The Indie Hackers Newsletter • Sunday, August 23, 2020
I'm changing up the newsletter!
It should be easier for you to keep up with what's new in the world of Indie Hackers. So I'm putting multiple stories in each email instead of just one.
Let me know what you think of the new format!
(Also, if you find or write something you'd like to be included, email me: channing@indiehackers.com.)
What's in this email:
- The Product That's Growing Itself. He's failed twice. Learn how he's using marketing automation to make the third time a charm.
- In the News. Epic Games, the publisher behind Fortnite, just trolled Apple. A team of founders created a spreadsheet of 56 newsletters for every taste. Twitter released a new API. And more.
- 3 Growth Tips. Increase your visibility on social media. Generate more revenue with a better business model. Grow your traffic with a little help from GitHub.
- PR for Indie Hackers. It's hard to get press. But not impossible. Learn how to get journalists writing about you, and how to capitalize on the traffic spikes that come your way.
Here we go!
—Channing (@channingallen)
The Product That's Growing Itself
He's launched two startups before. Both failed. But his latest attempt, a content-generating platform called Contentyze, is different.
The business is already making $4,000/mo. Yet founder Przemek Chojecki only started building the app in January, and he won't start charging a subscription fee for another month or two. What's his trick?
Ad-sponsored content.
Sound boring? Well, it's not just any content. It's automated content. Anywhere from dozens to thousands of posts per day. Yes: thousands. Per day. All using the machine learning algorithm from his very own platform.
Check out his full interview to learn how he came up with the idea, how he validated and built it, and how he plans to gain traction.
In the News
- Twitter's new API is out. They really pissed off indie hackers back with first API. Now they're trying to win back that trust with v2, but it's already looking pretty shaky…
- Epic Games vs Apple. Fortnite developer Epic Games is the latest tech company to go head-to-head with Apple over their App Store policies. They even trolled Apple with a parody of Apple's famous "1984" video. Last month Basecamp had a similar fight with Apple, and the result wasn't what anybody anticipated.
- Newsletters are the new hotness. This is your chance to learn from the best. A team of founders put together a funky spreadsheet of 56 newsletters for every taste.
- Pieter Levels is at it again. His new product only took him 30 days to build, got #1 on Product Hunt, and he tweeted each step of the way.
3 Growth Tips
We've got a mailing list that sends out 5 growth tips a week. You can sign up on our site.
Here are 3 from the past week:
- You might be missing out on social media clicks. Videos that are uploaded directly to posts are generally prioritized over linked videos by each platform's algorithm. Read more…
- Freemium business models work. But it's tough to never see a dime from so many users. Try this alternative: offer your core product at an enticingly low one-time price to get customers in the door. Then upsell them on a subscription to a supplementary product or service. Read more…
- GitHub can be an excellent source of traffic — particularly if your product targets developers. To get more eyes on your app, try optimizing for GitHub stars. The best place to start is by making a good first impression with a beautiful and informative README. Read more…
On the Podcast
Getting press is hard. Especially if you're an indie hacker. But it can really pay off if you know how to do it. So this week I decided to interview PR pro Dmitry Dragilev to show us all how it's done. Here are just a few of the tips he shared:
📖 You need a story, but don't create one yourself. Use HARO (free) or Dmitry's product JRO to learn what journalists are asking for, then respond to their requests.
💌 How to pitch journalists via email: (1) Mention what they've written on the topic. (2) Share your story. (3) Ask if they want to hear more. (4) Keep it all under 200 words.
🐣 PR smoke test: When you have a new idea, pitch journalists to gauge interest before you build anything or even put up a landing page.
♻️ Think ahead: Press hits are temporary, so direct the traffic to something permanent like a mailing list or an SEO landing page.
🌎 Small wins. Local press is starved for content, so pitch them on little things relevant to their locale.
Check out the rest of our discussion for more tips to help you get traffic. I also linked some helpful posts that Dmitry has written in the show notes.
And if there are other topics or guests you'd like to see on the show, email me your suggestions! —Courtland (@csallen)