ForumsNewsToodledo Update #1


Toodledo Update #1
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boydston01

Posted: Jul 29, 2018
Score: 1 Reference
Posted by Sam:
Pricing and number of users
I said this in the beginning, but we want Toodledo to be the best damn productivity tool out there. To do that, we need to sustainably (aka profitably) hire a talented team and invest into the product and people building it.

Given the current pricing structure, the only way we can afford this is by either adding new paid users or increasing the price of subscription for new users. A combination of both is most likely the answer.

So you’ll notice on the pricing page we will be running some tests. More likely than not, this won’t be so much of a pricing change, but combining the Gold and Platinum package.

Please note that there is no plan to increase the price of current paying users.

A quick note on sustainability:

Replace free service with a VERY long trial account - 1 year.

This is long-term thinking. It gives current free accounts PLENTY of time so as to mitigate backlash. People are generally reasonable so the biggest problem with transitioning free to paid is the typical "immediacy" of it which does not honor the provider's decision to give it away which enables users to rely on a free service. A crazy long trial will give new users tons of time to develop their use of Toodledo. Your rewards are delayed but slow and steady tends to build a stronger, more sustainable foundation.

Additionally, if you must give something for free, the individual apps could be free while the syncing service is paid.
justinhappy

Posted: Jul 29, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by boydston01:
Posted by Sam:
Pricing and number of users
I said this in the beginning, but we want Toodledo to be the best damn productivity tool out there. To do that, we need to sustainably (aka profitably) hire a talented team and invest into the product and people building it.

Given the current pricing structure, the only way we can afford this is by either adding new paid users or increasing the price of subscription for new users. A combination of both is most likely the answer.

So you’ll notice on the pricing page we will be running some tests. More likely than not, this won’t be so much of a pricing change, but combining the Gold and Platinum package.

Please note that there is no plan to increase the price of current paying users.

A quick note on sustainability:

Replace free service with a VERY long trial account - 1 year.

This is long-term thinking. It gives current free accounts PLENTY of time so as to mitigate backlash. People are generally reasonable so the biggest problem with transitioning free to paid is the typical "immediacy" of it which does not honor the provider's decision to give it away which enables users to rely on a free service. A crazy long trial will give new users tons of time to develop their use of Toodledo. Your rewards are delayed but slow and steady tends to build a stronger, more sustainable foundation.

Additionally, if you must give something for free, the individual apps could be free while the syncing service is paid.


Who is going to subsidize all these free loaders for their year at Toodledo? You can find many crappy alternatives and they even offer free for 30 days. .. toodi..., asa..
justinhappy

Posted: Jul 29, 2018
Score: 1 Reference
Posted by Sam:
Hey Toodledo community,

This is Sam from Toodledo.

Last time we spoke I told you that I’d let you all in on our plans so you can follow along and give feedback as we go.

Well, my friend, here’s update #1.

Future plans
The past month my team and I have dug into the backend of the product, marketing, the community, analytics, and more.

We’ve come to the conclusion that people love the product as is and that adding new features should not the #1 priority at the moment.

So, if you only care about how this update will impact you personally, then you can stop reading here as there are no major product updates right now other than updating the iOS app.

But, if you want to know about changes on design, marketing, and the company, then keep on reading.

Survey
How did we come to this conclusion? By speaking with you all! We did multiple surveys, calls, shared emails, and more.

Hre are some results: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uuxJcDRlCIUvRSvl5IVQF2TmAgGhKl2u/view?usp=sharing

We were amazed at a few things:

1. Lots of active users with accounts over a decade. Monthly user churn was far below other products like Toodledo. People love Toodledo.
2. A lot of people want the iPhone app to be updated - this is a priority of our’s. We’re currently hiring an iOS engineer (here’s the job posting!).
3. Most people don’t want major changes. While I believe users of most products say that yet are often pleased with updates that improve user experience, the responses show there’s an overwhelming attitude of “it works...don’t change!” The majority of changes request were minor.
4. Loads of people want a design update. Nothing major, but more updated and modern.

Design and marketing
The first move for us will be to update the design of the landing page. We looked at the conversion rate of new visitors to registered users and it can easily be improved. We feel that we can update the website to effectively explain the benefits of Toodledo and use a more modern design that’ll attract new users.

Here is a mock up of what the page will look like (the copy is just placeholder): https://imgur.com/a/dO5P8mZ

Also, nearly 99% of Toodledo users signed up organically with very little money spent on advertising or on content marketing. We planned on testing some paid marketing and will launch a blog that shows people how to use Toodledo and become more productive.

Pricing and number of users
I said this in the beginning, but we want Toodledo to be the best damn productivity tool out there. To do that, we need to sustainably (aka profitably) hire a talented team and invest into the product and people building it.

Given the current pricing structure, the only way we can afford this is by either adding new paid users or increasing the price of subscription for new users. A combination of both is most likely the answer.

So you’ll notice on the pricing page we will be running some tests. More likely than not, this won’t be so much of a pricing change, but combining the Gold and Platinum package.

Please note that there is no plan to increase the price of current paying users.

Conclusion

Ok folks, I think that’s everything. We’d love your feedback on the design and anything else. The last thread had ~10 pages of responses, so I wasn’t able to respond to all of them but read every word. So make sure to let us know your opinions in the forum as I read them all.

Talk soon,

Sam


Hi Sam,
#1- I would say stick with the basics, and make sure the web tool is never hackable or compromised and customer data leakable first. Jack,by himself or with his developers has done tremendous amount of development work. I am not too sure if you can find similar calibre looking at the very little progress so many other competitors has achieved in the same timespan.
#2- Keep your pricing competitive.. i will look for alternatives if its priced out of similar competitor's pricing.
#3- protect and disaster proof customers data- encryption at rest and in transit, data duplication at least across 2 data server region. I wouldnt mind paying extra optional for this peace of mind.
Thanks.
brad.riverbend

Posted: Jul 29, 2018
Score: 1 Reference
I've turned on a quite a few people to Toodledo, and many of them use the free version. I sure hope that doesn't go away.

Also, I use the Ultimate ToDo List as my intereface on Android. I sure hope you are working with 3rd party developers to keep those interfaces working.

Brad
justinhappy

Posted: Jul 30, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by bradmorrisonusa:
I've turned on a quite a few people to Toodledo, and many of them use the free version. I sure hope that doesn't go away.

Also, I use the Ultimate ToDo List as my intereface on Android. I sure hope you are working with 3rd party developers to keep those interfaces working.

Brad

I dont think it's a good idea to use a 3rd party tool where you have no idea how your id and password may be duplicated or used with an application created by a non-reputable organization.
https://blog.serverdensity.com/5-api-security-risks-and-how-to-mitigate-them/
...
DannyWissen

Posted: Jul 30, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
Hi there,
I appreciate the information and I love it, that you are more in Design Issue then in functionality.
For my part Toodledo is very much perfect, I use it mostly for my ToDos.

The biggest thing for me is reliability and secure syncing methods, next to the many features and possibilities.

So keep up the good work and I am very curious seeing the new app design.

Thanks
Daniela
ishayahu

Posted: Jul 30, 2018
Score: 1 Reference
Add formatting for notes, at least <pre> tag. It is a small work but a big improvement!
zlatzlat

Posted: Jul 30, 2018
Score: 1 Reference
Hi Sam,

Thanks for being concrete and honest.

I do not remember for how many years I use the toodledo, but for many :) I started to use it for a couple of purposes:
- quite a useful implementation of the GTD but easy-to-use, without many non-required "features";
- truly portable solution which allows me to use my tasks from web, from Android application and keep them in a cloud;
- simple and user-friendly tool.


Well, there are two major updates I hope finally be introduced:

1. A functionality of the "Next". Now it is being implemented through a special status of a task, which is not very useful and not well-connected with the GTD. Better to have the "Next" full of tasks without a due date but not with a "someday" status. Just what should be done next without a limitation by a concrete date. Those tasks with a due date should in any way be done at that date, no need to assign them a status "next".

2. A functionality of the Android app should be improved dramatically. Now I use the Due Today to be synchronized with the Toodledo. That app is just perfect but the "Next" is again made there not as the GTD stands for.


Hope to see those in next releases.
Ummagumma

Posted: Jul 30, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
>Who is going to subsidize all these free loaders for their year at Toodledo?

How else are you going to get new members to sign up ?

>Toodledo? You can find many crappy alternatives and they even offer free for 30 days. .. toodi..., asa..

Most alternatives offer a limited feature, unlimited time free plan. Many, if not most, potential users would not even consider using a service that forces them to upgrade to a paid plan in a month. It takes people who have a need for a sophisticated task manager far longer than that to figure out all ins and outs of the system and adapt it to their needs, most of them had already gone through a few alternatives that didn't work out for them in the end.

Now if Toodledo had the same name recognition as Todoist... but it doesn't. Let's face it, the service is great but it's very niche, with a goofy interface, and very confusing for a new user unless they are already at the point where they can appreciate it's complexity.
MORIDE.M

Posted: Jul 30, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
Toodledo ignored the Chinese market. Obviously Toodledo is perfect enough, but lacks promotion.


There are a lot of GTDers in China, they use Omnifocus or MLO, or Wunderlist, Todoist, TickTick, doit.im, and even some ordinary to-do list software. They don't choose Toodledo because they don't know that there is such a powerful platform. Some people know that the platform of Toodledo has given up because of its outdated interface.


Toodledo needs to strengthen its promotion, and please take into account the big market in China and provide convenient and convenient purchasing channels. I personally think that Toodledo is as powerful as Omnifocus and MLO. Toodledo is flexible enough to be customized and powerful, but the interface is outdated,so many people do not choose TD


i like the Toodledo, and expect a more dynamic Toodledo

https://www.toodledo.com/forums/2/25987/-115931/read.html#jump


This message was edited Jul 30, 2018.
ntte

Posted: Jul 30, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
Thanks for the update. I did not respond to the original survey but find that it seems my hopes for Toodledo are echoed by other's comments. I appreciate the update.
allen.sproul

Posted: Jul 30, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
Another add to the marketing - Toodledo is customizable to your specific organization philosophy, 7 Habits, Getting Things Done (GTD), etc. This was huge for me in my search for a tool, and Toodledo has allowed me to evolve through my search without changing platforms.
ancich

Posted: Jul 30, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
I hope the current free model remains free.
fireworks

Posted: Jul 31, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
I was not able to spare the time to respond to the survey (but would have liked to) . I am another "dyed in the wool" Toodledo power user that wants to see it continue on and prosper. A price increase does not scare me, the possibility of Toodledo becoming unattainable does!
Just a tip, why not think about harnessing the referral power of satisfied users like myself that would be prepared to take the time to rate the app, leave a positive review and even actively refer it to friends, family and colleagues? A small incentive for successful referrals would not be turned down I am sure. For example Dropbox has had a referral program for a long time, you send to Dropbox the email addresses of people you would like to refer to Dropbox and they send an email to them about it. If any of them sign up at any time in the future Dropbox adds 5Gb of addition storage to your account at no charge. It was kind of fun seeing how large I could grow my Dropbox just by sending in emails of people I thought could benefit by using Dropbox.
In any case I for one would write a good review and rate the app at any time :)

Fred
nobrandheroes

Posted: Jul 31, 2018
Score: 1 Reference
Posted by matanln:
Small comment about the design mock up - I think the colors (blue and white) are a bit too similar to Remember The Milk.


I kind of agree.

Also, I don't think the blue and white is attractive, maybe it is the saturation levels?

I also question the design of the man. I would think a more neutral design would be more appealing. Honestly, I would just have some sort animal character be on the designs. Choosing people always sends message, even if accidentally.


This message was edited Jul 31, 2018.
boydston01

Posted: Jul 31, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by justinhappy:
Who is going to subsidize all these free loaders for their year at Toodledo? You can find many crappy alternatives and they even offer free for 30 days. .. toodi..., asa..

What I am suggesting is to move "free loaders" to paying customers. Right now, people can "free load" forever. I am saying let them free load for only one year which is much, much shorter than forever.
boydston01

Posted: Jul 31, 2018
Score: 1 Reference
Posted by Sam:
Posted by GSP1963:

Oh, and if I would make a suggestion in terms of the landing page, it would be this: Be sure to mention that Toodledo is designed to allow the user to customize the tool to his needs. Something like: "Add fields, delete fields, rearrange their display, use tags or don't, build custom searches--all this, and more, is possible. The product can be as simple or complicated as you want. Chances are, the way you managed your todo lists a year ago was different than today, and will be different a year from now. Toodledo is the one todo manager that can be reconfigured to meet your needs."


This is helpful thanks. I've been using Toodledo for a while now and have used many other apps in the past. However, I rarely customize things. I just use the basic features. The customization piece wasn't a huge surprise to me when I saw people saying they love it as I know the community, but I was surprised at how many people actually love that.

Can you tell me a little about your set up and how it compares to the other apps you've used?

I definitely agree that y'all should capitalize on Toodledo's customization because it differentiates the product from almost all other todo apps out there. In fact, positioning Toodledo as just another todo app that promises to "organize your life" may hurt you in the long run. You will get users that will try Toodledo only to discover that it is not nearly as nice for simple task management needs. They will move elsewhere remembering that Toodledo is not for them. You'll get some short-term success but to get more 5+ year users, you got to market Toodledo's strengths.

Personally, I touch the built-in views less than once a week. My primary setup (saved search) shows me all work tasks with a start date of today and earlier, sorted with today tasks at top, and grouped by priority. This way future tasks "show up" on my list on their start date at the top of their priority level. It also creates an organic change of priority. As tasks get lower on the list it usually means they really do not need to be done right now and I can re-organize them. Then I have other custom lists for reviewing next weeks tasks, undated "backburner" tasks, etc.

How does this compare to other apps I have used? There are very few other apps that this is even possible with! Just start date alone is hard to find...
Ummagumma

Posted: Aug 01, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by boydston01:
Posted by justinhappy:
Who is going to subsidize all these free loaders for their year at Toodledo? You can find many crappy alternatives and they even offer free for 30 days. .. toodi..., asa..

What I am suggesting is to move "free loaders" to paying customers. Right now, people can "free load" forever. I am saying let them free load for only one year which is much, much shorter than forever.


There's got to be a selling point, though. Have you seen some of the slick new competition like TickTick ? And Microsoft ToDo is slowly but surely maturing into a pretty powerful system, once they get a Master list functionality they would have to be taken seriously.

If you want to force people to sign up, you need to offer value. I have a sneaky suspicion that the majority of Toodledo customers are long term seasoned users, with relatively little fresh blood. I may be wrong.

The service with all it's powerful functionality is somewhat clunky, with an outdated web interface, requires much effort to set up for efficient use, has barely adequate mobile clients, and no native way to sync with desktop. It does offer a somewhat too generous free plan, but there's a lot of competition out there for subscriptions. If I was a new potential user, how would you persuade me to chose Toodledo over it's competition ?
boydston01

Posted: Aug 01, 2018
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by Ummagumma:
Let's face it, the service is great but it's very niche, with a goofy interface, and very confusing for a new user unless they are already at the point where they can appreciate it's complexity.

I wonder if they could greatly benefit by greatly developing the customization of the UI itself—in such a way that a simple, easy to use "app" could be presented for new users. A front end with nothing confusing... until they start adding to the UI those components.
Ummagumma

Posted: Aug 01, 2018
Score: 1 Reference
Having used 2Do as my main go-to task manager for the past year or so, I really think they should ... erghm... "emulate" it the best they can.

It has the best way to focus on the work at hand without losing track of future tasks, and by this I mean very intuitive, customizable, and easy to use.

Toodledo accomplishes much of the same (not all, alas) by being somewhat customizable, not too intuitive, and not too easy to use.

Unfortunately there's enough syncing idiosyncrasies between the two, that I have to sync 2Do with Reminders instead of Toodledo.

I do hope that the new owners take time to look at 2Do and appreciate just how close it is to the Toodledo yet so much easier to use for advance task scheduling... with 2Do being a mobile / Mac OS app and Toodledo being primarily a web based service, they are pretty much made for each other.


This message was edited Aug 01, 2018.
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