I tried sponsoring the Indie Hacker newsletter : Did it pay off?

I kicked off my startup last Tuesday, and it quickly took off. In the first week alone, I’ve hit over $3,000. With conversion rates looking good – 12-15% of site visitors signing up and about 5% of those converting to paying customers, I was optimistic about the potential.

My project Quicklist.ing helps startups by submitting them to over 150 online directories.
Seeing the early success, I decided to scale up fast. By my estimates, I needed around 5 sales from the newsletter sponsorship to break even. So, I took the leap and paid 1000$ for a slot in the Indie Hacker newsletter (70 000 subscribers, 35% open rate and 1% click rate) on Friday, and by Saturday, my ad was live.

Now, let's talk results.

It wasn't all sunshine; I only got 2 sales and about 30-40 sign-ups. But it's not over yet. Today's Monday, and the newsletter is still being opened by subscribers, bringing continuous traffic to my site.

Lessons Learned :

1. Weekends might slow things down : the drop in conversion rates after the newsletter suggests weekends might not be the best time to catch people's attention.

2. Immediate results aren't everything : the full impact of the newsletter might take time to unfold.

3. Test and learn: this experience has shown me the importance of experimenting and adapting.

Next Steps :

I'm keeping my spirits up and considering other strategies, like influencer marketing. It's all about finding what works best.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's been in a similar boat. What worked for you ?