Tweets

@LukeFVL Thanks Luke!

RT @webbie: Our experience limits our imagination. We need to expand our horizons.
- @mijustin on what it takes to become a successful entr…

@mikeherreraTD Squirrels are formidable opponents.

@peldi if @balsamiq *does* decide to start a podcast, you know who to call. 🙋‍♂️😄

https://mailchi.mp/balsamiq/should-balsamiq-have-a-podcast?e=0a71629d7f

@KeliWestgate Yes! 👏

@Lamacorn20 @TransistorFM Yup! https://justinjackson.ca/2020-review

@Lamacorn20 At the beginning of @TransistorFM, we reached out to friends and contacts who already had a podcast and asked if they would switch to us.

@dotNetkow Thx for sharing it! 🙏

@_rchase_ @meepsapp Members can choose to make their profile public, visible only to members, or private.

Email address isn’t on the profile unless they want it to be.

Similar to profiles on Product Hunt, Indie Hackers, but even more secure because most Meeps memberships will be paid.

@rezzz Thanks! 🙌

RT @_rchase_: Good read today from @mijustin “Expanding Horizons” https://justinjackson.ca/explore

Also watched the intro video for @meepsapp, that…

@_rchase_ @meepsapp Thanks for sharing it! 🙏

So freakin' excited about what @joshuaanderton is building over at @meepsapp.

Get on the waiting list and you'll be the first to hear about it next week. 🤞

https://www.producthunt.com/upcoming/meeps

@EspreeDevora @editwithtype @DescriptApp @bounce_cast @AGfilche Agreed!

@petersuhm We have 4 kids.

My parenting advice is: "stop at 2, and get a vasectomy." 🤣

@carson_bassett_ The best iterations happen after many repetitions. 🙏

@m1guelpf thx. hoping for clear skies! 🙏

@ow thx 🙏

@KeliWestgate Yes.

We need more collective action (as opposed to trying to convince each individual to change their behavior).

The only way to make meaningful change is through government policy.

https://www.degreespod.com/episodes/episode-01

@KeliWestgate So much activism is finger wagging at individuals... instead of us as individuals turning around (as a group!) and finger-wagging corporations, business leaders, and government officials.

Collectively, we can (and should) pressure the largest emitters, and govts who set policy.

@KeliWestgate If you look at Project Drawdown's table of solutions, most of these are out of an individual's control.

To get to critical mass, we need leadership and legislation from governments, and cooperation from businesses.

https://drawdown.org/solutions/table-of-solutions

This is what North America looks like with all the fires and smoke.

We can't allow this to continue.

We can't just watch the world burn every summer.

We need climate action now.

https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/

I tweeted this last year.

Today, most of BC, Canada looks like this (including my town, #vernonbc).

We can't go outside, and the air quality is some of the worst in the world (AQI hit 410 yesterday!) https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1212632299705028608

“In the pursuit of having ‘the most interesting life’ for my vlog, I really cannibalized my life.”

So many creators are on a path that isn’t sustainable. (I’ve been there)

There’s so much the audience doesn’t see!

You can listen on @OvercastFM here:

https://overcast.fm/+OuuHPuVGY

If you’re a creator who wants to know what it takes to make stuff at @Casey’s level, you’ve got to hear his interview with @bertkreischer.

https://youtu.be/OgJ0vNRjiM0

@ow Yes, I’ve loved using @BankMercury for my US-based C-Corp.

And @transferwise for my personal transfers.

I too wish we had those features in Canada. 🤞

@ow I feel the same.

What are your biggest complaints?

@KeliWestgate In a smoke crisis, I would just people be.

Lots of folks just trying to cope.

@mjwhansen You’re welcome!

@jamesvandyne @TransistorFM Yesssss! 🙌

@podcastharry 🎯

“Good” is subjective.

I like to think about it in terms of “does it give people what they’re searching for?”

@JoeMinock @nbashaw @Austen @shreyas Thx ☺️

@ivanstegic @TransistorFM Yup! You can change the feed URL 👍

@missbikesalot 😊

"Visitor --> trial" is an important KPI on many marketing teams.

But with so many people blocking tracking scripts, how is that number useful at all?

And even Google Analytics can't keep up with all the spam bots screwing up their data.

https://twitter.com/JackEllis/status/1420074019101966339

In private, most marketing professionals will admit that much of the data we collect is "dirty." (Not accurate)

The repercussions of making decisions based on faulty data are big!

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1195092928638509056

I wouldn't be surprised if *most* company's analytics and funnels are incorrectly configured.

Companies are making big decisions based on faulty data. (It's happened to me multiple times)

Also, many of the metrics we're getting from Google, FB, etc are inflated.

RT @petersuhm: Whoop!! We just launched @heyreform - our new form builder! 🥳

After 3-4 months of building, anyone can now sign up and buil…

@podcastharry Harry. Morton.

@noorg420 Nice!

@jstnchu @jmckinven Thanks for listening. 🙏

🎯 Very true: "Ironically, some of the best marketers can find themselves working on the worst products."

https://twitter.com/thefirejar/status/1419762854631256073

We've seen this happen in multiple categories now.

As @HCWeiss articulated so well back in 2017:

When everyone puts their marketing on steroids, it burns out the customer. 🔥😫

You can't inundate people with funnels (and invade their privacy) forever:

https://startupsventurecapital.com/8-observations-from-a-crumbling-niche-and-how-to-avoid-getting-crushed-6a7e6b2512e5

@lauxmyth @Sawbones Thanks for sharing it!

Complex marketing tools require a ton of investment to get right.

(Most often, they're incorrectly configured)

And, as @LarsLofgren explains, after a certain point, it's diminishing returns. Squeezing juice from a squeezed lemon. 🍋

https://cxl.com/blog/dont-build-growth-teams/

@ramit 🎯 exactly.

What really matters is that there's enough people who are actively seeking what you have to sell.

People searching → leads
Leads → customers

Having a "flat" marketing funnel is generally better.

The worst products require MORE marketing; more convincing, more funnels, more drip campaigns, more manipulation.

For indie entrepreneurs, the best products are the products people already want to buy. It shouldn't take a bunch of effort to convince them. ✌️

The biggest reason you don't need a complex marketing stack?

What drives demand isn't a bunch of funnels or retargeting campaigns...

👉 What drives demand is a bunch of customers who actively want what you're selling.

Good indie marketing connects buyers with your product.

@webby2001 Thanks for the advice you gave her Tom!

She's definitely "learning by doing." 👍

I used to invest heavily in marketing automation, tracking, attribution, configuring funnels, and retargeting.

But after 13 years of doing marketing for SaaS companies... I'm convinced that 90% of it is unnecessary.

@seebiscut Thanks!

@amauro85 @hellonehha It'd be amazing to get her to 500!

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1419716747553230869

Holy crap: nearly 287 survey responses so far.

👏 thanks so much for sharing it in your Discord groups, iMessage groups, etc.

Think we can get it to 500? 😮

@sh I would way rather be there than going camping tomorrow. 😬⛺

@sh WOW! 😍

@alphacolin @spencerfry Agreed. You can’t argue about whether “VCs are good or bad” when you’re ripping down a waterslide together. 🤣

@petersuhm @asmartbear Thanks! Love chatting with Jason.

It turns out: he was right about a lot of things! 😄

Today's calendar. 🌊

@TransistorFM @jclermont We're still chatting about this. There might be a way to make it work.

@ianlandsman @TransistorFM Again, those aren’t enterprise sales demos.

I’ll keep doing demos for customers that are in our target market (mostly for learning).

What I don’t want is to be subjected to the enterprise process, which doesn’t make sense in our category. (The upside and demand isn’t there)

@ianlandsman @TransistorFM I’m pretty sure they’ve been mostly doing group webinars for years.

Very different than what I’m talking about: enterprise sales demos for individual companies, and being a part of an enterprise sales process.

@jenniferbourn @ChrisBadgett Thank you!

@mac_wyls @petecodes Thanks!

@RohitGulam Thanks!

@rasulkireev Yes! The more the better. 👏

She’s excited.

@jmckinven Listening now: this is incredibly well produced and edited. Really impressed. 👍

@helengriffinjr Healthy profits that change your life as the founder. 👍

@ricardgo404 Thanks!

@m1guelpf Definitely share it! 👍 🙏

My daughter is doing a podcast research project.

She is especially interested in knowing if Gen Z listens to podcasts?

Here is her survey: https://forms.reform.app/pF4xrZ/make-us-better/d9906d

(It's quick, only 6 questions)

She's got 2 responses so far; she needs at least 100! 🙏

RT @jmckinven: Indie Bites is back with a bang! @mijustin is one of my bootstrapping heroes, so it was an absolute blast to record an episo…

@therealaseifert @rosstuck Agreed!

If you can, it’s worth simplifying what you offer customers:

- discover what the “main thing” is,
- make the main thing, the main thing

@willdjthrill Always curious. 😄

@Swizec @adamwathan 🎯

@_erod https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1419074691323420674

@einarvollset I’d prefer to leave the violence out of it, but glad we understand each other. 😉

Put another way:

“It can take a decade (and multiple attempts) for an entrepreneur to finally build a successful business, but it shouldn’t take longer than 2-3 years to see if a bootstrapped business is a success.”

Agree or disagree?

@einarvollset I think you’re misunderstanding the spirit of the tweet.

Put another way:

“It can take a decade (and multiple attempts) for an entrepreneur to finally build a successful business, but it shouldn’t take longer than 2-3 years to see if a business is a success.”

Agree or disagree?

“Developing as a successful entrepreneur can take years (and multiple attempts), but bootstrapping a profitable business shouldn’t take longer than 2-3 years.”

@peldi What are the underpinnings of that fun?

Self-awareness?
Money in the bank?
Structure of your company?

Relationships?
Freedom?
Purpose?

Wow, this talk by @rosstuck is excellent.

Highly recommended. https://twitter.com/gbuckingham89/status/1419050199176159235

Put another way: who do you think is having the most fun, day-to-day?

Which founder(s) do you think have the best quality of life?

@bonder @PhilipAnderse @TransistorFM Yup. Lots of potential there!

@coderholic @scottmathson @TransistorFM Again, it all depends on your market.

Enterprise isn’t automatically a “10x opportunity” in every category.

@PhilipAnderse @bonder @TransistorFM Covered this earlier. It won’t work for these types of customers.

(Although webinars for our regular customers could work well!) https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1418664627936710661

@scottmathson @TransistorFM @coderholic Except that’s not what’s happening.

We have tons of folks coming to Transistor from Anchor and lower-priced competitors. There’s no “race to the bottom” for us.

@scottmathson @TransistorFM @coderholic I think you’re downplaying the additional coats (engineers, support, sales, legal)

All that additional weight + cost: is there really enough demand to necessitate all that?

We were top ranked for “private podcasting” for a long time. We saw about as much inbound as you can get.

@PhilipAnderse @bonder @TransistorFM But we’ve already tried that? https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1418660746536263681

@typeoneerror 😭

@scottmathson @TransistorFM @coderholic For us, it’s not worth expanding if it means adding complicated features, additional process, and hiring more people.

(Also debatable whether we’d even make much profit once we’d done all those things. You might get the expansion revenue, but not earn the profit)

@scottmathson @TransistorFM Different markets. Storyboard is enterprise focused and offers additional security (SSO). Supercast offers billing, which we don't do currently.

Look at Castos and Captivate (who launched private podcast features after us). Their pricing is more similar to us.

Lots of folks saying: "Good advice comes from experience."

But, how do you know somebody's past experience will relate to you and your situation?

How repeatable is advice that comes from somebody else's experience?

BTW – sometimes folks think I'm giving everyone prescriptive advice with these threads.

I'm not!

I'm just exploring what's going to work for me, the business I want to run, and the dynamics of the market I'm in.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1416468286636584960

@ianlandsman @patio11 It makes sense in your market.

Less so in podcasting. 😉

I'm not convinced there's enough demand on the enterprise side of podcasting to justify investing in that kind of sales process.

@scottmathson @TransistorFM The problem is these companies absolutely require a call for their process. They won't accept anything else.

https://twitter.com/mjwhansen/status/1418682442400026624?ck_subscriber_id=1098922

Was just reminded of @patio11's "low-touch SaaS vs high-touch SaaS" article.

https://stripe.com/en-ca/atlas/guides/business-of-saas

He talks about the challenge of mixing the two approaches here:

How can you tell that somebody knows what they’re talking about?