My AI-Writing Tool Crossed 12K Users And $4K In MRR
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
My name is Enema Onojah John, I’m a business and digital marketing consultant and the founder of Zeeg AI, an all-in-one AI software solution for businesses and individuals.
Zeeg AI is an artificial intelligence software solution that solves multiple daily problems for businesses and marketers including copywriting, content marketing, SEO keyword research, AI speech-to-text, text-to-speech, image, and more.
My flagship design involves the incorporation of several features that solves the daily needs of business owners and marketers making it the go-to platform for all marketing needs.
With Zeeg AI businesses can easily craft compelling email or ad copies, long-form blog posts, and also complete topic research and more in just a few clicks. My customers are business owners, marketers, marketing agencies, and freelancers who seek to do more and better in less time.
I founded Zeeg AI in March 2023 and in just three months, I have exceeded 12,000 active users generating over $4000 in monthly revenue.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
I used to be a mechanic back in the day when I had just completed high school. I continued to push for growth, completed my university education, and ventured fully into business.
As an entrepreneur, I have run businesses of all sizes but consistently continue to move the ladder. In 2014, I decided to venture into the digital space by taking my businesses online but didn’t stop at it. I found a new life with digital marketing and web development and didn’t waste a minute going all in.
In 2016 I started my journey into web development at now Discount Courses and then Frontend Masters and more. As a self-taught developer, I conquered it all. You’re right to imagine all the challenges that come with learning how to code. I continued this path and became a lover of digital marketing.
Growing my marketing geniuses at two marketing agencies in the United States was a game-changer for me. At these agencies, I helped numerous businesses find their feet in profitability and then said to myself that I can do more, I then started Learn Afrique as a side project in 2020 where I have trained hundreds of people and businesses owners in digital marketing.
I knew that there was still something missing and I needed to find my foot in the new AI technology business so I started Zeeg AI to help businesses of all sizes find easier ways to produce marketing content, do better brand awareness and grow their revenue with ease.
As someone with a background in web development and digital marketing, it was easy, I just made the plan, reached out to colleagues, and hired a few freelancers who helped me bring the idea to reality.
An important skill you must learn is marketing, it will determine whether or not your product will succeed in the market no matter how good it is.
Take us through the process of building the first version of your product.
Building the first version of Zeeg AI was easy, I had planned to create a product that helps businesses write all their ad copies, blog posts, emails, and everything that has a business with writing.
So I reached out to my colleagues at work and a few freelancers I have worked with in my career. I had earlier set out to create an AI powered writing tool with text streaming effects capable of writing SEO optimized long blogposts and with several useful templates in PHP.
I also wanted a solution that handled transcriptions so that podcast owners can easily create long blogposts from their podcasts for content marketing. These were components of my competitive advantage, a single platform for all your content needs. I had several nights of zero sleep because I needed to meet a deadline of two months of development time.
The initial challenge was money. Having enough to pay all team members who were previous colleagues at work and freelancers I had worked with. The only option was to fall back on my savings and that of my wife. We were able to raise funds that handled the initial idea development.
As a software engineer, I didn’t have to pay for every activity as I handled some myself. I raised $16000 from my savings and this was enough to pay the team and handle other marketing campaigns until the second update. I was deeply involved in the entire development to reduce costs.
I hired a designer to create the initial design that we worked on and in less than 60 days, I worked with the team I had assembled to get the first version ready for use after various tests to validate functionality and fix all bugs.
An important lesson I learned was to not get deterred by the lack of financing from starting a worthy project. Once you have the needed skills and relationships you can utilize, money will come as you continue to build.
Describe the process of launching the business.
Launch and customer acquisition were another fun part of the project. As a digital marketing consultant, I created a plan that included three strategies for customer acquisition.
The plan included social media advertising, search engine optimization, and email marketing. These are other areas I major in. A major player in AI technology had just launched and with the trend in AI, it was easy to get our 12,400 users in just two months.
My launch strategy spanned the entire first two months, I had a monthly advertising budget of $2500 for Facebook and Instagram ads and consolidated this with my email list of over 60000 subscribers.
The source of funds was a part of my monthly salary consulting for marketing agencies in the United States. Affordability is also an important factor for me as I made sure it is more affordable but still profitable when compared to my competitors.
It was a thoroughly planned process and involved 2 - 3 emails per week email to my 60000-plus subscribers. The cost of emails was less than $80 per month as I utilized Flying Mails, my AI-powered SaaS email marketing side project for the campaigns.
My team had set acquiring 5000 users as our goal for the first two months but we exceeded our target by more than 100% through determined effort and excellent spirit. The biggest lesson so far is that thoroughness and detailed planning and execution are the first steps toward every successful launch.
We didn’t give up at any time despite having to analyze loads of performance data every day. This of course I didn’t do without good team spirit.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
Apart from Facebook and Instagram ads that my team has utilized effectively to bring customers, engaging with customers through emails has been the game changer. Yes! It has worked for me. With a limited advertising budget, I had to employ strategies that helps to build customer loyalty and trust as a part of my initial strategy.
The initial process was to get customers through paid advertising specifically Facebook ads and engage them with email marketing. I consistently utilized email marketing to spark curiosity and interest in our customers and get them back to using my products daily. An essential part of my email series has been educational content.
If you’re just starting out, my advice is to embark on aggressive Facebook advertising and acquire as many users of your product as possible as these would be your early adopters, then engage them with emails telling them all the huge benefits your product can accord them.
Through this series, I educated my customers about how my product can help 10x their revenue through writing better copies for their emails or ads as well as other marketing efforts like social media and content marketing campaigns.
Another important part of my email campaigns has been identifying unique business needs and teaching my users how Zeeg AI can help them solve that daily need in their businesses with ease including step-by-step approaches and different methods that can be effectively employed. For me, everything is a process and it starts with engaging and letting people know about how your product can help make their life easier and help them make more money.
As a search engine optimization consultant, I have created an effective SEO strategy that is also helping us acquire leads from searches.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
It has been an endless stream of effort and dedication but I understand that this comes with growing something beautiful within a time frame. Our launch strategy spanned two months and so far has been a huge success.
With 12400 active users in just 2 months, It’s been a huge success for me and my team. It’s important to mention that what played a key role was my thoroughly thought-out customer engagement and retention strategy that we have continuously executed.
I’m blessed with a youthful and energetic team and as the leader of such a passionate young group, I help to channel their passion into the right product enhancement and marketing strategies. I operate an easy work environment where every staff has dedicated duties assigned to be completed every day. My team has time for other important areas of their life and this balance is what keeps the energy in the team fresh every day.
In our world, technology will continue to play a major role in how we plan and execute marketing strategies and I believe that artificial intelligence has the leading role in this regard. So the future is bright for Zeeg AI and with some strategic partnerships, we can become the go-to platform for all AI-related products for businesses and marketers.
I plan to integrate other AI functionalities into our software to give our users more reasons to continue to pay to use our product.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
The only mistake I made was not starting as soon as this idea came to me. I started nursing the idea in 2022 but didn’t have enough motivation to put it in motion. Thanks to ChatGPT that spurred the trend in generative AI technology. When a major competitor launched, I knew I had wasted enough time already.
An important lesson I learned was to not get deterred by the lack of financing from starting a worthy project. Once you have the needed skills and relationships you can utilize, money will come as you continue to build.
As someone who works hard, starting and executing this project during the trend in AI technology has benefitted me more than I can imagine and as someone with the right background, taking advantage of the trend in optimizing my marketing strategies has played a great role in my successes so far.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
For training my team, all training videos are hosted on Learn Afrique. A great learning platform I started as a side project. I also use Facebook ads massively to gain new subscriptions and Flying Mails to continue to nurture customers and maximize customer engagement through email marketing.
My favorite platforms have been Facebook ads and Flying Mails due to the great value they bring to my customer acquisition and retention strategies.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
As someone with a great passion for learning, I read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill after leaving high school. It was a major spark in my entrepreneurial spirit. My career growth has been a subject of mentorship in business and digital marketing.
I listen to dedicated podcasts including Neil Patel, and John Obidi, and have dedicated marketing newsletter subscriptions to help me stay updated with the latest trends in the industry.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Starting a business can be a thrilling yet challenging endeavor. To succeed, it's crucial to define clear goals and have a growth mindset that embraces resilience. Building a supportive network and knowing when to utilize them is essential as well as taking consistent action towards your goals.
An important skill you must learn is marketing, it will determine whether or not your product will succeed in the market no matter how good it is.
Avoid common mistakes I made such as fearing failure and not seeking external support. It can become so draining that you pause your pursuits waiting for a perfect time that never comes. Remember that failure is a stepping stone to success and utilize mentors and experts to guide you.
Believe in yourself, stay focused, and never give up. Your determination and passion will inspire others and lead you to achieve your entrepreneurial dreams.
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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