Tweets

You don't learn until you ship.

Game designers who don't allow you to immediately "save game" have never had to put kids to bed.

The best marketing advice is still:

"Make something people want"

Feels like “winter hustle mode” is ending for a lot of people.

More daylight, more sunshine; it’s getting warm and beautiful outside.

Getting harder to sit inside on a laptop.

☀️

"It's so much harder finding good marketing channels for SaaS companies today than it was."

In 2024, the main theme of my newsletter will be running real-world marketing experiments, and sharing the results with subscribers.

Get on the list here:
https://justinjackson.ca/newsletter

The Acquired podcast is just 📈

Can’t believe the guests they’ve been getting! 🤩🤯 https://twitter.com/AcquiredFM/status/1718989206754902299

Hey, if you see this: please reply and let me know what kinds of things you'd like me to post more often here.

(Startup stuff? Bootstrapping? Founder advice? Marketing tips? Podcasting? Biz ethics? Parenting?)

Thanks! 🙏

Just reorganized my list of "Podcasts for Developers."

All of the featured podcasts are still regularly releasing episodes. I also added @ianlandsman & @aarondfrancis's new show and @adamwathan & @r00k's new show.

https://transistor.fm/dev-podcasts/

🥳 Cool new analytics feature in @transistorfm:

Now you can compare daily download numbers for every episode you've published in this Episode Comparison table.

(Thanks to our friends at @AcquiredFM for their input on this!)

Planning a team retreat for @TransistorFM (we're all remote).

I was looking for a tool to suggest good "halfway points" between 5 different coordinates (so we have roughly the same travel time).

@MathiasHansen recommended this tool, and it's perfect!

https://www.surfoffice.com/location-finder

How many spouses of founders can identify with this? 😅

"You're on your computer when you're working,  you're on your computer when you're side-working,  and you're on your computer when you're playing."

Whoa! @TransistorFM was just featured in @VICE and @hotpodmedia. 👀

This is a cool AI project @bemmu; thanks for hosting it on Transistor. 🙌

I've been working in SaaS now for nearly 14 years.

In those years, tracking "visitor --> trial" conversion has become less critical for me.

I still track overall traffic stats, but in a funnel, "visitors --> trial" is so variable that it's hard to attribute it correctly.

As someone who successfully “built something in public,” I feel two opposing pulls:

For me, hearing the stories of other successful founders inspired me. I want to pass that on.

But I also want to be careful not to sell people on a path that might not work out for them.

There’s nothing more heartening than meeting your customers in real life.

I’ve been connecting with dozens of @TransistorFM users all week at @PodcastMovement and it’s been incredible.

Getting lots of ideas for what we should build next for podcasters! #PM22

@SahilBloom Yes! I enjoyed your podcast (https://www.sahilbloom.com/newsletter/lies-youve-been-told-about-the-world) on that.

The meaningful insight for me is that financial wealth helps create the space you need for social, physical, mental, and time wealth. 💪

Yes!

This is why we need to protect RSS in podcasting.

The desire by corporations to centralize podcasting into one “YouTube-like” property won’t be good for the ecosystem.

Keep it pure. ✌️ https://twitter.com/jack/status/1510314535671922689

Watching videos like this makes me wish I’d kept my old childhood computers

(My wife saved her Nintendo and SNES and our kids love them)

My 13-year-old son just released a new Christmas animation. He'd be over the moon if a bunch of you watched it. 😄

(The Santa part really cracks me up)

https://youtu.be/u34lyji7W7I

If you've always wanted to start a podcast, and you're planning on doing it in 2022, we'd love to have you on @TransistorFM.

I made you a coupon code here: https://transistor.fm/justin

Happy Thanksgiving Canucks!

🍁 🇨🇦 🦃

Remember when we weren’t in a pandemic?

A must-read by @nbashaw:
https://every.to/divinations/overcoming-web3-bias

"Some days I feel like NFTs, DAOs, and DeFi might replace the very foundation that society rests on.

Other days it feels like 90% vaporware and Ponzi schemes that collectively emit more CO2 than a medium-sized country."

To paraphrase @kylefox’s whole take:

“Crypto could be big, but that remains to be seen. Either way, we’re probably at the “http://pets.com peak” of the hype cycle. Once this wave crashes, we’ll see if anything useful & enduring emerges.”

☝️ that’s a refreshing tone

🇨🇦 So many amazing indie makers from Canada (or who have moved here!).

🗒️ I'm making a list; who else should I add?

https://twitter.com/i/lists/1199804081042182144?s=20

Don’t take pricing advice from anyone who doesn’t truly understand your category.

Pricing strategy is highly dependent on the characteristics of your market.

Folks keep giving generalized advice.

✅ Understand the dynamics that drive your market.

✅ Price accordingly.

5 years ago we saved up and took the kids to Europe.

3 years ago we went to a big amusement park.

We’ve gone on hiking trips, and done lots of camping.

But consistently, our most enjoyable vacations are when we just find a place with a nice pool. 👍

I'm 60 seconds into this episode of @netlify's podcast and it's already made me chuckle, giggle, and lol.

https://share.transistor.fm/s/3399d3d3

@thepatwalls We sold all your tweets as NFTs while you were gone. 😅

Funded startups: save yourself the pain, and hire a bootstrapper early-on.

We’d be happy to take your $200M and tell you that you have no business model. 🤣

When Elon does dumb shit like this it does not make me excited to own a Tesla.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/03/12/hundreds-covid-cases-reported-tesla-plant-following-musks-defiant-reopening-county-data-shows/

Hey friends. I really feel like @jonbuda and I are building something world-class with @TransistorFM.

(Our 1-click distribution feature alone is worth switching for)

If you're on another podcasting platform, I'm happy to help you migrate to us. 👍

https://transistor.fm/changelog/distribution/

Green Day. SNL. 1994.

I was 14. I stayed up late to watch this with my friend Chris.

Still takes me back. (And still one of my favorite bands)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dm7vy6UvBI

⛏️👔 Enterprise software: here's a pickaxe that costs 100x more and takes 1000x longer to buy.

I like this metaphor.

So many people are just glad to have caught a train (any train!) but as soon as you notice you’re headed the wrong direction, you need to get off that train!!

(True in business, love, education, and when you’re on real trains) https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1295599010531569664

It's no wonder so many creators are going *back* to paid newsletters and selling direct to customers.

Email is the last bastion of the free and open web.

(Guaranteed if any company could have locked it down and controlled the ecosystem completely, they would have).

Opinion: the way we “value” the contribution of individuals in our society is fucked up.

(No, CEOs are not paid too little) https://twitter.com/moizali/status/1251211900467023872

Want to give a shout out to @studiofellow.

He's already one of the best designers and writers I know.

Then, he told me he was going to teach himself to code his own SaaS.

To be honest, I was sceptical.

But he totally did it!

His work on https://mod-dot.com/ is inspiring.

In an interview, @richardbranson shared how he evaluates new ideas:

“When we start a business from scratch, we put our toe in the water. If the water doesn't feel too cold, then we start building it slowly. But if it doesn't feel right, we knock it on the head pretty quickly.”

No need to "unroll;" I've written this whole thread up as a blog post here:

https://justinjackson.ca/haters

Pairing solves many of my work-related struggles:

✅ Feeling blocked
✅ Feeling unfocused
✅ Feeling unmotivated
✅ Having too many unknowns

Sitting down with someone (or using @PairWithTuple) can shrink weeks of struggle down to making a ton of progress in an hour. 😉

Words don't come after the design is done.

Words are the beginning, the core, the focus. 👌 https://twitter.com/kwuchu/status/1165794444794302464

Don't underestimate the power of "people like us, do things like this."

"Let's do a demo; is it OK if I send you a Zoom invite?"
"Perfect, that sounds great."

☝️ "people like us use Zoom for demos and meetings."

Why not Google Meet? Because social norms are powerful.

Really enjoyed the conversation @r00k & @derrickreimer had with @robfitz about why it's not enough to "just interview customers."

I've been advocating a similar solution, but Rob articulates it better.

Highly recommended: https://overcast.fm/+MRpeVhytI

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about pricing culture in SaaS.

@HCWeiss just wrote one for consultants and it's 10x better than mine.

Read it here:
https://hillaryweiss.com/money-misdirection-the-shadow-side-of-charge-what-youre-worth-pricing-culture/

Fascinating:

@vsodera (co-founder of Superhuman) just shared the pricing strategy they used.

It's called "Van Westendorp's Price Sensitivity Meter."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Westendorp%27s_Price_Sensitivity_Meter

Here's a big challenge for interview podcasts:

It's really hard to "spark joy" for the listener every episode, because so much depends on the guest.

Even the "best in the biz" (Maron, Conan, etc) who have access to professional entertainers will have eps that don't work.

A new paradigm that all tech companies are going to have to grapple with:

People are deleting Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, off their phones because they want their attention and focus back.

More folks using on desktop.

https://twitter.com/signalnoise/status/1107432604679180288?s=21

"The hard reality is that most product ideas won't make sustainable, full-time businesses."

New blog post out today:
https://justinjackson.ca/hard-valuable

How do you do all this?

"You cannot know what your audience actually wants until you engage with them." – Seth Godin

Hang out with people in their world. Interact with them in the Commons.

I ❤️ these "free landing pages for startups" by @pacovitiello & @DavidePacilio. 🙌

https://gumroad.com/davidepacilio

This is why consulting is great for aspiring product people: you get to see what kinds of problems folks with money want solved!

https://twitter.com/yongfook/status/1036872782364041217

I got to talk about the "bootstrapper's paradox" with @jasonfried at #laracon this past week.

It's a myth that 37signals was "anti-investment."

We need more investors (like Bezos + @indievc) who don't want a seat on the board and aren't looking for the "10X exit."

Here we go!

@adamwathan on stage at #laracon

YESSSSSSS.

@r00k (and friends) FINALLY made a website:

https://tuple.app/

☝️ my fave part is the FAQ at the bottom.

A surefire way to be more interesting and meet more people:

HAVE A COOL PROJECT THAT YOU CAN TELL PEOPLE ABOUT.

For example, if you say: “Oh, I have a YouTube channel where autonomous drones fight each other,” it's for damned sure I'm going to check that out.

Email tip: you can style your alt-text tags, and improve the look for your newsletter *even if people don't load images*.

Also, the most valuable tool I've used for running this year's sale (BY FAR!) is @mbuckbee's subject line tester:

https://sendcheckit.com/email-subject-line-tester-results

So good. 💯

Just published: "How an NBA player ruined my life (and my SEO)"

🏀 vs 🤓

https://justinjackson.ca/nba-justin-jackson/

If you're going to pitch someone, do your research:

How do *they* want their life to be better?

Your pitch? "I'll get you there faster."

Bosses hire employees to solve their problems.

People hire products to solve their problems.

Be clear about which problems you're solving!

Ultimately, I believe that relationships are more important than the things we make.

"Good night son, I love you."

"Good night Dad, your breath stinks."

Hardest part about selling software for people that like to develop software:

Technical challenge ≠ more sales

Nostalgia time:

In 2018, I flew to Chicago to meet @jonbuda, and work on getting @TransistorFM launched. We took this photo in his apartment.

6 years later, we just took another photo in the same spot.

It’s been an incredible journey!

It's not just B2B or B2C anymore

https://justinjackson.ca/beyond-b2c-b2b

If you're consistently promoting your product and aren't getting traction, you might not have a "marketing problem," you might have a "market problem."

The market you've chosen might not be:

- accessible enough to provide the traffic you need
- lucrative enough to provide the…

Alright @PodcastMovement, because of the #Kelownafire, my flight was cancelled.

So now I’m driving 6 hours to Calgary so I can catch a flight to Denver there.

Wish me luck!

#pm23

Hey! I'm Justin. I live in Vernon, BC 🇨🇦

I've been sharing my bootstrap journey since 2010: http://justinjackson.ca/bootstrap
http://saas.transistor.fm

I'm the co-founder of @TransistorFM (modern podcast hosting).

Check out my newsletter: http://justinjackson.ca/newsletter

YouTube pro tip:

If you're a YouTuber in your 40s and want some brutally honest feedback, ask your 15-year-old! 😬

Setting up lights for the first time!

Just having this big key light (with soft box) makes a huge difference.

Wow.

Just cruising

Build something that people desire! It makes marketing so much easier.

This pain/reward ratio doesn’t get talked about enough in startups.

If you’re a founder, mega-funded startups are often more risky, more stressful, more work.

And, contrary to what people think, indie SaaS founders often get paid better than founders who raise tons of money. https://twitter.com/_rchase_/status/1573317909417533442

Love the marketing simplicity of @stripe’s first homepage in 2011:

Are you a developer?
Need payment processing?
Get in touch. https://twitter.com/adamd/status/1567165800087175168

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.

I'm getting ready to publish this @buildyoursaas episode with @taylorotwell, and it's a banger.

@coreyhainesco Your headline is "build a swipe file you'll actually use."

Next step: record videos of you (and others) using swipe files! Show us how experienced marketers are using them.

This could make a great YouTube series: "Show me your swipe file."

PHP devs: is there an equivalent to `npm audit` that automatically checks for security vulnerabilities in these hundreds of packages/dependencies that we all install all the time?

(I'd assume that large companies must have a process for this)

I'm not even convinced that vague headlines like this work for *established* brands.

But it's definitely not a tactic new brands should try!

("Um, what does this product... 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

@r00k Worth noting that this rule doesn't (generally) apply to SaaS that also sell to prosumers.

MailChimp - $14.99 / month
@TransistorFM - $19 / month
ConvertKit - $29 / month

☝️ we all sell B2B as well, but a wave of prosumer demand makes an awesome SaaS business. 🌊

When I first saw it, the "Family Income Calculator" by @EconomicPolicy was eye opening for me:

https://www.epi.org/resources/budget/

There's a massive financial jump to go from "no kids" to "kids" in America.

For many entrepreneurs, *this* is our motivation: providing for our families.

In 1995 we were promised secret cyberpunk nightclubs, the phreak fashion aesthetic, l33t street battles, and an Orbital soundtrack.

The movie you saw in high school says a lot about how you see “tech” today. 😉

For those of us who looked up to Jason and David, wrestling with this stuff is uncomfortable.

Basecamp's example is what inspired many of us to build our own companies.

But truthfully, this was a parasocial relationship. We didn't really *know* them. We only saw one side.

YESSSS!

Please automate sales tax and collection so small businesses never have to think about it. 💯 https://twitter.com/collision/status/1387108105868103682

If you’re nearsighted everything is bokeh.

@pjrvs @usefathom secret green is the pot you hide from your kids

This is actually a big issue:

Increasingly I’m seeing Clubhouse interfere with my home life.

The combination of FOMO, participating in calls during family time, and the requirement of being on 3-6 hours a day (if you want to build a following) are downsides to social audio. https://twitter.com/jayacunzo/status/1358128996165316608

@podcastharry Trying to think back. 😅

At 30 I wanted a remote job.

At 32 I got a remote job. Then I wanted to do consulting.

At 34 I started consulting full-time. Then I wanted to go indie with products.

At 36 I went FT with my course. Then I wanted SaaS.

At 39 I went FT on @TransistorFM

There’s a new year on the horizon! 🥳

What’s something you’d like to accomplish in 2021?

Why is it important to you?

What are some podcasts that you ❤️ but are no longer in production?

There’s so much good stuff in @nathanbarry’s new post that it’s hard to pick just one thing to share.

https://nathanbarry.com/billion/

It’s revealing in a way that founder posts rarely are.

The problem with describing only "benefits," is that benefits are personal.

The benefit I want from a tool is different from what you'll want out of it.

People are looking for the features that will get them the benefits they want.

https://twitter.com/noahwbragg/status/1276613019854757888

Folks keep commenting: "But coming up with ideas *is* easy!"

Coming up with low-quality ideas is easy.

(So is executing something poorly).

I just got off a really nice Skype call with @Shpigford.

It's grounding for me to see (and hear from) my internet friends these days. ❤️

Small shops can't compete with Amazon because... (attn @shopify, @square, @WooCommerce) https://www.pscp.tv/w/cU0UfTM4NTU1MXwxUGxKUW1FWGpOekpF0bLobeAQBrs6icO5qC6iZ-i2h5aJmCYZe0ZuMrIqYT0=

I am becoming increasingly concerned that @govbc and @Canada are not moving fast enough to slow the #covid19 epidemic.

Our epidemic trajectory is on the same track as every other country (except for SK). Officials need to implement extreme measures.

https://startupvernon.com/2020/03/15/coronavirus-bc-canada-are-not-moving-fast-enough/

“Sweat the small stuff” or “Don’t sweat the small stuff?”

For me, it’s:

“Sweat the small stuff, but only when it matters.”