Indie Bites

I had the idea for the Indie Bites podcast on the 1st Sept 2020, bought the domain on the 2nd, built the Notion site on the 3rd then released the first episode with Charlie Ward on the 4th.

Since then I've recorded episodes with some of my favourite Indie Hackers, including Natalie Nagele, Justin Jackson, and the man himself, Courtland Allen.

I've met some of the kindest and supportive people through this podcast in some of the toughest periods of my life.

I couldn't have done it without the support of indie hackers everywhere.

I even made some revenue, £2,290.45 to be exact (around $3,100), through sponsors and members. Here's the full rundown of the numbers:

🎉 Total downloads: 20,767
📈 Avg downloads p/m: 1,730
📈 Avg downloads p/ep: 692
💸 Total revenue: £2,290.45
💰 Sponsors: £1,552.45
🤑 Members: £738
📆 Best month: March 2021 (3,551)
🚀 Best episode: Dan Rowden (1,221)

I've written a more in-depth post reflecting on the year here.

Just 2 weeks after posting my previous milestone, I’ve reached 2,000 podcast downloads. I’ve been trying to post as consistently as I can since the episode that was posted on the Indie Hackers feed. Here are my three favourite episodes so far.

Harry Dry - #2
I’d spoken to Harry before and recorded a two-hour podcast with him just as Marketing Examples was picking up (around 5k subs), so he was a no-brainer to ask to join me on this new format. As always, it was fun and inspiring to speak to him, discussing exactly what he’s been doing to grow Marketing Examples into one of the best marketing resources out there. He’s a perfect example of growing an audience by providing value.

Listen to this episode if you’d like to get better at marketing your products and would like to learn what it takes to build an audience.

Anne-Laure Le Cunff - #4
I’ll be honest, it was pretty much the opposite situation with Anne-Laure. We’d not spoken before and I hadn’t regularly kept up with her content (despite it being shared with me very often), but that changed as soon as I started prepping for this episode. I found myself with 15 Ness Labs tabs open with articles I wanted to read, and now I read every email Anne-Laure sends. I found this conversation genuinely inspiring as it covered something I’d not really delved into much, mindful productivity.

Listen to this episode if you’re burning the candle at both ends and you’d like to know a little more about why you need to be more mindful about the work you do.

Wilhelm Klopp - #10
Having this episode as one of my favourites surprised me, but Wil is a super smart guy and that came across in abundance during this conversation. We spoke about not only how he built and grew one of the most popular Slack apps of all time, but also the ups and downs of going full-time on a side-project.

Listen to this episode if you’re thinking about going full-time on your side-project, but you’re not sure if it’s the right move.

Just over 5 weeks after launching the Indie Bites podcast, my downloads have crossed 1,000 total. I would like to take all the credit, but it wouldn't have been possible without a very helpful nudge from Courtland by posting an episode on the Indie Hackers podcast feed.

It's been quite the journey already producing the podcast, having spoken to 10+ fantastic founders sharing their stories and publishing 7 bite-sized episodes. Courtland joined me for just the 5th episode and has been supportive of the podcast ever since.

I was extremely fortunate that my podcast aligns with the Indie Hackers audience well, so featuring an episode of the podcast on the IH feed would be an interesting experiment.

Before the episode was featured, my downloads were at around 450, and I'm now at 1,400.

I'm inspired by the great feedback I've had from fellow indie hackers on the format and episodes - I'm excited to keep producing the podcast.

Having come up with the idea for this podcast just a few weeks ago, the feedback and support I’ve had from the launch of the Indie Bites podcast has been exceptional. I’m grateful that the Indie Hackers community exists and is so encouraging.

In the past week, I’ve managed to publish 2 episodes, with @charlierward and @harrydry, and also scheduled another 10 recordings over the next few weeks. Including Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Courtland Allen, and Rosie Sherry (plus a bunch more incredible indie hackers).

I also hit a huge milestone just a few episodes in, by securing my first sponsor!

It’s from none other than the community I’ve been a member of since the start and one that provides me with immense value every day, Weekend Club.

Charlie (Weekend Club founder) is taking a chance to sponsor the podcast at such an early stage with just a few episodes released. It means a lot that he believes in me to make the podcast a success in the months and years to come.

I’m looking forward to recording and editing the next few episodes of the podcast, sharing short, bite-sized conversations with the Indie Hackers community.

Like many people in this community, I'm a huge fan of @csallen's podcast. He talks to incredible guests and is one of the best interviewers out there, without a doubt. Listening to this podcast inspired to make my own one sharing the stories of Indie Hackers, but in a shorter format.

Having been part of the Indie Hackers community for a while, I've loved meeting some of the insanely talented and driven people out there making incredible products. On this website, Twitter, Indie London and Weekend Club, I'm always speaking to someone new who is building a clever business.

I wanted to use my skills as a podcaster to share the stories of these indie hackers building small, bootstrapped and profitable side projects, in a bite-sized format.

Each episode will be less than 15 minutes, talking to a new indie hacker each week covering how they come up with ideas, what they do to validate, find those first customers and make a sustainable income.

I've put up a landing page where you can find out more about the show, and see a list of episodes I've scheduled and guests I've invited (Courtland included).

https://indiebites.co

So far, I've recorded episodes with Charlie Ward of Weekend Club and Harry Dry of Marketing Examples.

I'd love to learn more from the community about guests you'd like to hear from, improvements I can make to the podcast or any other suggestions you might have.