Narrowcasting: Lessons on bootstrap marketing

"‘If you do something well on the internet for 5 solid years, you will, at the end of that period, be the only person doing it.’" <- I like this. Consistency is key - I agree with podcasting/blogging this could be true. But would you say it applies to SaaS businesses? Surely if no one is buying your product/service for 5 years, it's a sign to pack it in, or at the very least pivot?

Great post! I definitely think that bootstrap marketing is a great way to get started with marketing, especially if you're on a tight budget. I've definitely learned a lot from doing it myself and I think it's a great way to learn about the different aspects of marketing. Thanks for sharing your insights!

I believe it was @sahil who said something like - "everyone thinks you should just throw spaghetti at the wall until you find what sticks, but another option is to take a piece of spaghetti and hold it against the wall for ten years." Basically like, choose your thing and just stick with it and do it well. That's what sticks.

This has been my approach now. Slow and steady. And build something real. And I have to say, I find it very satisfying.

Nice piece! Totally agree. Consistency is so important and it's ultimately what will set apart so many in the content marketing space. I encourage my clients to think about this when they start cooking up ambitious content marketing plans.

Them: "We could start a blog, do an e-book, video series and a podcast cast every week!"
Me: Maybe pick one of those things 😬

It's not that a smaller company couldn't accomplish that, but if you're starting from scratch and spread thin, it's best to maximize your efforts into the most effective channel at your disposal. Where are your customers' customers? Meet them there with quality content consistently.

I'm not sure I agree with the analogy. You can't compare one podcast to one product. I know one podcast is just one of many podcasts out there, just like one SaaS product is one of many products out there. But when people look for podcasts, they're not looking for just one - they download Spotify/Stitcher (wherever they get their podcasts) and listen to a range of podcasts depending on the topic they're into. So I think competition is lower - in fact, your 'competitors' can sometimes work as complements of your "product"/podcast as opposed to substitutes.