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Growing from $4,000 to $16,000/m with a "productized" service

Howdy Fellow Hackers,

Back in the saddle to share the nitty-gritty details of the Incomparable journey from $4,000 to $16,000 a month. If you missed the first leg of the adventure, catch up for the backstory and the birth of Incomparable, my tiny design studio venturing into the big leagues of software creation.

What's Been Working

(Almost) Daily LinkedIn Posts:
Consistency is king, and LinkedIn has been my realm. Regular posts, insights, and updates paved the way for a robust connection with the audience and served as the primary source for potential prospects.

Referrals:
Word of mouth is a powerful ally. Referral rewards became a rocket fuel of sorts, propelling Incomparable into uncharted territory. Friends, ex-colleagues, and their networks fueled the referral frenzy, sometimes even leading to the pleasant dilemma of rejecting potential clients.

Higher Price Point:
Starting with a seemingly odd move paid off. The strategy of positioning Incomparable at a higher price point played well in a market where product designers are both sought-after and come at a premium. It became a credibility marker, distinguishing us from the competition.

First-Month Discount:
A strategic move to entice those looking to dip their toes without diving headfirst. Offering a first-month discount not only attracted clients eager to sample our services but also ensured a steady revenue stream.

Indie Hackers:
Indie Hackers emerged as a powerful channel, contributing to nearly 40% of new customers. The beauty lies in the fact that many businesses, despite recognizing the need for design expertise, often find themselves without the budget or workload to justify a full-time hire. Enter Incomparable—the flexible solution they were searching for.


What (Still) Hasn't Been Working

Cold Email:
In the pursuit of growth, cold emails emerged as a challenge. Despite anecdotal evidence suggesting its worth, it's proven to be a terrain not easily conquered. Maybe it's my pitch, maybe it's my targeting.

It's also been a hell of a challenging sourcing the emails to send these to. Definitely open to tooling suggestions.

Twitter:
The world of tweets and retweets didn't unfold as expected. Twitter, despite its potential, has been a less fruitful ground for generating leads. The journey on this platform is still a work in progress. Especially for design, it seems incredibly vain and vanity-first, which is not working out well for nitty-gritty product design.


As the journey unfolds, I'll hope to be sharing more insights, challenges, and victories. Definitely couldn't be here without Indie Hackers.

on January 23, 2024
  1. 2

    How much of a jump in price did you go up by? Did you get any comments from current subscribers about the increase?

  2. 1

    Congratulations!
    I always have a question in the back of my head: how do you execute daily tasks?
    Because at some point "unlimited" revision and 1-2day delivery can lead to "traffic jam"

  3. 1

    Your journey is amazing and it's obvious that the techniques you used on Linkedin, through referrals, and at as higher pricer point are creating waves. Cold emails can be challenging; have you attempted outreach that is tailored to the needs of individual clients?

  4. 1

    This was something that was already in the back of my head, but glad to see it being reiterated to reconfirm it. Thanks for the post!

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