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31 Comments

Crossed $20 MRR

Although I hadn't planned to monetize Pod Hunt right away, I wanted to test if people would be willing to support the service before I invested a large amount of time into building it.

Before officially launching Pod Hunt I offered podcast hosts the ability to become a supporter for a small annual fee.

Being a supporter, enhanced the podcast profile, and displayed a supporter badge where ever the podcast was displayed. Not a large feature list, but enough to match the price.

Since this was a test, I decided to take a no-code approach. I created a subscription on Gumroad and linked to it from a page on the website. Whenever a new supporter signups up, I get an email.

I then update the podcast record in the website database to flag them as a supporter. All every manual, but it meant I was able to launch the feature in 1 night, and given the volume it's perfectly manageable.

All supporters signup for an annual subscription, so I'm dividing the revenue by 12 to get the MRR.

The Gumroad dashboard reports total revenue of $270, which equates to $22.50/m.

Although the package was aimed at supporters, a couple of users have subscribed because they like what Pod Hunt is doing!

Checkout the supporters:
https://podhunt.app/supporters

#nocode #gumroad

  1. 3

    I dig that approach. 👌

    1. 1

      Thanks Justin! Moving quickly :)

  2. 2

    Awesome work. I really like the example you're setting for pushing features out quickly. Testing payments in one night instead of taking weeks or longer to implement a payment solution is smart. Go Pod Hunt!

    1. 1

      Thanks Cameron. I've always tried to find the best way to solve the problem before me, without being fixated on doing things one way.

      It's funny to see the debate I see happening around code and no-code, just find the best way to build and ship, based on the time you have and the features you need.

      I've been coding for over 30 years, and still ship with no-code!

  3. 2

    Congrats! This is a great approach. I think it was smart to go the Gumroad route and then update the record manually. I never thought of that. I'm going to give this a try on one of my products. Thanks.

    1. 1

      Definitely as long as the volume is low enough, this should work pretty well!

      That would be a good problem to have, to have so many orders coming in you have to automate it more 😀

  4. 2

    Hey @Mubs, can a podcast hosting company support or advertise? I'd love to support you on this.

    1. 1

      I don't think being a supporter make sense for a hosting company. I'm working on self service solution for advertising, I think that will be the best way to move forward.

      Drop me an email (me-at-mubs.me) or DM me on Twitter and I can share some details.

      1. 2

        Question for ya, do you think that's the best feature to do now?

        Why not wait until you have user scale? I'm sure at this time, the value for advertisers won't match the impressions/visits. I'm more of a supporter of the idea at this stage.

        1. 1

          A number of people have asked for this now, and don't get me wrong it'll take a while to get there fully, but starting with something simple that works for people interested now won't be a huge lift.

          As I mentioned what I have in place for podcast/user supporting, doesn't really work for hosting (and other types of businesses) so I'm figuring out a simple way to get you/them on board.

          No not a marketplace, this is just for placement on Pod Hunt, I have no interest (yet at least) to do anything with the podcasts themselves.

          1. 1

            Ah ok. I assumed you’d be moving to ladder up: 1. sponsor site, 2. advertise on site, 3. connect advertisers with podcasters (again I’m assuming there is an opportunity to create value here and capture some of it).

            1. 1

              Way too early in Pod Hunt's life to do that 😀 Perhaps at some point, but for now still a long way to go to solve the problem of discovery.

        2. 1

          Im guessing this is strategic and a key part of the business model, to help podcasters get their own paying advertisers :)

          1. 1

            This comment was deleted 5 years ago.

  5. 2

    Nice! Looking forward to getting https://madewithgrit.fm on there soon!

    1. 1

      Awesome! The more the better!

  6. 2

    Congrats Mubs!

    Where do you see the future monetization of Pod Hunt going?

    Will podcasters be able to pay to have their podcast stay near the top, like Product Hunt does with their "Promoted" slot?

    1. 1

      Thanks, and not totally sure yet!

      I'd really like to stay away from anything that impacts the leaderboard directly, so maybe something where a podcast host can sponsor a category and have their podcast appear near the top of a category page.

      Interested to hear what hosts would like to see, been trying to talk to a few react appropriately.

      1. 2

        Are you deliberately restricting to podcast hosts/podcasts? I and many other service/products for podcasters would be interested in reaching your audience at some point!

        1. 1

          Yes right now the way the supporter feature works, only makes sense for podcast host/listeners.

          Definitely would be interested in chatting with you about how you'd like to be integrated in the experience.

  7. 2

    Nice one. Great example of starting small and charging early

    1. 1

      Thanks! I've been hesitant to monetize early in the past, but makes so much sense to test as early as possible!

  8. 2

    Just become a supporter (I didn't know it was possible before). Awesome work Mubs!

    1. 1

      Thanks! Marked you as a supporter so you're listed too now!

  9. 2

    Love this. What a great way to test things out monetizing without sinking any time in. Great product! Really excited to see where it goes!

    1. 1

      Thanks Josh!

      Saw your tweet, will definitely test out the player integration.

  10. 2

    Nice group of supporters. Awesome

  11. 2

    SUCCESSS!!!! CONGRAATSSS!!!

  12. 2

    This comment was deleted 4 years ago.

    1. 2

      Simple and quick, the way I like it 😀

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