Tipalink

I started developing an API for Tipalink at the beginning of this year so that I can offer others the opportunity to add tipping features to their websites, web applications, and mobile apps. The API Docs have been published to https://www.tipalink.com/docs/api. Contact me using the contact form on Tipalink.com if you'd like to explore using it and I can send you a temporary access token.

In an effort to build user trust and create some content on the site for inbound marketing, I added a blog to Tipalink and wrote the first article on its origin story: https://www.tipalink.com/blog/the-story-behind-tipalink. I plan on writing one to two articles a month.

I created my first pitch deck for Tipalink (and first one ever!) and had a chance to present it to a potential investor last week. The overall response was "there is something there... I don't know what it is yet... I want to more fully understand it...". The feedback on the general idea was positive, as it has been from almost everyone I've talked to. But not being technical, they were not clear on how the implementation is unique versus competitors. They wanted to know if it can be protected through a patent.

Tipalink started getting it's first users to create a Profile who were not within my network/local community around the last week of September. Then, in early October, we got our first international user to create a Profile. Users need a Profile in order to start accepting tips, so they are the "egg" before the "chicken".

The Chrome web browser extension that I mentioned in my previous milestone post has been successfully published to the Chrome web store!

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tipalink/hpaaecodojbhibiclomgbglgocfipice

It cost $5 to register a developer account, about 1-2 hours to complete the submission form, and only 1 day (very surprisingly) to have it reviewed and approved.

I made a Chrome browser extension that loads and opens/closes the embedded Tipalink App on any web page. This was my first browser extension and I created it because I thought it would help user adoption. I started the process of publishing it on the Chrome Web Store extension directory, but I have yet to submit my application. In the meantime, I uploaded it to my server and included a link on the FAQ under "How do I give tips?" (https://www.tipalink.com/faq#faq-give-tips).

I used Fiverr to find someone to make an explainer video for Tipalink. I figure this is a very important step to help people quickly understand the service, without having to read through the wall of text that is my FAQ ;). I supplied the script, branding images, and screenshots. They created the animation and voiceover. I think they did a fantastic job and would definitely use them again! The video is prominently displayed at the top of the home page and it's been published to YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHUGE72GGHQ.

I had written a rather lengthy post describing this process in detail, but it's been lost: while I was typing a URL, a preview window popup up below and when I x-ed out of it the page change/refreshed and I lost everything. Argh...

So I'm now going to keep it short and sweet: a WP plugin for adding the Tipalink App to WP sites has been created and added to the official WordPress.org plugin repository: https://wordpress.org/plugins/tipalink/.

This is a milestone, because it will make adding the service to websites very very easy for users with WP sites (which is like, what, 80% of individuals and small businesses?!). All it does is add a script and meta tag to the head of a site. The script does the heavily lifting: generates the app in an embedded iframe and displays it as on overlay when opened.

Next project is browser extension for "advanced users". ;)

Tipalink was recently accepted into The Harbor Accelerator program (https://www.harborec.com/business-accelerator) here in Charleston, SC. It starts next week and runs through mid-November. I'm really looking forward to this next step in growing Tipalink...

Over the week of July 21-28 I got my first users, including 6 who created a Profile and added the Tipalink App to their website using the JavaScript script (https://www.tipalink.com/faq#faq-tip-app). Three users made tips and paid their first Tabs!