What's New: Make these marketing decisions before building
(from the latest issue of the Indie Hackers newsletter)
Before building, you need a marketing strategy:
- What benefits will you sell to your audience? Proper positioning will help you attract your target audience and stand out from competitors.
- Project management issues can derail the work. Ask each team member to define the project's what, why, and how, to foster communication.
- A $10M exit after 10 failed products. Thibault Louis-Lucas created a board of 17 influencers to drive growth, and hit $1M in just a year.
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Marketing Decisions to Make Before Building 💭
by Sveta Bay
I cofounded FounderPal and MakerBox, and have been bootstrapping businesses for two years. I've launched over 10 products in that time.
I know that the most challenging part of being an indie hacker is finding the path to profitability as soon as possible. It's hard, especially if it's your first try. Make these 10 marketing decisions before building, to increase your chances to succeed!
The questions
These questions can help you create something that people are actually willing to pay for:
- Segment: What is your core target audience segment?
- Problem: What is one problem you want to focus on?
- Positioning: What benefits will you sell to your audience?
- Differentiation: How is your solution different and unique?
- Status quo: What nemesis will you fight in your marketing?
- Competitors: How is your product better than other alternatives?
- Activation: How will people understand that your product or service has amazing value?
- Pricing: What price will your target audience pay for your solution?
- Traction: How will you get your first 10 paying customers?
- Scale: What marketing channel is suitable for sustainable growth?
The answers
I know it's difficult to answer all of these questions before you have an actual product. But it's better to spend some time brainstorming this in the beginning, or risk building a product that people don't need.
One option is to launch a small side project. Use that to help you answer some of these questions, then launch your main product. Check out this Indie Hackers post where I outline how to create a successful side project!
If you're stuck and don't know where to start when it comes to answering these questions, we launched a simple, free AI-powered tool to make it easier for founders. This will help you answer all 10 questions!
Discuss this story.
In the News 📰
from the Growth Trends newsletter
📙 Your guide to Google Analytics 4 attribution.
🤖 AI is making economists rethink the story of automation.
💲 Link to your product here. Our most affordable ad.
🤩 Investing in content is a winning strategy.
🎮 YouTube's free games catalog rolls out to all users.
👩🔬 The science behind social shopping.
Check out Growth Trends for more curated news items focused on user acquisition and new product ideas.
Avoid These Issues in Project Management ❌
by Martin Baun
These common issues are plaguing project management, but the strategies included below can help resolve them!
Communication breakdown
Communication breakdown is common without properly defined protocols. This can be due to a lack of clearly defined expectations from the project manager, or an inability to define specific roles for the team.
I have instilled processes that maintain open communication between me and my team members. These processes help us track information, make correct decisions, and cultivate a productive work environment. One is daily synchronous meetings with my team, where we discuss project ideas, progress, and any technical difficulties.
For more, check out Seven Tips for Effective Communication in Remote Teams.
Poor planning and methodology
A project manager should plan accordingly. You need to account for the potential need for a larger budget, timeframe, or both, to properly execute the project.
Create checklists that guide the project with specific deliverables. Don't plan too far out; a week or two in advance is more realistic.
Unclear objectives and responsibilities
Ask each team member to define the project's what, why, and how. This helps ensure that everyone understands the directive.
Unclear objectives make the work harder than it needs to be!
Drowning in paperwork
Remember to always document your work, but don't overdo it.
I don't recommend spending a lot of time on documentation. This takes valuable effort and energy away from the principal activities needed to progress the projects. Paperwork is vital, but drowning in it can drain the energy and productivity of your team. Find a proper balance between documentation and creativity.
Inadequate project resources
Finances aren't the only resource that teams need; they also need enough human resources and time to deliver quality work.
The project manager must analyze the team's needs, and provide them. You may need to add an extra team member, software, or both.
Resistance to change
Resisting change can have detrimental outcomes that can slow, or even undo, progress.
You may face some resistance from your superiors or team members, but try to help them through it. Do not resist change. Embrace it, and use it to your advantage.
For more thoughts, guides, and insights visit my blog here!
Discuss this story.
Harry's Growth Tip 🧠
from the Marketing Examples newsletter
Showcase how frictionless your product is:
Subscribe to Marketing Examples for more short, sweet, practical marketing tips.
From Bankruptcy to Eight Figure Exit 💰
by Marc Andre
Each week, FlipMySite publishes an inspiring success story featuring a founder growing and selling an online business.
Thibault (Tibo) Louis-Lucas launched 10 products, both alone, and with a cofounder (Thomas Jacquesson). They challenged themselves to build a new product each week to validate ideas before attempting to scale.
Striking gold
The 11th product was Tweet Hunter, a simple tool for finding viral tweets on specific topics. Initially, Tibo and his cofounder built Tweet Hunter primarily for their own use.
They initially priced Tweet Hunter at $9 per month, and within a few weeks, it reached $1K MRR. At that point, they knew they had found a product that could be successful.
Explosive growth
Tibo turned to influencers to grow the business. He reached out to a handful of X influencers to see if they'd be willing to promote Tweet Hunter, and was caught off guard by one of the responses.
One of those influencers asked Tibo about becoming a partner, with equity in the business. Tibo and Thomas agreed, and the trio started planning an official launch. The launch propelled Tweet Hunter to $20K MRR, and they continued promoting after the launch.
Eventually, Tibo and Thomas formed a "Creative Investor Board" of 17 influencers; each got 0.1% ownership of the business. Many influencers joined because there were no major responsibilities involved. They were incentivized to share Tweet Hunter and Taplio, which created viral exposure and growth.
Tibo and Thomas also created several small free tools based on a single feature or functionality of Tweet Hunter and Taplio.
The free tools were promoted on social media and through Product Hunt launches. In fact, Tibo was Product Hunt's "Maker of the Year" in 2022! Tibo shares more details about this approach, and the results, in his newsletter.
The exit
After growing to $1M ARR in just 12 months, Tibo and Thomas decided to sell. They realized that their business depended highly on other companies, and rested on decisions beyond their control. Cashing out seemed very wise at the time, and history showed that it was the right move: X API bumped its pricing up, and even cut Tibo's access for a few days at one point.
In 2022, they sold for $2M in cash upfront, plus an earn out based on revenue from the two years following the acquisition. As part of the acquisition, they also agreed to stay on board for two years. The total acquisition price, including the earn out, is in the $10M-$15M range.
Discuss this story.
The Tweetmaster's Pick 🐦
I post the tweets indie hackers share the most. Here's today's pick:
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Special thanks to Jay Avery for editing this issue, to Gabriella Federico for the illustrations, and to Sveta Bay, Darko, Martin Baun, Harry Dry, and Marc Andre for contributing posts. —Channing
