Hello, 2022! Some people have called it “2020 too” but I don’t think that’s fair. Early 2020 brought unprecedented changes to our world and the entire year was dedicated to controlling and navigating a new pandemic reality.
I’m not going to pretend to know what’s in store for us this year - there is still a lot of craziness and unpredictability in the world right now. But I do know which direction Marketpath will be heading.
Our primary goal for 2022 is to clearly demonstrate the value of Marketpath CMS and grow our user community. And we’ll do this through product-led growth.
Marketpath CMS has historically used a sales-led model where we convince organizations and marketing agencies, through hands-on outreach efforts, to use it. With a starting price point of $49 per month, it takes a long time to recoup initial customer acquisition costs. This is where the shift to a product-led model makes sense.
In product-led growth, the product itself communicates value intrinsically through real usage. An interested user registers and then tries out the product - basically, try before you buy.
People naturally want to try out a product before they make a purchase. Providing that opportunity and delivering on their expectations is truly valuable. But, for a content management platform as flexible and powerful as Marketpath CMS, showing value quickly is quite challenging.
So that’s our primary goal for 2022. Continually evaluate and revise new user onboarding so users reach convincing “aha” moments as fast as possible, before they become disinterested.
One way to grow our user base is by changing Marketpath CMS to a freemium model. Free sites will allow up to 20 pages, 500 MB of storage, one custom domain, and 2,000 monthly page views.
Free sites may be set up with or without a payment method. This free plan is perfect for personal portfolio sites, student development sites, demo sites, as well as small businesses and small charitable organizations with extremely limited budgets.
I’m not going to dive into anticipated new project features. Of course, we have a list. But I expect our priorities to shift like a drunken sailor on rough seas.
We will still roll out regular bug fixes as they’re discovered. However, new features will be a game-time decision.
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It’s going to be an interesting year and I hope you stick around for the wild ride.
