew
I fully agree with what you said.
I will certainly go ahead and publish this project. Even if it doesn't work out, I won't be losing much.
I agree with this point - you've already got an advantage. It seems to me that your success will be based on word of mouth referrals and reputation. I'd suggest trying to target a group of early adopters who like your idea. You can then offer to provide them with the service for free ( e.g first 3x thumbnails are free) in exchange for promotion, credit or anything else which may develop new leads.
Also, I imagine your customers will need to use the service a lot so make sure to focus on good service and added value wherever possible. This will help build your reputation.
Good luck!
Thanks @nathannatani
Your idea is actually really nice. Finding a few early customers and offering them the service in exchange of promotion and feedback would really help me in the long run.
Yeah that's what I plan to do. A lot of efforts and focus will need to be put on making sure that the value is not lost and that the clients feel that they're actually getting a service worth their money.
Thank you so much!
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Hey Gestri, I'd love to talk to you. Please let me know where to reach out.
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