Tweets

@nbashaw Not sure if you've seen @cheriehu42's analysis on Music NFTS:

"Music NFT revenue spiked early in 2021 with celebrity-driven mega drops, cooled down through the summer, and rose slightly in the fourth quarter."

https://www.waterandmusic.com/music-nft-sales-in-2021-what-we-learned/

The main point I'm trying to emphasize: the best business opportunities 1000x our efforts.

Too often we equate "more effort = more success."

But in business, you could apply the same amount of effort to two ideas, but one could do 1000x better than the other.

This article by @DanielZarick on how startups can "work in bets" is good:

https://arrows.to/resources/building-arrows/working-in-bets/

@petersuhm @WarrenBuffett I think this fits with the framework I'm describing though.

It's another reason business isn't like baseball: you don't need to stay committed to a "swing" you've already taken.

Part of making better bets is being able to move on from a bad bet.

How does this apply to indie entrepreneurs?

We have to get better at making bets. We can't, as @warrenbuffett says, "swing at every pitch."

Do your research: make sure there's some "pull" from the market. Don't go after every opportunity.

Only swing for the best pitches.

Warren Buffet's investment strategy relied on making better bets.

As @billgates explained in HBR:

"Warren says that in your lifetime you should swing at only a couple dozen pitches, and he advises doing careful homework so that the few swings you do take are hits."

To me, it's fascinating that two people can invest the same amount of time, money, and resources, and one person can get 10x, 100x, or 1000x better results.

Some of this can be explained by "luck," but this multiplication effect can also be achieved by making better bets.

Back in 2001, Bob and Jane each picked a stock and invested $1,000.

Bob picked IBM.
Jane picked Apple.

Bob's $1,000 investment turned into $2,643
Jane's $1,000 investment turned into $903,471

This is the "effort/reward conundrum:" some actions produce wildly better results.

@MJB_SF Apparently this is the original:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHxY-TBBg6G/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

@nowendwell Definitely add social proof/testimonials to that page.

Your biggest hurdle will be convincing folks that they can trust you.

Knowing that other people use it (and being able to see their human faces) will help.

@andrewculver I'd say @MrSimonBennett is in this space:

https://snapshooter.com/

@onerinas Quick win: add a favicon

@MrSimonBennett It's going to be hard for you to rank for "AWS backup," "digital ocean backup" etc...

BUT, you might be able to rank on YouTube for those keywords!

"Hi everybody. Here's a simple way to backup your Digital Ocean droplets."

@oktuned I would put keywords in your headline that describe (explicitly) what your software is/does.

For example, your competitor put their top "search intent" keywords into their headline.

Bonus idea #1

Search "[your product] alternatives".

If review sites are the top results, make sure your listing is up to date!

(And ask your best customers to leave you a review)

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1522232891396173824

@ryanseanbadger Make sure you have a good listing on all of these "alternative to" sites.

When a customer has a good experience with you, ask them to leave you a review on these top sites.

@charliprangley You're doing so much right here! 🙌

One suggestion: add testimonials / social proof of people who use/admire the font.

"Designers like this, use a font like Grayscale."

Another idea: offer influential YouTubers the font for use as titles in their videos in exchange for promo.

Quick win #3

CHANGE YOUR HEADLINE.

Indie brands should just make their headline clear: if you make software for plumbers, put that in your headline.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1522228527868772352

Quick win #2

Make sure every page on your website has a social sharing image.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1509292246583033864

Quick win #1

You should have at least one photo of a human on your homepage.

Even better: show a human using your product on your homepage.

(Could be a feature image or a testimonial image)

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1509237102671585280

Idea #3

It really pays to own a topic on YouTube:

ie. If you have "software for plumbers" you should be a top result for that phrase on YouTube.

To build social proof (people are more likely to click on videos with lots of views), try running an ad campaign for that video.

Idea #2

Once you've made a video, transcribe it (using something like Descript) and turn it into a blog post.

Publish the blog post with the video embedded.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1509548692184842244

Idea #1

Publish quality, keyword-driven, videos on YouTube.

Many niches don't yet have good videos ranking for common search terms.

1. Make a video optimized around search intent
2. Publish on YouTube
3. Optimize your title, thumbnail, description

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1509254111912345602

I had nearly 1,000 people reply to this tweet.

Here are 3 bigger ideas for promoting your product (plus 3 quick wins) 👉 https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1509232410856091648

@michaeldyrynda I would make your homepage headline explicit:
"Scheduled task monitoring for Laravel"

This should help with search results.

Also: keep focusing on SEO. You need to climb this page of results best you can (currently only your FAQ is ranking).

@flybayer @Swizec How’s the sound?

@Swizec what’s it like being at an outdoor conference?

@venikunche Sending lots of ❤️

@tnorthcutt @andrewculver @aarondfrancis @gurlcode Sweet! I'll check it out.

Just added @fideloper's podcast ("Pushing Boulders") to this list as well:

"Growing a business is a lot of hard work. This podcast is about talking to people who are building their own businesses - pushing their own boulder up the hill."

https://transistor.fm/podcasts-for-bootstrappers/

@zachmstuck Upfront gear: $100 - $500 for a USB mic, or more if you're using an XLR setup.

Monthly costs:
- Podcast hosting: $19/month
- Audio editor: $80 - $150 / episode

More details here:
https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/

@marcmaron btw - if you want to learn more about Rodney Mullen, you have to read his profile in @voguemagazine:

https://www.vogue.com/projects/13456298/rodney-mullen-debut-new-tricks-stanceless-360-degrees

@marcmaron loved your interview with @tonyhawk. 👍

I watched Tony’s doc right after, and really enjoyed it.

That amount of persistence, over that length of time, is inspirational.

@brianpmccann @christinetrac1 @InTake_Anthony @samanthademers @brodydoes @EvansNifty @kadavy Thanks so much. ❤️

@iChris @DescriptApp Lol.

1. Open Descript
2. Descript tells you to re-open Descript

👋 If you host a podcast, and aren’t currently using @TransistorFM for hosting, could you DM me?

I have something new I’d like to test out with a few folks.

Thanks! 🙌

SMS providers must ❤️ 2FA.

@andymewborn 👀 great pitch!

it's just weird that we're a bunch of static smiling avatars typing stuff in boxes to each other.

@natalienagele @cnagele @postmarkapp @dmarcdigests @ActiveCampaign @Wildbit @peoplefirstjobs You two have always been folks I looked up to. The way you lead your team has been an inspiration for me and many others.

Congrats on this new stage of the journey!

@VishalRewari @TransistorFM @ProductHunt Thanks!

@csallen @ChanningAllen I’m down!

🔥🍷🔥 If you like drinking wine, and don’t want it to taste like smoke and soot, you should contact your gov rep and tell them to take action on meeting emissions targets from the Paris Climate Accord.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/california-wildfires-wine-napa-cab.html

@misterparker @TransistorFM @ProductHunt We’re pretty excited about it. 🤩

@TheOmarZenhom @TransistorFM @ProductHunt Thanks. Hoping to share more soon!

@aarondfrancis @TransistorFM @ProductHunt Hahahaha. (You never know!)

@JackEllis @TransistorFM @ProductHunt Thanks! 🤞

Hey! The @transistorfm team and I are working on something new for podcasters.

If you're curious, sign up here:
https://www.producthunt.com/upcoming/free-podcast-website-builder

We'll be launching on @producthunt soon! 🎉

I'm exploring how "averages" (the mean) are often misunderstood/misapplied in society & business.

Does anyone have more resources like this piece by @eric_luellen?
https://towardsdatascience.com/why-averages-are-often-wrong-1ff08e409a5b

Anything else I should be thinking about?

@Danenania Better question: how can we innovate and reform old systems while minimizing suffering? (And maximizing the benefits for working-class people)

Don't get too caught up with my Uber example.

Uber may have disrupted a "bad system," but that doesn't mean the answer is Uber.

Better question: how can we innovate and reform old systems while minimizing suffering? (And maximizing the benefits for working-class people)

@Danenania We don't know what the "most likely alternative" was, because we can't run that a/b test.

There may have been other innovative solutions (outside of government regulation) that weren't able to emerge because Uber was "moving fast and breaking things."

@Danenania It’s hard to know, isn’t it?

What were our alternatives? 😉

@Danenania Uber (it turns out!) was also pretty corrupt, with no accountability to customers. https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/15/uber-accused-of-espionage-bribery-and-hacking-by-former-employee/

Just because Uber disrupted a bad system, doesn't mean the answer is "Uber's system."

Maybe, the answer is to reform the existing system!

@sousoneca Sure.

But that doesn’t mean “Uber” was the answer.

(Uber has also been accused of crony capitalism. https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1506/S00088/concerns-of-crony-capitalism-with-uber.htm)

@sousoneca Don't get too caught up in the example.

Just because Uber disrupted a bad system, doesn't mean the answer is "Uber's system."

Maybe, the answer is to reform the existing system!

@volkandkaya A big part of the solution will be clarifying society's values around innovation:

1. Innovation can't just benefit elites
2. Innovators should be held accountable when they say something will benefit broader society (does it really?)
3. Disruptors can't break the law

@Danenania If we're going to use "the market" as the rule, then tech startups can't keep ignoring existing regulations when they disrupt a given market.

Uber moved fast, broke the law, and asked for permission later.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2018/06/08/uber-lyft-taxi-drivers/?sh=226744f059f0

It's easy for tech workers to get excited about disruption because (most of the time) we're not the ones being disrupted.

We have nice jobs, in climate-controlled offices, with good paychecks.

We're largely immune from the impacts of what we create.

That has to change.

The problem with tech "disruption" is that it disrupts the lives of regular working people, without giving them any of the upsides.

We shouldn't call anything "innovative" (AI, web3, social, self-driving cars, robotics, etc) until we've fully considered the social ramifications of said innovations.

Specifically: WHO benefits? If the benefits only flow to an elite 10%, that's not true innovation.

I've been thinking a lot about the taxi drivers I saw protesting Uber in 2015.

At the time I was a "startup guy," and was excited to see Uber disrupt the taxi industry.

Now, it makes me sad. Uber came in without any licensing and disrupted a lot of livelihoods.

For too long, the tech industry has embraced "disruption" without considering the human lives we're disrupting.

@ChanningAllen @csallen really enjoying this “brothers chat” episode!

https://overcast.fm/+JmiMt3wRU

@StephenWilson @SoundsProfNews Just listened now. Really enjoyed this one.

“Platforms respond to podcasters who are already on a mission.”

@Evanish 🎯

@cogentgene That’s a good one. 👍

Some choices do just seem to be big wins (and the right call).

Many, however, are hard to evaluate as to how effective our assumptions were.

Most decisions in life can’t be be a/b tested so we actually have no idea if we’re making the optimal choice?

@aprildunford @waithash @TransistorFM Beauty. That’s helpful.

I’ve heard other people equate “beat the competition” to “become the market leader” or “winner takes all.”

@ianlandsman I’ve been here all along…

https://justinjackson.ca/articles

@bohlenlabs @newsbundler Yes, it could be.

As long as you’re sure the “number of people starting paid newsletters” is sufficiently high to give you the visitor —> trial —> conversion you need.

@aprildunford @waithash @TransistorFM Just trying to figure out how this is quantified.

When you say “beat the market leaders” do you just mean “choose your product over the alternatives at a sufficiently high rate to give you the level of success you desire as a founder?”

@aprildunford @waithash @TransistorFM I’m still not sure I understand what you mean by “beat.”

How do we quantify “beat?”

The goal for new founders:

Consistent, growing, recurring revenue that reaches your minimum benchmark (and hopefully, exceeds it!).

For Jon and I, it was hitting $30k MRR that really changed our lives.

https://justinjackson.ca/30k

@TheIdeaIsland Consistent, growing, revenue that reaches the founder’s minimum benchmark (and hopefully, exceeds it!) is the goal. 👍

@Tsukio_scoring @CasJam @petecodes 🙌

@jclermont @andrewculver @aarondfrancis Nice! I’m out running some errands.

I’ll try to add this today.

@waithash @aprildunford I guess it depends on your definition of "beat the market leaders."

@TransistorFM isn't beating our competitors in terms of market share (yet), but even with ~1.81% of the paid podcast hosting market, we're doing really well. 👍

@nathanbarry Thanks for using @TransistorFM for this! 🙌

I've also just added new podcasts by @CasJam and @petecodes to our list of "podcasts for indie hackers."

https://transistor.fm/podcasts-for-bootstrappers/

@SimonHoiberg Yes!

I need to add another (personal) story to this post here about a tech product I released.

I'll try to do that today.

https://justinjackson.ca/false-positives

I think @andrewculver and @aarondfrancis' show, Framework Friends, is one of the best new podcasts for web developers.

I've just added it to our list here:
https://transistor.fm/dev-podcasts/

@housecor Lots of other electric cars on the market now: Kia, Hyundai, Nissan, etc

And lots of reasons to have serious concerns about Tesla’s leadership.

(I have a Tesla and like the car)

@tdinh_me Yes!!!

@LandonB32 @benbarbersmith 👍

@philipyoungg @stayinsession I think you have likely experienced a version of this: people showing up in the App Store, searching with intent, and downloading it.

@philipyoungg @stayinsession It really depends!

If you're already at a level of financial freedom that's working for you, you enjoy the work, and growth is still outrunning churn, that could be a good fit. 👍

But if it's not giving you the life you desire, it might be time to look at other opportunities.

@LandonB32 @benbarbersmith How many monthly trials on average?

I've found for most SaaS, you need a pretty high volume of monthly trials.

@LandonB32 @benbarbersmith Whoa! What business was that?

(Was it enterprise sales?)

@angrigoryan__ @benbarbersmith Yup. We each invested $5k.

🎯 This is a good way of articulating it.
https://twitter.com/panphora/status/1520112257019129856?s=20&t=nHn7eqisM2htvLqNB1Iyiw

How do you know if you're working on a bad business idea?

Bad ideas are hungry: they consume whatever energy, money, or time you throw at them, without giving you anything back.

Good businesses will (eventually) magnify your effort, and give you high returns.

@benbarbersmith There are multiple variables, but it (partly) depends on your personal threshold.

I wrote more about that here:
https://justinjackson.ca/quit

@IronMikeBVE Me too! 🙌

@mbuckbee @tylertringas @TransistorFM 😆

@benbarbersmith It can take some time for this kind of momentum to show up.

Our first 10 months of Transistor were largely reliant on Jon and me constantly putting fuel into the business.

In month 11, we started seeing tons of strangers signing up, easily, with very little work on our side.

@vinthanedar @IronMikeBVE Yes. It happens all the time!

@logicalicy Yes. In business, forward momentum doesn't usually come from "getting more things done."

In business, progress looks like customers signing up, and paying you in sufficient numbers.

@ChristineCarril I've been there! Such a hard realization.

But when a business is completely reliant on you for its fuel, it can't be sustained.