How To Test Your SaaS Ideas Before Building Them

In 3 steps, you can validate your ideas before building them out.

Startups do fail – constantly. According to a study by CB Insights, a whopping 42% of startups fail because there is no market need for their product. On the other hand, only 17% failed because they had a poor product.

This is an alarming statistic. And it highlights the importance of validating ideas before committing your time and effort to build them.

Yes, technology makes it easier and easier for solopreneurs to start their businesses – but it also gets harder and harder to distinguish yourself from the competition. Don’t waste time and money building a product without knowing if there’s demand for it. Try this 3-step process that will let you validate your SaaS idea in 10 days with less than $200:

Step 1: Set up a landing page

Before building your product, try to sell it to potential customers. You’ll want to buy a domain and create a landing page describing your idea. Write about the features it will offer and the problems it aims to solve. Use no-code tools like Shuffle or Carrd to build the website and Copy.ai to create compelling copy. This is not about perfection, it’s about sending a signal into the cosmos and hoping that something is coming back.

With shuffle, you can create websites with ease.

Tips for creating a good landing page:

1. Use a short and catchy headline that communicates the value of your product.
2. Choose a template that doesn’t need product imagery yet.
3. Make it easy for visitors to understand what your product does and how it can solve their problems.
4. Use customer testimonials and social proof to build trust and credibility. Ask friends and family to vouch for your product here, If you have no customers at this point.
5. Include a clear call to action that tells visitors what you want them to do next, such as joining a waiting list.

To verify, if your idea sticks build a simple form into the site. That allows visitors to join a waiting list for your product. Collect their email addresses, which you can then store using a tool like Airtable. If you need to sync data between your no-code tools, use Zapier to handle form submissions and add new email addresses to your Airtable database.

Step 2: Create ads

Next, you’ll want to bring your website in front of a potential audience. Time to create some kick-ass ads for your SaaS. You don’t need to be Donald Draper or an award-winning designer to do this. Use tools like Canva to design the graphics and Anyword to write compelling ad copy. Be sure to make it clear that your product is still in the pre-launch phase, and highlight the benefits of joining the waiting list early.

Canva is amazing. It has tons of animated templates to offer to create a kick-ass ad.

Tips for creating effective ads:

• Use strong headlines that grab attention and communicate the value of your product.
• Include a clear call to action, such as “Sign up for the waiting list” or “Learn more.”
• Use persuasive language that speaks to your target audience’s pain points and desires.
• Use appealing graphics that stand out and communicate your message. Animated templates usually work best.

Step 3: Set up ad campaigns

At this stage, we’ve got a landing page and marketing assets. Now it’s time to set up ad campaigns on platforms like Facebook and Google. Before you start spending your 200 bucks though, do your research to understand your ideal user and use that information to narrow down your target group. If you have a customer list from a similar SaaS, you can create a “lookalike audience” to get even better results. If you’ve identified a strong competitor to your idea, “borrow” their audience.

Use features like “Lookalike Audience” to get the most out of your 200$ budget.

Tips for creating your first campaign:

1. Choose your target audience based on the research you’ve done about your ideal user. If you have a customer list from a similar SaaS, consider creating a lookalike audience.
2. Set your budget at around $10-$15 per day and let the campaign run for 7–10 days.
3. Optimize your ad campaigns. Consider testing different ads and targeting options to see what works best for your audience.
4. Track the performance of your campaigns and make adjustments as needed to improve results. Consider metrics like clicks and conversion rates on your landing page. Don’t forget to analyse the CPA (cost of acquisition) for one single customer. This should give you an indicator of the effectiveness of your ad & the stickiness of your idea.

Conclusion

That’s a wrap!

TL;DR: Validating your SaaS idea before you start building can save you a lot of time and resources in the long run. Use the 3 steps to estimate demand for your product and make informed decisions about whether to continue building it:

1. Set up a landing page and email form.
2. Create enticing ads.
3. Run your ads for $10-$12 per day for 7–10 days and see how many sign-ups you get. If you reach your target number, you can consider your idea validated.

Remember, validating your idea is the first step in building a successful SaaS business. There will be many more challenges and obstacles to overcome along the way. Validating your idea upfront can help you set yourself up for success and avoid wasting resources on an unproven concept.

If you’re interested in learning more about my approach to SaaS, please don’t hesitate to reach out on Twitter or LinkedIn. If you love mail (like me), you can also hit my inbox here.

I’d love to hear YOUR thoughts and ideas on this topic. If you have any more insights or experiences to share, please leave a comment below.