I am not here to gatekeep. These 10 actionable tips got us a...
Dan Kulkov@DanKulkov
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Dec 29, 2023
~5 min read
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1
I am not here to gatekeep.
These 10 actionable tips got us a $20,000/mo indie business.
Use them in 2024 🫡
1. Don't start with a product
Customers don't pay you to build the product.
They pay you to solve the problem.
So, your goal is to understand how to solve the problem better than others AND reach as many potential customers as possible.
Before writing a single line of code, make sure you get clear answers to 2 questions:
• What do I understand about this problem that other competitors overlook?
• What 1 channel will get me the first 10 paying customers?
Of course, you can skip this "boring exercise".
But don't be surprised to waste 6 months launching useless products nobody needs.
2. Know when to focus and when to experiment
Launching 12 products in 12 months will do more harm than good.
Focusing on your first product for 12 months is usually a bad idea, too.
Why?
Because there is time to launch new things to see what sticks. And there is time to grow what is working.
This rule applies to both product and marketing.
If your 3rd product is a clear winner, spend at least 3 months growing it.
Don't launch a new product in 2 weeks. Otherwise, you will get a reputation as a "jumper" who isn't reliable enough.
But also, don't burn your savings trying to grow your first product. 99% chances are it's "ungrowable," and you will be better off launching something new.
3. Optimize for simplicity
We are all brainwashed by VC propaganda.
Launching a simple AI wrapper? Looser.
Building over-complicated B2B SaaS? New Steve Jobs.
It's all ego bullshit.
If a 30-minute discussion solves a problem, sell 1-1 consultations.
If a recorded education video solves a problem, launch a course.
The simpler, the better. You will have a shit ton of external problems that will make your life harder.
By the way, the same rule applies to no-code.
If you can do it without writing code (AI wrappers, marketing landing page), do it without writing code.
There are 0 bonus points for coding your products.
4. Don't limit yourself to Twitter
"I just want to tweet about my product like %famous_solopreneur%"
Yeah, this is not how it works.
Every successful Solopreneur is doing marketing beyond Twitter:
• Side-project marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Facebook Ads
• Affiliate marketing
• Email marketing
• Cold outreach
• SEO
The list goes on and on.
Do marketing that works for your product and audience.
It requires stepping from the comfort zone.
But the results are worth it.
5. Be obsessed with the Conversion Rate
You rarely need more website visitors.
You often need a better marketing funnel to convert existing website visitors.
• Product demo
• Social proof
• Pricing
• Reactivation
• Upsells
Focus on nailing these steps.
You will get a better product offer that more people want to buy easier.
Win-win.
6. Leverage one-time payments first
Recurring revenue is nice.
But it's harder to sell it. Even if it only costs $9/mo.
Start with one-time payments: lifetime deals or limited-time passes.
You can charge from $49 to $199 for most products.
Way easier to get $5000/mo this way.
And yes, you need to get customers every month this way.
But if you are not ready to do it, Solopreneurship is not a good fit with you.
7. Forget about marketing shortcuts
Your ChatGPT replies are degenerate.
Your ChatGPT blog posts are useless.
Stop.
There are no easy roads to automate marketing in the beginning.
Do the hard work.
Create good content. Build relationships. Talk to people.
Marketing will be 50% of your work. The more you try to speed it up, the longer it will take.
8. Get so much feedback it starts to hurt
It's easy to think you are the smartest one.
Your idea will revolutionize the market, and Forbes will pay for an interview with you.
Relax, it's not happening.
There is a better way.
You can leverage the wisdom of hundreds of people to grow your business. You just need to ask.
Ask people to roast your landing page. Ask people to play with your product. Ask people to feedback on your pricing.
Ask your audience. Ask seasoned Entrepreneurs.
And you will soon understand that there are tons of smart people. Often smarter than you.
And this is when you will get clarity on how to grow your business.
9. Prioritize revenue over procrastination
You don't need a 10-page privacy policy to launch your first product.
You don't need "forget your password" feature before the profitability.
You don't need a professional product logo ... ever.
It's okay to have a profitable app with not covered edge cases. Don't overthink it.
Focus on growing revenue. Focus on dumb stuff after hitting profitability.
10. Reverse-engineer best Solopreneurs
Here's the deal.
It's perfectly fine to analyze what's working for the top 1% and then implement it in your business.
But, please.
Don't just copycat their products / landing pages / emails and call it a day.
You will not go anywhere with this approach. Personalize everything for your product.
Thank you.
These 10 actionable tips got us a $20,000/mo indie business.
Use them in 2024 🫡
1. Don't start with a product
Customers don't pay you to build the product.
They pay you to solve the problem.
So, your goal is to understand how to solve the problem better than others AND reach as many potential customers as possible.
Before writing a single line of code, make sure you get clear answers to 2 questions:
• What do I understand about this problem that other competitors overlook?
• What 1 channel will get me the first 10 paying customers?
Of course, you can skip this "boring exercise".
But don't be surprised to waste 6 months launching useless products nobody needs.
2. Know when to focus and when to experiment
Launching 12 products in 12 months will do more harm than good.
Focusing on your first product for 12 months is usually a bad idea, too.
Why?
Because there is time to launch new things to see what sticks. And there is time to grow what is working.
This rule applies to both product and marketing.
If your 3rd product is a clear winner, spend at least 3 months growing it.
Don't launch a new product in 2 weeks. Otherwise, you will get a reputation as a "jumper" who isn't reliable enough.
But also, don't burn your savings trying to grow your first product. 99% chances are it's "ungrowable," and you will be better off launching something new.
3. Optimize for simplicity
We are all brainwashed by VC propaganda.
Launching a simple AI wrapper? Looser.
Building over-complicated B2B SaaS? New Steve Jobs.
It's all ego bullshit.
If a 30-minute discussion solves a problem, sell 1-1 consultations.
If a recorded education video solves a problem, launch a course.
The simpler, the better. You will have a shit ton of external problems that will make your life harder.
By the way, the same rule applies to no-code.
If you can do it without writing code (AI wrappers, marketing landing page), do it without writing code.
There are 0 bonus points for coding your products.
4. Don't limit yourself to Twitter
"I just want to tweet about my product like %famous_solopreneur%"
Yeah, this is not how it works.
Every successful Solopreneur is doing marketing beyond Twitter:
• Side-project marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Facebook Ads
• Affiliate marketing
• Email marketing
• Cold outreach
• SEO
The list goes on and on.
Do marketing that works for your product and audience.
It requires stepping from the comfort zone.
But the results are worth it.
5. Be obsessed with the Conversion Rate
You rarely need more website visitors.
You often need a better marketing funnel to convert existing website visitors.
• Product demo
• Social proof
• Pricing
• Reactivation
• Upsells
Focus on nailing these steps.
You will get a better product offer that more people want to buy easier.
Win-win.
6. Leverage one-time payments first
Recurring revenue is nice.
But it's harder to sell it. Even if it only costs $9/mo.
Start with one-time payments: lifetime deals or limited-time passes.
You can charge from $49 to $199 for most products.
Way easier to get $5000/mo this way.
And yes, you need to get customers every month this way.
But if you are not ready to do it, Solopreneurship is not a good fit with you.
7. Forget about marketing shortcuts
Your ChatGPT replies are degenerate.
Your ChatGPT blog posts are useless.
Stop.
There are no easy roads to automate marketing in the beginning.
Do the hard work.
Create good content. Build relationships. Talk to people.
Marketing will be 50% of your work. The more you try to speed it up, the longer it will take.
8. Get so much feedback it starts to hurt
It's easy to think you are the smartest one.
Your idea will revolutionize the market, and Forbes will pay for an interview with you.
Relax, it's not happening.
There is a better way.
You can leverage the wisdom of hundreds of people to grow your business. You just need to ask.
Ask people to roast your landing page. Ask people to play with your product. Ask people to feedback on your pricing.
Ask your audience. Ask seasoned Entrepreneurs.
And you will soon understand that there are tons of smart people. Often smarter than you.
And this is when you will get clarity on how to grow your business.
9. Prioritize revenue over procrastination
You don't need a 10-page privacy policy to launch your first product.
You don't need "forget your password" feature before the profitability.
You don't need a professional product logo ... ever.
It's okay to have a profitable app with not covered edge cases. Don't overthink it.
Focus on growing revenue. Focus on dumb stuff after hitting profitability.
10. Reverse-engineer best Solopreneurs
Here's the deal.
It's perfectly fine to analyze what's working for the top 1% and then implement it in your business.
But, please.
Don't just copycat their products / landing pages / emails and call it a day.
You will not go anywhere with this approach. Personalize everything for your product.
Thank you.
2
Like it or not:
Marketing will definite your success in 2024.
Here's what doubled our revenue this year:
1. Build simple AI wrappers
2. Get free features from influencers
3. Get stable SEO traffic
4. Sell your paid product organically
makerbox.club/ai-wrapper-cou…
Good luck 💪
Marketing will definite your success in 2024.
Here's what doubled our revenue this year:
1. Build simple AI wrappers
2. Get free features from influencers
3. Get stable SEO traffic
4. Sell your paid product organically
makerbox.club/ai-wrapper-cou…
Good luck 💪