I built http://todoneapp.com/ about 2 months ago. I actually built it for my wife who doesn't work well with normal todo lists. She would have cracks of time in her day between chasing our kid around and I devised this tool to help her maximize use of that time. At its core To->Done is basically an ultra-minimalistic todo system based around just getting you to do <i>SOMETHING</i> rather than encouraging a meta game of managing todos. It's not really supposed to compete with anything else out there, it's not a "stripped down" RTM or Tada list. It's really just a whole other (new?) kind of system for taking action.<p>Anyway, I got To->Done featured on the front page of Lifehacker and got about 30,000 visits the first couple days after launch. Two months later, traffic has trickled to a crawl. There are definitely active users that visit it every day, but not a lot of them.<p>I'm wondering what I can do to take this to the next level. It's <i>by design</i> uncomplicated, not a ton of features for you to get lost in, etc. So I'm not even sure what the "next level" means. I'd love to have more traffic and users, but I'm not sure how to bring them in. I don't see a way to make the site viral, since todo lists are inherently private. I'm definitely not going to pay for traditional paid search marketing, since I'm not trying to make any money on the site right now.<p>I really just don't know what to do with it, and wonder if what I built is just inherently ungrowable since it's an application for private actions that has a philosophy of ultra-minimalism. Should I go gung-ho into this somehow or just put out a feature every couple weeks and switch full focus onto the 100 other ideas I have laying around?<p>Thanks!
Don't bother with a landing page. I'm guessing that most visitors bounce right off it. Put the functionality on the home page, with a small amount of explanatory text.<p>What do you need to do?<p><< I need to _____ which will take me _____ <b>Remember</b> >><p>When you have some time, tell us how much, and we'll give you something to do:<p><< I have ___ available right now. <b>Give me something to do</b> >><p>((grayed out until you've entered something above))<p>Also I'd recommend bolding the important text as indicated above-- users scanning the page will be able to at a glance exactly what the app offers. The arrows as buttons feel too much like hierarchical navigation (esp on the top navbar) and it isn't clear that I should be clicking them).
I built a service that followed a similar trajectory (memiary.com) a couple years ago. Here are a few things I learnt which I might help:<p>- Some services aren't meant to be taken to 'the next level'. You should weigh its opportunity and make the appropriate decision. For me, it was to realize that I'd built something 'timeless' that didn't need next-levelling and re-iteration, so I chose to leave it like it is and be content with its 2,000+ daily users. I figured I'd spend my time on other things that had a bigger inherent opportunity than beat a horse that just fundamentally isn't inclined to go far enough.<p>- When it comes to making money, there are 2 basic options services like ours have: donations and iPhone app. I was lucky to have built a fantastic userbase from the get-go, so the same people who purchased my iPhone app also have given around $600 - $700 in donations when I've requested for it. Sure, it's no major money, but it's enough to support my time and energy and hosting costs, and I'm content with it.<p>- Appreciate your trickled traffic. I noticed today that 2,000 people have been using my service EVERY DAY for the last 2 years. That means something to me. Not every service is supposed to be a pageview-generating machine. What's important to me is that 2,000 people take the time to go to my website and write down their private thoughts every day. I'd rather have this than 10,000 meaningless pageviews from Google.
Apparently, the collective unconscious is crying for 20 million web-based todo lists, rather than the 10 million we have already. I say this because I'm working on one too. :)<p>> It's by design uncomplicated, not a ton of features for you to get lost in,<p>There may not be a ton of features, but there is an awful lot of "talking" involved before the user gets down to business. I agree with others that you need to minimize this or get rid of it completely. Get to the action ASAP. See Joshwa's comment.<p>> I really just don't know what to do with it, and wonder if what I built is just inherently ungrowable<p>I'm sure you can grow it if you really want, but how much do you want to? It seems like your enthusiasm is already waning. Nothing wrong with letting it coast and seeing what happens. Maybe you'll get excited about it again later.<p>Or, you can dig in and try to market it. Here's an idea I had for my app which you're welcome to use. Let users link their todo list to Facebook, and then automatically post a huzzah to their wall when they complete something. In general, I think your idea that todo lists <i>must</i> be inherently private is wrong, and making privacy the exception rather than the rule might open up some "viral" possibilities.<p>Anyway, good luck. :)
I think you can improve by design & copywriting. There's too much text on the homepage for such a simple tool. Can you explain it in 1 sentence? Spend a few hours mangling a sentence together. That's one.<p>Second, focus on talking to the few users you have, see what they like/don't like. Even while keeping it minimal, I am reasonably sure you can still improve the experience a lot. Don't add features, but polish polish polish. Is the entry field perfect. Can it be faster? Etc..<p>Once you do that, and once you start to hear feedback that your users <i>really</i> truly love it, then you can start worrying about promoting it :)<p>In other words: it's not because you want to keep it minimal that you're done.
Perhaps the indication is that your app isn't as generally appealing as you thought?<p>Have you received any feedback on "missing" features? Done any measurement of what aspects your existing userbase does use?
Two ideas:<p>1. Mobile phone apps. With something like PhoneGap you should be able to do this relatively quickly.<p>2. For every new registered user, add a to-do item that they need to tell their friends about the app, giving it 5 minutes. This might work but regardless, I hope you think creatively about marketing it and getting your users to market it for you.
How many of those 30k visits signed up? How many were still using it a week later?<p>You might have learned that your assumptions about what people want were wrong. I would bombard every user who signed up and quit with a personal sounding, "Hey, I'd love to hear your thoughts on why this isn't the right to-do list tool for you."<p>But yeah, you're hitting the wall that most web app makers hit. The site doesn't market itself (most don't unless they are designed for virality or SEO). If you don't want to self educate about marketing, then I'd put a bullet in and make sure your next idea has some built-in marketing juice.
A good way of enticing new users could be to build a bit more of a story/value proposition around your overall approach/system (versus the tool/app - I'm not looking for tools, I'm looking for solutions).<p>Maybe you could write a couple of articles about your system, how you might use it, why it's better than other systems and who it will work well for (or maybe an ebook would work). Then use the description of your overall time management system/apporach to lead people into your tool.
The front page is your primary problem, I have no interest in reading that much text when I visit a website I haven't visited before (and will leave pretty quickly). You need big text, screenshots, videos, demos, short precise bullet points. Look at things like <a href="http://basecamphq.com" rel="nofollow">http://basecamphq.com</a> or even <a href="http://www.rememberthemilk.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.rememberthemilk.com/</a> for good product home pages.
I actually love the concept! I think this approach could be a very powerful tool for the usual procrastinator. I'll give it a spin for a few days and let you know.<p>Any email I can contact you?
"So please go head and login→ or register→"<p>"So please go ahead" <-- The A is important.<p>Also, the yellow is kind of obnoxious to me; I would prefer a green or blue.
try KISSinsights to poll your audience on if you should add features, what would they be, etc?<p>We used KISSinsights on HelpaStartupOut.com to help us pick the best categories, add additional ones, and remove the non useful ones. We're still in the learning stage but its good to get user input in shaping your product and figuring out how they actually use your product