🗞 What's New: New opportunities with OpenAI's API update

OpenAI recently added function calling to its API:

• This introduces external code, databases, and other APIs, making tasks easier to complete. Founders weigh in below on new opportunities that will arise from this update.
• With everything on your to-do list, maintaining an engaged Twitter audience can sometimes fall by the wayside. This guide can help breathe new life into your Twitter account, and increase your following.
• Founder Pankaj Singh hits $2,000+ in monthly revenue across three small side projects, all of which he launched in the last 2 years. Here, he shares how he manages all of his projects, the key to deciding what to launch, and how he entered the private label rights space.

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💡 Opportunities With GPT's API Update

by Inmypjs

OpenAI just added "function calling" to its GPT API, meaning that it can now use external code, databases, and other APIs to complete tasks.

If you're building an AI product, or integrating AI into an existing one, your product just became a whole lot more powerful. I'd bet that a lot of opportunities just opened up for it, too!

What opportunities do you all see?

Automation station

Kay Tukendorf says that automations are the name of the game:

Seems like it's going to be easy to build general purpose automations really soon, which is super exciting.

There's already been a massive wave of this, thanks to LangChain. This adds even more potential to the pile! The benefit of LangChain is that it can be model-agnostic, which is going to come in handy when open source models catch up, or models move towards niche use cases.

Schemas schemes

Dany is excited about this new possibility:

First case, and not a small one, is that you don't have to trick GPT to render a schema that could give you a random result.

For example, I have to tell it:

Sometimes, the API makes an error and destroys the flow of my application. Function calling means instant improved stability for my app.

Alex is a bit more skeptical on this benefit:

People have already been doing this manually by providing a schema in a prompt to get an output in a specific format. Now, OpenAI has made it part of its API.

Being an API, it's still not as reliable as many people might think. As a developer, you still have to verify the output and handle cases when a GPT can't return what you expect.

tl;dr: It changes nothing. All those capabilities have been available since day one, and OpenAI just made them a little bit more convenient.

A race to the bottom?

Josh Barkin says that it's a double-edged sword:

Powerful AI has become very accessible, and indie hackers can spin up apps quickly. However, it also knocks off other apps just as quickly, so it becomes a race to the bottom without much differentiation on price and features.

Plus, existing incumbents can easily augment what they have, making it harder for an indie hacker to impact market share. That said, there are still lots of opportunities and possibilities!

Alexander Agleham agrees:

Good point! If everyone can do it, it's no longer special.

It will then be a battle of better marketing messages and offers, but ultimately will have the same function.

Cause for concern

JaviST shares a concern:

This undoubtedly has the potential to streamline a plethora of applications, but there is a concerning side to allowing an AI such unrestrained access to databases and APIs.

I was thinking about scenarios where the AI initiates a multitude of requests to a service that charges per usage. This could unintentionally rack up a significant bill.

Or, it could lead to AI sending a large number of requests to server endpoints in a short span of time, straining the servers like a DDoS would. Or, it could lead to GPT inadvertently sending commands to IoT devices, such as smart fridges.

Paranoia aside, the functions will add a ton of value!

Ben adds:

You wouldn't give it unconstrained access. It would be appropriately scoped as if it were the current user performing the task.

However, I do imagine that inexperienced developers may implement unsafe things.

How do you envision using the updated GPT API? Let's chat below!

Discuss this story.

📰 In the News

from the Growth Trends newsletter by Darko

🍎 The App Store is rolling out a new ad format.

👩‍💻 Here's why content distribution is more important than ever.

🏛 The US FTC is suing Amazon for allegedly tricking customers into buying Prime subscriptions.

💸 The Reddit API backlash continues, with moderators demonetizing subreddits.

⬇️ Discord plans to let creators sell downloadable products.

Check out Growth Trends for more curated news items focused on user acquisition and new product ideas.

❤️‍🩹 Reviving a Stagnant Twitter Account

by Christopher Nguyen

I grew my Twitter account to 4.9K followers last year, then I got distracted and became less active. I still post daily, but I don't engage with other creators.

I want to revive my account, but my engagement is so low that I'm struggling to get to 5K followers.

Have any founders experienced this? I'd love to hear some advice from you guys!

The growth guide

Vintually offers a full guide to growing a community on Twitter:

I run a few social media accounts that I keep inactively active:

• Ottojokes.
• Setvr.
• Project Rosett: Temporarily ditched, but it's a smaller account with a nice ratio.
• Taskslayerz: My latest account.

When I go back to focus on increasing my following on the smaller accounts, here's what I do:

1. Consider why I'm coming back to social media, and what I want. Over the last two years, I've shifted from wanting followers to wanting user emails.

2. Remember who really loved my content. What groups of people enjoyed what types of content? This is low-hanging fruit for coming back to social media.

3. Examine hashtags. Did I use any hashtags that did exceptionally well? Any accounts that interacted with me and might be missing me?

4. Resume similar marketing to when I was first getting started, but also putting new, improved content out. This helps me leverage the experience that I gained when growing the initial following.

Remind people about you

You'll need to begin growing engagement again, as people have temporarily forgotten about you. You may have followers, but depending on how long your absence was, your engagement may be back at zero.

Here's how to increase engagement again:

• Commenting.
• Listing.
• Liking: Remember that this takes multiple likes over time.

Pro tip: Target 2-3 different personas so you don't spam one persona's community.

You'll want to share valuable content that interests people enough to stop, read, like, and share.

The first month or two can be pretty rough, but usually after that hump, things start getting back to "normal." To expedite this process, you can:

• Start making new connections with people who are in active your target persona's communities.
• Run an "I'm back!" marketing campaign, then a new content campaign to help showcase personality and highlight value.
• Share your tweets on other social media platforms, like Reddit, Discord, forums, etc., to pull in a new audience.

Final tip

I've heard that Twitter Spaces is a great tool for reengaging and growing an audience.

I haven't personally used this feature, but I have seen newer accounts gain traction faster by leaning heavily into Spaces.

What are your tips on maintaining an engaged Twitter audience? Share below!

Discuss this story.

🔥 Landing Page Hot Tips

by Rob Hope

Strengthen your landing page with these design, development, and conversion tips:

Watch someone interact with your landing page. It can be truly terrifying to do, but the learnings are worth it.

Sit with someone from your target market, and study what it takes for them to convert.

Subscribe to Rob's One Page Love newsletter for his favorite UI, design, and development finds.

💲 Pankaj Singh Hits $2K MRR With His Side Projects

by Pankaj Singh

Hi, indie hackers! I'm Pankaj Singh, and two years ago, I started several side projects alongside my full-time digital marketing and web design job.

I learned the importance of side income when I lost my job during the pandemic. At that time, my wife was in the hospital fighting for her life. I received a call from the company letting me know that I would no longer be working there. This was a turning point for me, as I realized the importance of a side hustle!

Read on for more!

The beginning

After struggling for months, I used my web design skills to build UrbanPLR, a platform that offers 85K private label rights (PLR) digital products, with resell rights.

By curating a vast collection of PLR content that cannot be found elsewhere, I started capturing the attention of individuals seeking customizable digital products.

The turning point

I was looking for free ways to market my project. During my research, I learned about lifetime deals (LTDs) and their benefits. I chose AppSumo as my LTD platform, and published a deal there. UrbanPLR quickly became popular on the platform, generating $40K in eight months. This was my first income from a side hustle, and was also a lifesaver for me. I paid my hospital bills, started investing in domain flipping businesses, hired an SEO executive for UrbanPLR, and never looked back!

Currently, UrbanPLR is ranking for 50+ top PLR keywords, generating 3K+ organic visitors monthly, and consistently hitting $2K+ MRR.

Second side project

After decoding the PLR product business, I launched PLRLIME. I spoke with my existing UrbanPLR members and captured their feedback. This helped me build PLRLIME with premium individual digital products (UrbanPLR is a bulk PLR product site) with resell rights. By providing well-researched, professional materials, PLRLIME saves busy founders time and effort by enabling them to focus on growing their online presence.

Now, PLRLIME is the bigger hit compared to UrbanPLR, generating $75K in less than one year. It's still live on AppSumo, and has over 100 five star reviews.

Third side project

I've been doing SEO for seven years, and have placed more than 80 websites on Google's first page. Throughout this time, I received more than 300 requests for SEO services, but the majority of them came from small businesses or solo founders who couldn't afford the high costs of hiring an SEO expert.

For them, I built a DIY SEO toolkit that offers 2K+ free and freemium resources, including keyword research tools, backlink checkers, and website analysis tools. It also provides a curated list of SEO e-books, guides, and video courses from industry leaders to help website owners learn the ins and outs of SEO.

The project is live, and has also been featured on TheNextWeb. I launched this project three months ago, and it has made $7K since then.

Other recent side projects

I launched my Etsy store, started selling, and have gotten a few five star ratings. I also own a portfolio of 50+ premium domains. Get my free e-books and guides here!

Finally, I've sold two side projects for $1.2K each.

The key to side project success

Maintaining profitable projects requires a combination of strategic management and unwavering passion. I arrived at this place in two years by leveraging my skills, knowledge, and market insights to identify underserved niches and provide valuable solutions.

I devoted time and effort to consistently deliver high-quality products and services, building a loyal customer base and generating recurring income. Always provide more than the customer has purchased!

Closing thoughts

In today's uncertain world, having a second income is essential for financial stability. I strongly believe that everyone should explore the opportunity of a digital product business. It offers flexibility, scalability, and the potential for passive income.

Start today!

Discuss this story.

🐦 The Tweetmaster's Pick

by Tweetmaster Flex

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 Inmypjs, Darko, Christopher Nguyen, Rob Hope, and Pankaj Singh for contributing posts. —Channing