Finding Language/Market Fit: Use this four-step process to unlock language/market fit

Your "job". Figure out how your product will fit into people lives.

1. Find somebody who has recently bought your product, or interview someone who purchased a competitor's product or asked for alternatives.
2. Ask them to walk you through the purchase process step-by-step, from when they first realised they were struggling with that goal.
3. Ask questions to understand what they were struggling to do, where they looked for help, which alternatives they tried.
4. When they use vague terms like "better" or "flexible", ask them to unpack it for you.
5. Capture their exact words.

After a few interviews, you should start to see patterns. You should now have a list of people's goals "I want to...", "I wish it were easier to..." and struggles "I hate it when..." "I'm tired of...", "Why can't I just...".

Write the most promising up as headlines that complete the sentence, "Now you can..." For example, "Build a custom ad server in just weeks." or "Create Photobooks in 5 minutes."

Tips to keep in mind:

• Stick to "I", not "you" struggles.
• Avoid vague platitudes, such as "all in one", "faster", "revolutionary", or "convenient", as these lead to cynicism.
• Stay specific.

A/B testing can show which headline gets more clicks but can't tell you why. Therefore, ensure your words mean what your prospects have in mind when they read them.

How to validate comprehension:

• Type out each headline.
• Find someone to test it on. Show it to them for five seconds only, then ask them a few questions: (Remind them that there are no right or wrong answers.)
• "Do you recall what that said?"
• "What do you think that is?" (Check how they interpret the words.)
• Ask them to explain it in their own words.
• Use the feedback, iterate, and test again.

Test your new headline against your current one.

It is quicker to test messages in ad impressions, such as Facebook or Instagram. Make several copies of a simple ad design with different headlines, and test which one performs best with your audience.