{"id":1991,"date":"2020-06-10T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T12:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog3.canny.io\/wordpress\/?p=1991"},"modified":"2024-04-24T12:09:38","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T16:09:38","slug":"announce-product-updates-features","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/announce-product-updates-features\/","title":{"rendered":"How to announce product updates and features"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Making product updates and adding new features<\/a> is exciting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve worked hard, and you\u2019re finally ready to put it all out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now comes the hard part. We tend to assume that everything new will take off with a big bang because, well, it\u2019s new. And exciting? Right?<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"You're<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The truth is that even though you\u2019re<\/em> excited about something, it doesn\u2019t mean anyone else is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a small set of customers who have been praying for specific features or product updates for a while, it is indeed great news. Others\u2026well, others aren\u2019t going to know about it until you tell them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And even then, they might not necessarily care<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Why should your customers care about product updates?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Announcing new things is something of an art. It’s one you should take some time to plan for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well-thought-through product announcements will help increase feature awareness and engage existing users with new functionality. Just like sharing your public roadmap<\/a>, it\u2019s also a great way to let potential customers see that you\u2019re constantly improving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few things to keep in mind when announcing new features or updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plan ahead and set goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWinging it\u201d is the worst thing you can do when it comes to announcing product updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not having clear goals for your announcement and just \u201cthrowing it out there\u201d is not going to get you anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are four things you need to think about long before you announce anything new:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Who\u2019s your target audience?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. What are you announcing?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. What are your goals with the announcement?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Which channels should you use?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s go through these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Who\u2019s your target audience?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    As always, your target audience is never \u201ceveryone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Yes, in an ideal world, everyone would instantly jump on board with your new functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The reality is that there are definitely groups of users you need to talk to first, like: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. People who have asked for this new thing you have specifically
    2. People who are actively using something that has been changed, and will be affected<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Start with them, and then you can focus on everyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Grouping your target audience into segments is important for building the correct messaging:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n