The Zapply Experiment

Gauging Initial Interest for a Remote Job Automation Tool

🧠 Why This Experiment?

As I develop the Zapply MVP, I want to test initial interest efficiently before investing too much time and effort. This experiment will help answer:

  • Do remote software engineers actually want this?
  • How much does it cost to acquire a potential user?
  • Which marketing channels work best?

Instead of relying on assumptions, I’ll use Google Analytics, Mailchimp, and UTM tracking to run a short, high-intensity marketing experiment across multiple platforms using Zapply Landing Page.

This article serves as a blueprint to set up, execute, and analyze the experiment step by step. 🚀

📊 Key Metrics to Measure

To ensure I can make data-driven decisions, I need to measure the following metrics:

Metric Definition Where We Get It
Budget Spent Total money spent on ads Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Twitter Ads dashboards
Clicks (Visitors) How many people visited Zapply.dev Google Analytics (by UTM source)
Signups (Conversions) Emails collected through the landing page Mailchimp
Conversion Rate (%) (Signups / Clicks) × 100 → How many visitors sign up? Calculated manually
Cost Per Lead (CPL) (Budget Spent / Signups) → How expensive is acquiring a lead? Calculated manually

📌 Target Benchmarks

  • Signup Rate (Conversion %)
    • 🚀 5-10%+ is excellent
    • ⚠️ 2-5% is okay
    • <2% is bad
  • Cost Per Lead (CPL)
    • 🚀 <$10 is great
    • ⚠️ $10-$20 is manageable
    • >$20 is too expensive

💡 These numbers will help me decide whether Zapply is worth pursuing.

🎯 The Experiment: Channel Selection & Setup

I’ll run a 2-3 week experiment using a mix of paid and organic traffic sources to see which channel brings the most engaged users at the lowest cost.

Channel Traffic Type Targeting Budget Why This?
Google Ads (Search) Paid High-intent job seekers $300 People actively searching for remote jobs
LinkedIn Ads Paid Developers & overemployed engineers $300 High-quality B2B audience
Twitter (X) Organic & Ads Mixed Developers in tech/startup space $150 High engagement with job-seeking devs

1️⃣ Google Ads: Capture High-Intent Searchers

  • 📍 Target: Worldwide (English-speaking preferred)
  • 💰 Budget: $200 - $400 for 2–3 weeks
  • 📊 Goal: Find developers actively searching for remote job automation.

✅ Campaign Setup

  1. Create a Google Ads account → Set up a Search Campaign.
  2. Target Keywords (Phrase & Exact Match)
    1. "remote software engineering jobs"
    2. "automate job applications"
    3. "overemployed apply for jobs"
    4. "how to apply to multiple jobs fast"
  3. Ad Copy Example (Focus on pain point & automation magic!):
🚀 Hate Applying for Jobs? Automate It!  
✅ Upload CV → We Apply for You → Get Interviews!  
🔥 First 100 Signups Get Lifetime Premium!  
zapply.dev  
  1. Set Budget: Start with $20/day, adjust after 3 days.
  2. Landing Page URL with UTM Tracking:
https://zapply.dev/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=launch

2️⃣ LinkedIn Ads: Target Remote Developers & Overemployed

  • 📍 Target: Developers, engineers, overemployed devs
  • 💰 Budget: $200 - $400 for 2–3 weeks
  • 📊 Goal: Reach professionals who apply for jobs frequently.

✅ Campaign Setup

  1. Create a LinkedIn Ads Account.
  2. Campaign Objective: Website Conversions.
  3. Target Audience
    1. Job Titles: “Software Engineer,” “Full Stack Developer,” “Remote Engineer”
    2. Company Type: Startups, Tech Companies
    3. Seniority: Mid-Senior (Overemployed engineers)
  4. Ad Copy Example:
✅ Hate Applying for Jobs? Let AI Do It.  
⚡ Upload CV → Auto-Apply to Remote Jobs  
🔥 First 100 Signups Get Lifetime Premium!  
zapply.dev  
  1. Budget: Start with $25/day, adjust based on performance.
  2. Landing Page URL with UTM Tracking:
https://zapply.dev/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=launch

3️⃣ Twitter (X) Organic & Ads

  • 📍 Target: Developers discussing remote work & job hunting
  • 💰 Budget: $100 - $200 (ads optional)
  • 📊 Goal: Engage developers & drive traffic to Zapply.

✅ Twitter Ad Setup (Optional)

  1. Create a Twitter Ads account → Set up a Website Clicks campaign.
  2. Targeting
    1. Keywords: “remote jobs,” “hiring devs,” “overemployed,” “AI job applications”
    2. Interests: “Software Development”
    3. Follower Lookalikes: Pieter Levels, Hacker News, Indie Hackers
  3. Ad Copy Example:
Devs, automate your job search.  
Upload CV → Auto-apply to remote jobs.  
No more manual applications.  
🔥 First 100 Signups = Lifetime Premium  
zapply.dev  
  1. Budget: $10/day for 10 days.
  2. Landing Page URL with UTM Tracking:
https://zapply.dev/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=launch

📊 Step 4: Analyzing the Results & Making Data-Driven Decisions

📅 After 3 weeks, I will collect and analyze data.

Channel Budget Clicks Signups Conversion % Cost Per Lead (CPL)
Google Ads $300 ??? ??? ???% ???
LinkedIn Ads $300 ??? ??? ???% ???
Twitter Ads $150 ??? ??? ???% ???

🔥 Final Thoughts

This experiment will validate demand before launching the full product. 🚀

💡 Now, let’s launch, test, and analyze! 🔥