Build integrations

Why Building Integrations Works

Partner marketplaces give you distribution and trust. When a user sees your app listed in a platform they already use and pay for, like Slack or HubSpot, you instantly borrow that platform's credibility. They trust you're legitimate, and they discover you in a moment of need--while they are looking for a way to extend the functionality of their existing tools. This is much warmer than a cold ad.

Integrations create a stickier, more valuable product. When your product is connected to a customer's other critical tools, it becomes part of their core workflow. This increases the value they get from your product and makes it harder for them to churn. A product that smoothly imports data from Google Sheets and sends notifications to Slack is more deeply embedded in a business than a standalone tool.

Three real examples

Your own public API is a 'second-order' integration play. Once you have it, other companies can build integrations to you, and you can even build a Zapier integration that lets anyone connect to your product.

The step-by-step playbook

1. 1

   Step 1: Find where your customers' data is 'trapped'

   Listen to your users. Where are they manually exporting data from your tool? Where are they copy-pasting information from? Use a tool like Tally.so to run a simple one-question survey: 'What other tools do you wish {My Product} connected with?'

2. 2

   Step 2: Prioritize based on opportunity

   For your top 3-5 most-requested integrations, research their platforms. Do they have a public API? An app marketplace? How many users do they have? A good partner has a clear audience overlap with you and an established way for you to get in front of them.

3. 3

   Step 3: Start with a 'shallow' integration

   Don't try to build a deep, complex integration first. Start with a simple one-way data sync or a notification system. Building on a platform like Zapier is the fastest way to validate an idea. If your 'Zap' gets hundreds of users, you know there's demand for a native integration.

4. 4

   Step 4: Reach out to the partner

   Find a contact at the partner company--ideally a partnerships manager or product manager. Use the script below to propose the integration. Frame it as a win-win: you're building something that makes their platform more valuable to a shared customer segment.

5. 5

   Step 5: Build and document the integration

   Build the minimum viable version of the integration. Just as important, write clear, step-by-step documentation with screenshots showing users exactly how to set it up. A confusing setup process will kill your adoption.

6. 6

   Step 6: Get listed in their marketplace

   Work with your partner contact to get your integration approved and listed in their app marketplace. Optimize your listing with a clear value proposition, good visuals, and a link to your documentation. This listing is your primary acquisition channel.

7. 7

   Step 7: Co-market the launch

   Don't just build it and hope they come. Coordinate a launch with your partner. This could include a joint blog post, a mention in their newsletter, social media posts, or a webinar. The goal is to make their audience aware that your solution now exists.

8. 8

   Step 8: Measure and support

   Track how many users install the integration, how many of those convert to paid customers, and what the churn rate of those users is. Use a tool like June.so to monitor this. Also, be prepared to support the integration--it's now part of your product.

The Partner Outreach Template

Use this email to connect with a potential integration partner. Find the right person (Partnerships, Product, or even a founder) using Apollo.io.

Subject: Integration between {My Product} and {Their Product}?

Hi {FirstName},

My name is {My Name}, and I'm the founder of {My Product}, a tool that helps {Your Target Audience} with {Your Value Prop}.

I'm reaching out because many of our customers, like {Shared Customer Type}, also use {Their Product}. We're constantly getting requests to build an integration to connect our platforms and streamline their workflow.

We were planning to build an integration that would let users {Integration Use Case}, making both our products more useful for them.

Are you the right person to chat with about this? If not, could you point me in the right direction?

Thanks,
{My Name}

Questions to Ask Before You Start

• Which platforms do our ideal customers use every single day?
• Where are our users manually exporting/importing data right now?
• Have customers explicitly asked for specific integrations?
• Which potential partner has the most accessible API and marketplace?
• Which partner has the biggest and most engaged user base that overlaps with ours?

The most important questions are about customer workflow. An integration that doesn't solve a real, existing pain of manually moving data is a solution in search of a problem.

Recommended tools

Prices are indicative and change - check the vendor before buying.

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Mistakes that kill this play

• ×Building without demand: Never build an integration just because it seems cool. Build it because multiple customers have asked for it.
• ×No marketing plan: Simply listing your app in a marketplace is not enough. You need a plan to announce and promote the integration with your partner.
• ×Underestimating support costs: Integrations break. APIs change. This is not a 'set it and forget it' project. You must allocate engineering time for maintenance.
• ×Choosing the wrong partner: A partner with a tiny audience, poor documentation, or a bad reputation won't deliver results.
• ×No clear ownership: Assign a single person to be the point of contact for the partnership and the success of the integration.
• ×Ignoring documentation: If users can't figure out how to set up the integration in 5 minutes, they will abandon it.

Your First 7 Days

• Day 1: Create and send a one-question survey to your users asking what integrations they want most. Use Tally.so for this.
• Day 2: Analyze survey results. Research the top 3 requested platforms. Check their API documentation and marketplace guidelines.
• Day 3: Create a simple spec document. What will the V1 of the integration do? What's the core user story? E.g., 'When I do X in Product A, Y happens in Product B'.
• Day 4: Use Apollo.io to find the names and emails of 2-3 contacts at your #1 target partner company. Look for 'Partnerships Manager', 'Platform Manager', or 'Product Manager'.
• Day 5: Customize the outreach email template from this playbook. Make it specific to them, showing you understand their product and customers.
• Day 6: Send the outreach email. Set a reminder to follow up in one week if you don't get a reply.
• Day 7: While you wait, scope out the engineering effort required to build the V1 integration. Get a rough estimate of the time and cost.

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