Read on Twitter
1/ I've been watching the launch of HEY (new email solution by the @Basecamp team) — there's a few marketing lessons we can pull from this launch...
2/ They started by naming and shaming their enemy — free email solutions like Gmail as we know them today. More specifically, the PRICE of free. You pay by giving up data, seeing ads, spying, and feature bloat designed to give everyone *enough* to hopefully not complain.
3/ Giving people *enough* on a free tool is going to be enough for most people — but not people who run their businesses and live out of the inbox. You know... people willing to pay for a better experience.
4/ On Twitter, @DHH started debates on privacy as it relates to email. And whether this was calculated or not, it drew a line in the sand with people rejoicing on one side and pissed off marketers and sales people on the other. Translation: Engagement/awareness through the roof.
5/ Pre-launch, you would be forgiven if you thought HEY = email solution for people willing to pay for privacy. Well, HEY launched and privacy is part of it, but it's a footnote compared to the usability improvements. Thing is, these features would NOT start and stoke the fire.
6/ The goal pre-launch is engagement and awareness. Privacy is not the most important feature, but it 100% is the most contentious thread they could pull on for email. Calculated or not — smart move.
7/ Another thing they did is collect email addresses using a simple landing page that stated their case against email as we know it today. They then went a step further and asked you to email them about YOUR love/hate relationship with email. So freakin' smart...
8/
1. It gets you to engage with the brand. You're going to remember HEY when they launch if you emailed them.
2. They are collecting copywriting GOLD as it relates to introducing and agitating the problem pre-launch.
3. People are spoon-feeding them feature ideas.
1. It gets you to engage with the brand. You're going to remember HEY when they launch if you emailed them.
2. They are collecting copywriting GOLD as it relates to introducing and agitating the problem pre-launch.
3. People are spoon-feeding them feature ideas.
9/ And I totally took the bait...
10/ Their new website ( http://hey.com ) is a masterclass in us vs. them. This is smart because picking a fight is great for awareness/engagement, but it's ALSO smart because it uses what we already know about email to explain something new.
11/ By explaining how HEY is different than the free email solutions we know very well, we easily grasp how life with HEY will be different. That's kind of the point, right?
12/ While this is separate from @Basecamp, they imbue HEY with Basecamp's brand equity in some important ways. The design is similar. They show the product in similar ways. It's quirky (e.g. 37-minute tour from the CEO). They don't fear word count. And perhaps most importantly...
13/ Their pricing is familiar but different. Basecamp is $99/month — flat. HEY is $99/year — flat. These parallels ensure that the very separate HEY benefits from Basecamp's success.
14/ Summary:
1. Pick a fight with the incumbent and be explicit about it
2. Select the most controversial feature/capability and start conversations around it to maximize pre-launch engagement
3. Crowdsource launch copy
4. Leverage previous successes where possible.
1. Pick a fight with the incumbent and be explicit about it
2. Select the most controversial feature/capability and start conversations around it to maximize pre-launch engagement
3. Crowdsource launch copy
4. Leverage previous successes where possible.
