# How to use microproducts as your marketing assets

## **Defining a Microproduct**

### **What is a Microproduct**

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Av3J!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5ddbf60c-d200-40b1-a714-dfb9d4cd1a32_960x540.png align="center")

Microproduct is a small solution that solves a tiny pain of your persona. Say a business owner is looking for a marketing agency. In this case, a relevant microproduct would be:

*   a spreadsheet template with marketing budget or activities planning
    
*   audit of current marketing setup
    

Microproducts display attributes like:

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*   Limited by features or usage capacity
    
*   Meant as a product entry for upselling the main solution
    
*   Either free or costs no more than 5% of your main product
    

### **A Test Drive for Purchasing Experience**

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r9lA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf3c3089-70d3-4d9c-bb14-c709500080f4_960x540.png align="center")

Microproducts solve 2 goals:

*   They capture a pool of your potential personas
    
*   They provide a purchasing experience as a benchmark for upselling
    

Let’s focus on the second point. It’s harder to decide on the big purchase because its consequences are too uncertain. What if the product/service sucks? What If I will regret this purchase?

Selling a microproduct builds trust with your brand. You’d basically have your persona experience the consequences of a purchase. This is sort of a safe space for customers as it reinforces feelings of satisfaction rather than regret. This experience assures your persona that buying a more expensive product would produce the same results and feelings if not more.

Product experience is a hallmark of PLG tactics. Instead of promising practical consequences in marketing assets, PLG products offer to experience the value firsthand. The positive experience then leads to a paid plan conversion. In this sense, the trial is a microproduct for SaaS.

### **Should Microproducts be Free?**

Free microproducts typically come in a form of a content upgrade:

*   PDF guide download
    
*   Spreadsheet template
    
*   Checklist
    

This is a common practice for marketing-led products. When you produce free but gated content to convert inbound leads.

Paid microproducts are unbundled features or solutions:

*   A 5-day lecture session for education courses
    
*   Audits for service agencies
    

Note that although SaaS trials are free, they are more of an unbundled feature.

You’d think that microproducts need to be free for a better conversion into users. But free use is not associated with a purchasing experience.

In this case, it makes more sense to keep the free microproducts at the top of your funnel. Once exchanged for an email, you can proceed to sell a paid microproduct or a trial.

## **Microproduct Examples**

### **Website Scanners**

**Semrush** has a free SEO audit for websites.  
The full product provides a toolkit for SEO marketers.

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ewll!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb4f6be96-6e10-48a2-afdd-c8a255801fbb_2866x802.png align="center")

**Ahrefs** offers a suite of free products in exchange for emails:

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_3_y!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcf82d7e7-9690-480f-9d9a-9366be07820c_848x789.png align="center")

**Pentest tools** scans websites for common vulnerabilities:

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NKhw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F538d28db-bb3e-45c0-8dc1-40bef3e89109_2454x1336.png align="center")

### **Content Upgrades**

**HackenProof** offers a full guide on an article that’s part of the guide:

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!K5Hy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F62e19945-22e5-4dae-8f05-2cc5f3b2443f_2870x1588.png align="center")

They also have a PR calculator. It’s a spreadsheet that calculates the budget according to set goals like impressions and publications:

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Ha9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc65be51a-b900-4946-8778-9226b7966881_1746x1582.png align="center")

**Omniscient Digital** hosts webinars almost every week:

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2kob!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f277304-9f64-4d3e-8029-89ccc6d21488_2628x1506.png align="center")

### **Usage-based Trials**

**Mega** (a successor to Megaupload!) has created a free usage ceiling for their cloud storage. If users like the product experience, they’ll likely upgrade to a paid plan once they’ll reach 20GB:

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FE5y!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2a1ae5c4-d7ea-42ce-84a1-4dcc75f9aa34_2878x942.png align="center")

**Notion’s** free plan covers all basic features. The ceiling is set at a number of collaborators. When you use Notion for personal management, something seems off when you don't use it for work:

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2mYi!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F519fe184-b552-4615-bdaa-b5b9be4e5df5_2820x950.png align="center")

**Ahrefs** once had a paid 7-day trial for $7:

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gyxc!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30cffbb9-1314-4556-8de4-82a557dbe26e_1024x328.png align="center")

### **Audits & Consultations**

**Momentum** offers a free marketing audit:

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!x7pI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2f64644-51e0-4f07-bd77-a0241e71b612_2694x832.png align="center")

**Wirtek** consults on developing a software product:

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dmTL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe5d0378c-e7c1-4c6f-bc94-f333d3250e41_2472x1044.png align="center")

## **How to Create a Microproduct for Your Business**

### **How to Create a Microproduct for a Service Company**

Identify the first stage of your main service. For example, most services begin with some sort of preparation step:

*   review
    
*   audit
    
*   planning
    
*   consultation
    

Now position this stage as a standalone microproduct and offer it to your new customers. Try to test free vs paid pricing to see how it impacts your main conversion.

### **How to Create a Microproduct for a Product Company**

1.  Research how much value each feature provides to your user
    
2.  Identify the “cheapest” feature, the one with the low value
    
3.  Make this feature a standalone product
    

Microproducts for SaaS are connected to trials. You can set up your microproduct in a way that would offer high-value features in exchange for a subscription or usage-based plan.

When setting up your trial, it’s also recommended to [follow the practice of reverse trials](https://openviewpartners.com/blog/your-guide-to-reverse-trials/). This is when users start with a time-limited trial and then become freemium users after the trial.