Tweets

@bonder @PhilipAnderse @TransistorFM Also: I don’t believe there’s enough enterprise-level demand.

@RDinh_ @TransistorFM Yes, we have other pricing plans not listed.

@greglow @zerohash @TransistorFM Yes! Exactly this.

Small, profitable, happy, and low hassle is the sweet spot!

@mynameis_davis 💯

@venikunche HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🎉

@_rchase_ In my case, I generally only took demo calls if it seemed like the company was bigger. So most of these are enterprise companies (big brands you would recognize).

@AlbanBrooke @Atlassian Ooh. 👀

These comments from Alban (who works at a much larger competitor) confirms my intuition:

"These types of customers need a lot more support than a 3, or even a 15, person company can provide."

https://twitter.com/AlbanBrooke/status/1418675482757828614

🎯 This is just it.

We want to stay:

👩‍💻 Small: less than 5 people.
😇 Calm: low stress, minimize complexity
📈 Profitable: maintain our current margins, without having to commit to more stress.

https://twitter.com/mjwhansen/status/1418682784688771072

@_RyanBorn 💯

I'm confirming my own biases here, but I think I'm going to stop doing demos.

Why?

Supporting enterprise customers would require us to massively change our company (hire more folks) and our product (build iOS / Android apps, add SSO).

Plus: I don't think the upside is there.

@TylerMKing @mattwensing Yup. We have a FT success person in the UK.

She is doing these calls for her timezone. 👍

We could hire another FT person for this in North America, but not sure if it’s worth it for 60 calls a year?

That might net out to $20k/year in additional revenue.

@_RyanBorn For these enterprise-type customers, group calls won't work though.

https://twitter.com/mjwhansen/status/1418682442400026624

My sense is that there isn't enough demand in the $10k/year range for our service level.

There are enterprise-level private podcast companies (uStudio, Storyboard).

They charge $250k+/year, but that requires a TON of extra weight in the company (dedicated sales, IT, legal).

@dohertyjf The biggest problem is lack of *demand* in that price range.

Very few leads.

There are enterprise-level private podcast hosting companies (uStudio and Storyboard).

They charge $250k+/year, but that requires a TON of extra weight in the company (dedicated sales, IT, legal).

@DanDotLewis We've tried it.

Very little interest/conversion.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1418660746536263681

@HighFiveRPG @TransistorFM Nope, not really.

Partly because what these bigger enterprise companies want (SSO, certifications, legal opt-in forms) isn't what 95% of our customers want/need.

Also this:
https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1418665685123682304

Lots of folks asking about this.

We already have this as a part of our process. (And we offer it every time).

Doesn't matter: these bigger companies want to get on a call or they won't budge.

https://twitter.com/Clogish/status/1418661464404107266

@JoeMinock @Clogish We don't even have a conversion at $10k!😉

I don't think the *demand* is there.

There are enterprise-level private podcast hosting companies (uStudio and Storyboard).

They charge $250k+/year, but that requires a TON of extra weight in the company (dedicated sales, IT, legal).

@falicon In our category, I don't think the economics are there.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1418659273630834690

@tylertringas @TransistorFM Won't work for these customers because of the privacy component of "private podcasts."

They need me on a call with their security folks, legal folks, market dept, procurement, et.

They don't want other companies on the call. Very privacy focused.

@mattwensing 95% of demo calls have no idea who I am.

These are folks in procurement, or in the marketing dept, that just need to go through their rusty enterprise process to get anything purchased.

This isn't a bad idea; we could hire a success person to do this? (Like @r00k is doing)

But, I'm still not convinced there's enough contract volume in the $5k/year+ range in podcast hosting to necessitate it.

(And: do we want to be in that business?)

https://twitter.com/sfioritto/status/1418653769521405957

@casey_helmick @TransistorFM Thanks. 🥰

@caseyfulgenzi What product was that for?

@mattwensing Yup. Already doing that. 😉

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY-RAM94RTpFuXvcYnRDqCA

@_rchase_ @JackEllis @agazdecki Yup! I'm keen on all that (and have done that since we started @TransistorFM in Feb 2018).

But I'd almost prefer doing it with our "bread & butter" customers (prosumers and SMBs) than these enterprise leads.

@Clogish Yup. Already have that. (And we offer it every time).

Doesn't matter: these bigger companies want to get on a call or they won't budge.

@mattwensing For me personally, I think focusing on marketing and increasing the number of prosumer + SMB customers would give us much larger gains. 👍

We've tried this pricing experiment:

A contract has to be $10k/year for us to go through an actual enterprise sales process (answering security questionnaires, etc).

In the last 24 months we've offered it to dozens of leads. Only 1 wanted to move forward. Still no contract.

@mattwensing I don't think there's enough lead volume for this.

Keep in mind: since January, we've only had ~30 requests for demos.

I'm not convinced there's enough overall demand for "enterprise podcast hosting."

(Also, not sure if we want to be in that business?)

@casey_helmick @TransistorFM Thanks. That's a good insight!

However, it feels like we'd have to be getting in the $5k/year-per-deal range to make a salesperson worthwhile?

@caseyfulgenzi https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1418656725071110144

@sfioritto I don't think the lead volume is there.

My feeling is there isn't as much demand for "enterprise podcast hosting" as people might think. 😉

Lots of people asking this question.

The answer: 0% would have converted without the demo call, because these companies won't even consider paying unless you do a call with them.

https://twitter.com/DustinLeblanc/status/1418641522015211527

So, are these calls worth it?

For most B2B SaaS, these numbers aren't big enough.

Those 26 sales calls took me 26 hours, and increased ARR by ~$10,000.

We're doing well over $1 million in ARR, so it's not moving the needle for us a ton.

What would you do?

☎️ Since Jan 1st, I've done sales demos for 26 companies.

😮 Surprisingly, 50% of those became customers.

📈 These deals are definitely bigger than our average ($190 / year).

💰 The biggest account was $1,990 / year. On average, sale demo customers pay $730 / year

Before looking at my numbers, my thought was:

"These sales demos are a waste of my time. Most of them probably don't convert. Plus: I like having an open schedule, so they reduce my enjoyment in running Transistor."

But now that I've looked at the numbers, I'm not so sure...
👉

Background: @TransistorFM is podcast hosting and analytics.

We mostly serve prosumers (most of our customers are on our $19/month plan).

However, our private podcasting feature gets a lot of attention from larger enterprises (and also costs more).

https://transistor.fm/private-podcast/

Is it worth doing sales demos for a self-serve SaaS?

📆 I just went through my calendar and counted every demo call I did.

Then I went into Stripe and calculated how many of those calls turned into $$ for @TransistorFM.

Here's what I learned 👉

@AmanVirk1 Thanks for sharing it!

@KalieWolfe You killed it! 🙌

@mikeherreraTD @mxpx Listening right now! So good!

Was surprised to hear that second voice come in. 😮

@tillkruss Damn!

Forgot I had volleyball tonight! 😅

Not great air quality, but not the worse either.

@thejonotron Lol. Yup. Money is one of the outcomes from doing those things. 👍

Your goal in life should be to accumulate meaningful experiences, skills, and connections.

RT @heyyfernanda: @mijustin I just wrote about this: the aggregation of marginal gains. Where purposeful, gradual, day to day improvement l…

Who we are today is an accumulation of what we’ve done in the past.

Most successful entrepreneurs, athletes, etc didn’t just magically become those things one day

Years ago, they pointed themselves in a direction, and accumulated experiences that lead them to where they are now

We're getting really close to our goal of 500 subscribers for the @meepsapp waiting list:

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ 85%

If you're building a membership site, online directory, or paid newsletter, you should sign up:

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

@andymci THANK YOU! 🙌

cc @joshuaanderton @meepsapp

@typeoneerror yeah, I love stacking words like this. 😅

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1037611977877516288

@TonsOfLaziness @levelsio And also here:
https://justinjackson.ca/build

@TonsOfLaziness @levelsio A few ideas here to get you started:
https://justinjackson.ca/hard-valuable

@nandoodles 🙄 if FB is a sponsor how can this event have any legitimacy?

If the pressure of "finding a good market" feels overwhelming, focus on what you can control:

- learn to recognize the size & shape of good business opportunities
- get out of your bubble and explore different industries (contractor or employee)
- make connections
- build skills

@TonsOfLaziness @levelsio Yes, you'll need overlap between your experience + a good market.

But here's what's in your control:

- learn to recognize the shape of good market opportunities
- get out of your bubble and explore different industries (contractor or employee)
- build skills
- make connections

Nobody is going to be able to give you an answer to "what idea should I pursue?"

Good opportunities emerge from your personal experience.

The only way to find a good market, that's a good fit for you, is to explore.

@TonsOfLaziness @levelsio I think you're missing my point.

Nobody can really give you that list.

It has to come from your experience, your insights, your understanding of that market.

The only way to find a good market, that's a good fit for you personally, is to explore.

@ReginaWalton Thank you! ❤️

Working in an industry that doesn't seem to be going anywhere? Move on as quickly as you can.

I worked in the non-profit sector for years. I was unhappy, but was scared to make a move!

When I finally made the jump to tech, tons of opportunities opened up.

Fight that inertia 💪

Opportunities come to those in motion.

It takes years to develop the skills, connections, and insights necessary to launch a business that works.

Consistently pursuing these traits will help you gain leverage.

Leverage is what you need (especially as an indie founder!).

@RamliJohn NICE! Congrats! 🕺💃

Indie entrepreneurs need to stack every advantage they can get:

- skills
- capital
- insights
- channels
- expertise
- experience
- community
- connections
- partnerships

Most good markets are competitive! You can't just show up with a product; you need to have an edge.

@TonsOfLaziness @levelsio That's part of the point. If you don't have insights or advantages into any good markets, the only option is to go and get that experience.

You'll never catch waves on a pond in Iowa.

I offer some ideas on how to get experience in different markets here:
https://justinjackson.ca/surfing

@TonsOfLaziness @levelsio Yes! That's the point.

Being a founder is about stacking every advantage you have:

- skills
- capital
- insights
- expertise
- experience in a market
- network and connections

The point is to build up as many of those as you can.

@TonsOfLaziness @levelsio I agree; it can be frustrating.

For me, the surfing metaphor was helpful.

If you want a chance of surfing a great wave:

1. Learn the fundamental of surfing (paddling, etc)
2. Spend time in waters with great waves (show up)
3. Paddle out for waves that are a good match for you.

@kevinhuynh At @TransistorFM we ❤️ @iChris.

He does podcast production for @Netlify, @alexisohanian, and more!

@levelsio YES!!! 💯💯💯

People don't get it.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1303069042333286400

@rosiesherry 👋 Been building @megamaker since 2013.

👨‍💻 Working on a new membership platform with @joshuaanderton called @meepsapp:

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

@rochi_zalani @edzitron Yes!

@dgkeyes @tailwindcss @Alpine_JS @TransistorFM I don’t know!

🔥🇨🇦 “With climate change, Canada is a flammable country.”

Forest fires in Canada used to be fairly rare.

Now, there are record-breaking fires burning in BC, Manitoba, and Ontario.

The smoke is everywhere.

https://youtu.be/SwVOLqSiNlo

Once again, @edzitron nails it:

https://ez.substack.com/p/clubhouse-is-the-big-stinker-that

@VittoRivabella @thisiskp_ @TransistorFM @usefathom We've chronicled the whole thing on our podast:
http://saas.transistor.fm

We formed our partnership early in 2018.

Here's an update I wrote Oct 2019:
https://justinjackson.ca/30k

@BigBradBrown Mostly by talking about it (sharing it on podcasts, twitter, our blog, word of mouth).

In our category ("website hosting") there's already a handful of affiliates who are killing it... so they found us. 😄

@fannin_seth @caseyfulgenzi @TransistorFM @usefathom Sign up to be an affiliate for @TransistorFM and start earning money from it! 🙌

https://transistor.fm/affiliates

@TrevorLongino Yeah, we're not really using @usefathom goals for anything serious right now. 😉

This is how we track that our funnels currently:

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1417939401913495552

People are asking me how we track funnels.

After years of using Mixpanel & Google Analytics to track events, I decided to simplify.

Now I track campaigns in https://www.getrewardful.com/?via=justin, using referral links with a 30-day cookie.

We've tracked nearly $500k in new revenue this way!

@caseyfulgenzi @TransistorFM @usefathom Love this idea.

@TrevorLongino @TransistorFM @usefathom According to the folks at Fathom, having an overall bounce number in that range is pretty normal for SaaS (especially in podcast hosting, where a large number of searches are podcast listeners with listener-related queries)

Our bounce rate from specific referrers is much better.

@TrevorLongino @TransistorFM @usefathom Yeah, wondering if this has something to do with that:

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1417889813055741953

@richeklein @TransistorFM @usefathom Yup. From what we can tell, it's a pretty "short" funnel:

1. People want to start a podcast
2. They google "best podcast hosting"
3. They choose http://transistor.fm
4. They sign up

@alphacolin Who do you use for healthcare?

We’ve had a hard time finding a provider for @TransistorFM’s USA employees (currently just @jonbuda, but shortly a new engineer)

@jasonlbeggs @JackEllis @Netlify We’re using @statamic and their static site generator.

@TheArcticDev @usefathom @TransistorFM According to the folks at Fathom, having an overall bounce number in that range is pretty normal for SaaS.

Our bounce rate from specific referrers is much better.

@NotechAna Yeah. We had a "Start free trial" button at the top for a long time. I'll experiment with that again.

I was wondering why our referrer traffic is so low (from Reddit, etc)

Here's a technical explanation from @JackEllis.

Anyone know how I can fix this and configure my URLS better? 😧

(Using @Netlify to host our site, and they automatically add trailing slashes...)

@cgimmer @TransistorFM @usefathom I'm doing some really simple campaign tracking with @getRewardful; so far I prefer that approach to anything I've been able to do in the past with Mixpanel and Google Analytics.

But... seeing conversion rates for a particular page might be helpful?

@NotechAna Yup. Here's the technical answer from @JackEllis

@cgimmer @TransistorFM @usefathom So far, I haven't seen the need.

I already get our "number of monthly trials" from Stripe (we're credit card upfront).

Will adding it to Fathom help in another way?

@NotechAna My guess is Reddit traffic is being underreported. (Probably lots of nofollow links?)

I'm quite active in those sub-reddits:
https://www.reddit.com/user/spankymustard/comments/

@MrSimonBennett @TransistorFM @usefathom 🤣

@LifeWithArjay @usefathom @TransistorFM I'm doing quite a bit on Reddit currently:
https://www.reddit.com/user/spankymustard/posts/

Quite active in r/podcasting and r/podcasters:
https://www.reddit.com/user/spankymustard/comments/

Anything else I should be doing?

@NotechAna My guess is that Reddit is being underreported here:
https://app.usefathom.com/#/?filters=%5B%7B%22property%22%3A%22Referrer%20Hostname%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22is%22%2C%22value%22%3A%22Reddit%22%7D%5D&range=all_time&site=1805

🤔 Especially curious how other folks are using goal tracking in Fathom, and what actionable insights they're getting from it.

@NotechAna Good point! Our goal is to increase trials. 👍

Why would you say our Reddit traffic is underperforming?

Posting it on @IndieHackers as well:
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/im-making-our-saas-analytics-public-for-24-hours-how-would-you-run-our-marketing-acdc18fdb9

@TransistorFM @usefathom Also posted on @chddaniel's SaaS subreddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SaaS/comments/oossff/making_our_saas_analytics_public_for_24_hours_how/