Say what you actually want.Then find out if it is an ad.
Four questions, one of four moves: answer, ask, an AMA, or pay for it. The line between them is not tone, it is who set the table — and the most useful thing this episode says to a founder is that what they want is not an organic post.
Three of these are guest moves. The fourth is not a worse one.
Three guest moves and one that is not
The line between the doors is not tone. It is who set the table. Picking the door is never scored.
You want something out of the community, and asking is the move founders skip. It is legitimate, it is the one Jen spends the most words on, and it is the one that gets you an answer.
“I'm building this product. You seem to be experts in it. What are the things that you want to see in it?”Jen Wong, in the episode
- Answer. You do not have the answer. That is the point.
- Do an AMA. An AMA is you talking. You need them talking.
- Pay for it. You are not table-setting. You are learning.
- Answer: shut
- Ask the community: open
- Do an AMA: shut
- Pay for it: shut
One line, plain, no link.
Not “any feedback”. The actual open question — the one you would change the product over.
People answer when the answer goes somewhere. Say where.
- One real unknown: not yetNot “any feedback”
- One question: not yetNot five
- Goes somewhere: not yetWhere the answer goes, no link
The door is decided. Now write the ask the community brief.
- Not yet: Names one specific unknown, not “any feedback”“What are the things that you want to see in it?” is a real question. “Thoughts?” is not.
- Not yet: One question, not fiveMore than one question mark. Pick the one you would actually change the product over.
- Not yet: Says what happens with the answerPeople answer when the answer goes somewhere. Say where.
- Not yet: No linkA link turns asking into promoting. Describe it in words instead.
Fill the brief and it appears here, ready for your drafts file.