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Ask HN: Fake LP vs. LP with subscribe form

2 points by mmiliauskas ↗ HN
I have seen, and read a lot about having a landing page with subscribe form, driving some traffic to it (i.e. Google Ads), and using that to validate the idea.

The way I see this, a lot of people would drop out, because they realise that this is actually waste of their current time, and maybe going to the next search result is far better then filling in the form and then waiting for something to maybe arrive.

A lot better way, in my opinion, is to make a fake landing page, with a "buy" button - making people think that there is a product and they can buy it. If the idea and price is good, then measure the clicks on the "buy" button, and you got yourself a good estimate of where this can go, and how much can it make. Although, one big minus that I see about this - tricking people, that they found a solution, and then actually asking them to wait, plus usually somewhere there is your name on the page too, so not very good PR.

I am sure somebody here had experience with these things, could you please share it with the rest of us? :)

Big Thanks!

2 comments

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ggchappell
> Although, one big minus that I see about this - tricking people,

Yes, that's a darned big minus. Intentionally deceiving potential customers is a serious minus indeed.

> and then actually asking them to wait

"Wait"?? You'd be the guy I tried to buy from, and then found out was a liar. I wouldn't "wait"; I'd never do business with you again.

Seriously, drop this idea like a hot potato.

zoltar92
I humbly disagree. I actually kind of like this strategy. I do see your point but you could avoid that issue by thrn having a page "were sorry- we haven't finished development we plan to be launching XXXX date." You could even take it as far as to give them a free coupon code to guarantee a user base when you start. Additionally you get to gauge what/ how much people would pay. Maybe having a changing price, you could gain one of the most important pieces of information before launching! Lastly, this wouldn't be a huge issue because it is a landing page. You are not promoting it to your user base- the people happening on it are doing so naturally and therefore arguably the truest clients. If your product is both unique and something people need (vs something people want) and if its getting hits without any work- then you have a monopoly of sorts and people will definately be retuning either way. This is no joke one of the most brilliant suggestions I've heard. Please hit me up at avi@trustable.com id love to talk to you!