IndieStack - IndieStack Weekly - Issue #3

Hello friends. This week we touch on getting ahead by learning marketing, a different take on the 80/20 rule, Twitter's new tip jar, successful product launches from inside our community and much more. Enjoy!

The Insight

Most makers start out as developers (we're looking at you too, no-coder!). We love building things, getting into the nitty gritty of the technicalities and shipping features. But, fewer excel at both the technical side and the marketing/sales side of running a business. To have a successful project, you'll need equal parts tech and marketing savvy. Develop your marketing/sales skills early on and you'll be ahead of most people who try to launch side projects; it's never too early to start marketing. Gabriel Perez said it best: "Not many people can write code and be a good salesman and be a good marketer." Inspired from my conversation with Gabriel Perez on the IndieStack podcast.

The Indie Web

• From no-code side project to Zapier acquisition (Product Hunt)
• Build a business, not an audience (Jakob Greenfeld)
• Why Short-Term Solitude Makes You a Better Thinker (Forge)
• 80/20 is the new Half-Ass (SWYX)

The News

• Twitter Tip Jar lets you pay people for good tweetin’ - "Currently being available on both iOS and Android, the feature is designed to give users a way to quickly tip creators a with a few taps. Tip Jar is beginning to roll out this to select groups of users, including nonprofits, journalists, experts and creators." - TechCrunch
• Here’s Exactly What You Need to Know About Apple’s App Tracking Transparency - "...Apple makes clear exactly what happens when you don’t give permission to track your activity: “The app is prevented from accessing your device’s Advertising Identifier.” It also adds that “App developers are responsible for ensuring they comply with your choices.” - OneZero
• DigitalOcean says customer billing data accessed in data breach - "The email said customer billing names and addresses were accessed, as well as the last four digits of the payment card, its expiry date, and the name of the card-issuing bank." - TechCrunch
• Google will soon switch on two-factor authentication by default - "Google is about to take a pretty significant step that will help keep user accounts more secure: it’s going to enroll people in two-factor authentication by default." - The Verge

Bonus Reading:

• ‘Disaster Girl’ has sold her popular meme as an NFT for $500,000 - "Another internet meme has sold for big bucks online: Zoë Roth, best known as “Disaster Girl” for the popular image macro taken by her father in 2005 of her smirking at the camera while a house burns down in the background, has sold the original copy of the meme as an NFT for 180 Ether, worth almost $500,000." - The Verge

The Alternatives

• Personal CRM -> Mogul Networking
• Launch Success -> UserBooster
• Free Illustrations -> Undraw

The Community

🚀 This week, we had two successful launches from our community members:

• Under the Radar: Non-obvious trend signals for marketers and investors
• Meditation Music by ZENmix: Royalty free meditation music for commercial use

Our first-of-many-to-come Curated Resource Guide:

• How to Start a Podcast in 2021

Announcements

Ship in 30 is a cohort-based challenge to build, ship and get your first user within 30 days. The next session will begin on May 20th and registrations for it are now open. Click here to learn more and sign up.

Want to join our growing community of Indie Makers? Learn more.

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