AMA! I sold an Airtable Database for $7K
AMA!
Hey Indie Hackers!
I’m Mike Cardona, and last month I sold an Airtable database that allows you to run a newsletter entirely through Airtable. (Using Integromat and Mailchimp).
(This is the initial workflow that helped illustrate how it all works).
First, I have to give credit to Aron Korenblit, who created a video tutorial on building one, which I will link below.
How the idea came to fruition: This was a case of scratching my own itch.
I help run another ops for a community/newsletter and we have close to 20+ guest writers.
I was building an editorial calendar in Airtable. With so many writers and moving parts, it had become a huge bottleneck.
How the Sale Happened
I’m pretty active on LinkedIn.
Someone I was helping referred me to a friend who mentioned they needed help with automation, as their agency and newsletter were suffering from a lot of inefficiencies.
After speaking with them, I rushed to build additional features.
Long story short.
-
After three sales calls and some negotiating, we agreed on $7K.
-
This included all the documentation (SOPs) and 12 months of support (60-min. call/monthly).
The added features included the ability to add tags, segmentation, activity log to monitor the automations.
A Few Things I Believe Made This Possible:
-
I’m pretty active on LinkedIn and established credibility + trust.
-
My sales background was a tremendous help.
I ran an automation agency before and selling this type of templatized system was a first... anyways, I thought it'd be valuable to share with someone who might be interested in this type of work.
Happy to answer any questions!
Feel free to follow me on Twitter
Appreciate all the questions & Twitter DMs. If you could please post the questions here, I’d really appreciate it; that way everyone can learn.
So cool that you were able to build and sell this!
Several Q's:
I run a B2B SaaS branding + marketing agency and am just starting to build tools for bootstrappers, but I'd like to add on automation tools for agencies in the future.
Thank you for your questions!
It’s a product that could be replicated (just like I did) relatively quickly.
If I priced it at $500 / month, it would take me 14 months to obtain the 7K. I’d risk the client canceling or having to spend time doing support to prevent them from churning.
The documentation / SOPs require customization for every client since not every business will have the same workflow. This alone requires a lot of time/work.
I enjoy teaching others and creating tutorials. I ran a digital marketing agency for four years, and if it weren’t for optimizing processes and automating a lot of the mundane work, I would’ve burned out and failed.
I’d like to help other creators avoid similar issues.
The database took about 2.5 weeks + 2 weeks for the SOPs.
A few days to get the initial DB setup.
One week to add the extra features (tagging, segmentation, etc.)
Another week to create the activity log, which ensures the automations are running correctly.
There’s a huge need for automation and helping businesses streamline processes.
I couldn’t tell you how hard it would be, but if you have domain expertise in a field where inefficiencies are prevalent, it gives you the upper hand. Sales skills also play a significant role.
When you say you’re building tools for bootstrappers, what kind of tools? Software? Are you a dev?
If so, you might want to look into add-ons for Airtable or other project management tools.
Okay Wow, thank you so much for the detailed answer!
To answer your question, I am not a Dev.
The first tool is a worksheet to walk founders through writing landing page copy like a pro in >2hrs even if they have no marketing or copywriting experience. It's build in Notion.
Eventually I'd like to try my hand at Micro-SaaS tools, but for rn I'm going to stick to the nocode realm for tool building. They are going to be in a library with a subscription to access all of them or you buy each one individually.
Any thoughts or advice on this front are welcome!
Gotcha! Sounds like a cool idea!
Hm. I'd try to ask myself,
Also, maybe get some initial "beta" users to fine tune and figure out what people want... but don't spend too much where it prevents you from shipping... release, obtain feedback and keep improving.
What are you planning on charging for each worksheet?
What about full access?
Hi Sophia!
Apologies for the delayed response.
Can you elaborate a bit more on this, "they are going to be in a library with a subscription to access all of them or you buy each one individually."
A bit confused. Are you referring to the worksheets or micro-saas tools?
Not a problem! I'm referring to the worksheets/checklists/etc. Those will be in a library with a subscription.
The micro Saas will just be normal SaaS products, sold on their own, probably on a subscription system.
What a great idea! I find that scratching own itch is the best way to create a useful product. I am curious, why did you decide to sell it instead of maintain it and charging a subscription fee for users like a SaaS?
Thank you! Yes, scratching your itch is always the best way.
Great question. It’s a product that could be replicated (just like I did) relatively quickly.
If I priced it at $500 / month, it would take me 14 months to obtain the 7K. I’d risk the client canceling or having to spend time doing support to prevent them from churning.
The documentation / SOPs require customization for every client since not every business will have the same workflow. This alone requires a lot of time/work.
This business model works if you’re looking to turn it into an agency.
Mike, where do you find your writers for your newsletter?
Great job, Mike!
Great work
What’s your approach towards LinkedIn content? Most of the posts I see on it are cringe, but I’m sure there’s a good way to approach it. Would be interested to hear your take.
Thank you for your question, Seth.
Yes, LinkedIn has a lot of poor content which is a good thing because it means it’s starving for great content and easier to stand out if you deliver.
Also, cringy content exists on all social media. The key is to purge anything you don’t enjoy.
Who you connect and engage with has an enormous effect on what the algorithm feeds you.
You also want to keep in mind who you want to serve.
Does your audience or potential customers “hang out” on LinkedIn?
If so, always add value first. Personalize connection requests.
Engage. Engage. Engage.
This means, don’t just like posts.
Comment and add value if you a see a post where your target audience is likely to view it.
Publish content and establish yourself as an authority in whatever service/product you’re offering.
If you don’t have expertise yet, that’s fine. Write about what you’re learning, and if you’re consistent, you’ll attract a following (if it adds value).
Hope that helps!
This comment was deleted 4 years ago.