PickFu News

Announcement: New Possibilities in PickFu Polling

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After listening to your comments and requests, we’re excited to launch some new products that we hope you’ll love.

The classic PickFu poll, the PickFu Head-to-Head, is exactly as you remember it: 2 to 8 ideas are presented to respondents in head-to-head matchups, meaning two at a time. For each matchup, respondents vote on their favorite of the two options presented and provide a written comment about why they chose one over the other.

But now, you’ve got two new options for polling: PickFu Solo and PickFu Ranked! … Continue reading

How PickFu Helped Win Battlefield Earth

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A few months ago, Dave Chesson, creator of Kindlepreneur.com, received an email from Galaxy Press. Galaxy Press is the publishing company of famed sci-fi author L. Ron Hubbard, and the email asked for Dave’s help in writing a new book description for one of Hubbard’s most famous books, Battlefield Earth.

A step-by-step approach to writing a strong book description

Feeling honored, Dave approached the task methodically. First, he returned to basics and reviewed some trusted books and articles about what makes a good book description. Next, he scoured the web for book reviews, including professional blogs, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes. “The best strategy for writing a description that makes people buy is not only knowing the book, but also finding out what people say was their favorite part of the book, and expanding on that,” he writes. … Continue reading

From Working Title to Title that Works

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Pamela Wilson and Jeff Goins host the Zero to Book podcast where Jeff, an established author, walks Pamela, a newer author, through the process of launching a book.

In this episode, the hosts discuss the importance of a book’s title. Jeff calls it a book’s most important marketing asset – more important than the content itself, at least in terms of marketing. A book’s title, after all, is the most succinct way to communicate what it’s about.

The title should be judged on its appeal to new readers. Your existing fan base might already be inclined to purchase your book, no matter what it’s called. But the title is the thing that could potentially entice or dissuade new customers to join the fold. … Continue reading

PickFu: A key tool in helping you “Launch Tomorrow”

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Recently, a new customer signed up for PickFu and told us he’d discovered our service in a book. That book was Launch Tomorrow: The Non-Designer’s Guide to Using a Landing Page to Launch a Lean Startup, by Luke Szyrmer.

In it, Szyrmer outlines a method for defining an audience, validating an idea, and quickly taking that idea to market. PickFu is featured as a means of rapid market testing “in order to figure out which concepts grab attention, tickle tastebuds, and leave people wanting more.”

“The implications of PickFu,” he writes, “are enormous… If you can find out how people react to a certain color or shape or logo or byline, you have a much better chance of choosing something attractive.” … Continue reading

When 99designs Is a Few Too Many

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99designs is a great site for startups and small businesses – for just a few hundred dollars, you can launch a design contest for a logo, WordPress template, PowerPoint deck, signage, and more. Graphic designers around the world compete to win, you provide feedback, and after seven days, you pick a winner.

Here at PickFu, we crowdsourced our own logo using 99designs. Once the contest began, however, something became clear: even though receiving over 350 designs was valuable from a cost perspective, choosing a winner among them all was beyond overwhelming.

“We’re programmers, not designers,” said Justin Chen, PickFu co-founder. “Other than my own visceral reaction, it was hard to judge the value of all the colors, typefaces, and icons.” … Continue reading

PickFu vs. Twitter Polls: A Follow-Up

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A short while ago, I wrote about Twitter’s new polling feature. I was excited when the feature was rolled out to me so I could try it myself.

Now, I’m not the world’s biggest Twitter user. I’m certainly no celebrity. But I’ve been active on Twitter for over five years and at the time of this writing, I have 423 followers. (Want to boost my ego and add to the total? Follow me @kimkohatsu!) My 400+ users are comprised of professional contacts, brands I’ve mentioned or contacted via Twitter, and some friends and family. According to a 2012 study (the latest I could find), the average Twitter user has 208 followers. I’ve got over twice as many — not bad, right? … Continue reading

PickFu vs. Twitter Polling

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Last week, Twitter announced it was rolling out a feature that enabled users to create polls. Polling isn’t totally new on Twitter; brands sometimes would tally retweets, favorites, or hashtag instances as informal votes. With this new feature, however, Twitter users can compose a poll, present two options, and get an answer.

It’s a fun idea. Some sample questions Twitter used were, “Did the ref make the right call?” and “What should I name my dog?”

But when it comes to business ideas, there are some very distinct differences between Twitter and PickFu that you should consider.

Privacy

Your idea might be in a competitive market, and you want to hold your cards close to the vest. On PickFu, you can do that. Twitter by its very nature is out there for the world to see.

Guaranteed respondents.

On PickFu, you choose how many answers you need, from 50 to hundreds. But if your Twitter following is small, engagement on your poll may be limited, and you might find biases because your audience knows you personally.

Answers vs. votes

PickFu respondents justify and explain their answers, whereas on Twitter you’ll only get votes. PickFu customers glean valuable insights from reading respondents’ answers and find commonalities and trends through repeated words and phrases.

Who’s responding

On PickFu, all respondents are US-based and have signed a non-disclosure agreement. You can also segment your audience by gender, age, income, ethnicity, education level, political affiliation, home ownership, mobile device, and more. On Twitter, anyone with an account can participate in your poll.

twitter polling vs pickfu

Have you used Twitter polls yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!