🗞 What's New: Twitter's new feature helps grow your audience

Twitter has released a new Revue update:

• You can now embed a "subscribe" button within any tweet. If you're looking to grow your audience through helpful Twitter threads, this update may be just what you need.
• Instagram recently announced a host of new tools, with the highly requested desktop posting feature leading the pack. Here's a list of the new updates and how founders can use them.
• Founder Caspar von Wrede is a self-proclaimed "accidental indie hacker" who recently hit $1,500 in monthly revenue with Keepthescore. Having launched with no login, no growth strategy, and no idea what he was doing, he shares what he's learned along the way.

Want to share something with nearly 85,000 indie hackers? Submit a section for us to include in a future newsletter. —Channing

📥 Twitter's Making It Easier to Grow Your Audience

from the Growth & Acquisition Channels newsletter by Darko

Twitter has released a Revue update that allows you to embed a "subscribe" button within any tweet. For founders looking to grow their audiences through threads or newsletters, this update could help!

Twitter's Revue

One of the best ways to gain newsletter subscribers is to publish high-quality content that ends by asking people whether they want more.

Here's how it works: Publish something useful, then somewhere in the middle or at the end, include a blurb like: "Enjoying this? Subscribe here for more awesome stuff."

Twitter released a Revue update last week to enable this option in your tweets. (ICYMI, Twitter acquired Revue at the beginning of this year.)

The update: With this feature, you can embed a "subscribe" button within any tweet. People can see the tweet and subscribe using the email address associated with their Twitter account.

The opportunity: This can be great if you're creating useful Twitter threads. At the end of the thread, you can now do what many people do at the end of a blog post: Directly ask people to subscribe for more.

Avoid Apple's fees

The first update: Apple updated its App Store Guidelines to allow alternative payment methods:

What this means: You can now contact customers about other payment methods, but not within the app itself. This decision stems from a lawsuit that was brought by ~67K developers two years ago. Apple lost.

The second update: Google will reduce in-app (i.e. digital subscription) fees from 30% to 15%.

Luckily, Google's announcement wasn't as subtle as Apple's was:

The opportunity: Less fees = more money for growth. If you have an app on Apple's App Store, explore some ways to take advantage of this update. With the Google update, all you need to do is wait for it to go into effect in two months.

Create efficient ads

"Efficient" ads: These are ads that get your point across as quickly as possible. A six second trailer can be better than a 30 second linear ad. Create efficient ads instead of clever ones.

This works: The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) surveyed 20 industry leaders about their ad performance. It also collaborated with PwC, a multi-billion dollar Big Four accounting firm.

The report found that prioritizing utility over cleverness worked well. People have little patience for ads, especially in the form of digital videos, that don't deliver value upfront. You need to get your point across as fast as possible:

The opportunity: If you lack inspiration for creating efficient ads, take a look at popular short TikTok videos and observe how they get their point across quickly. Can you use any of their concepts for your ads as well?

Are you using Twitter's Revue? Share in the comments.

Discuss this story, or subscribe to Growth & Acquisition Channels for more.

📰 In the News

from the Volv newsletter by Priyanka Vazirani

💀 Facebook's new name is being ridiculed by Hebrew speakers.

🤑 TikTok is testing a tipping feature for creators.

🦑 There's now a "Squid Game" crypto, and it's soared 25,000% in a week.

🚬 England could become the first country in the world to prescribe e-cigarettes.

🍔 McDonald's has partnered with IBM to automate drive-thru lanes.

Check out Volv for more 9-second news digests.

📱 Instagram's New Features

from the Indie Economy newsletter by Bobby Burch

One of Instagram’s most requested features is finally a reality: Users now have the ability to post from a desktop computer. Read on for more!

Insta's updates

Platform tune-up: Instagram recently announced a host of new tools to help creators collaborate with users, raise funds, creatively use music on Reels, and add links to Stories:

1. Desktop posting: You can now post photos, and videos under one minute in length, to Instagram using most desktop web browsers. Desktop posting is similar to posting via mobile, although there are fewer filters and adjustment tools. Previously, Instagram’s web version just allowed users to scroll through their feeds and check (and reply to) messages.
2. Collabs: Top creators were already working together in their DMs. Instagram has now productized the process to enable users to co-author posts and Reels. You must first invite an account to be a collaborator. This allows users to add both names onto a post’s header. Collabs has the potential to boost a post’s impact since it will share to both users’ followers, live on both profile grids, and share views, likes, and comments.
3. Link sharing: Links in Insta Stories were previously limited to verified accounts, or for those with 10K+ followers. Now anyone can do it.
4. Reels music: Reels has two new music effects, Superbeat and Dynamic Lyrics. Superbeat automatically edits videos to the beat of a song, and Dynamic Lyrics displays 3D lyrics that flow with your tune.
5. Fundraising: Instagram has had fundraising features and a livestream donation tool for a while, but the ability to launch a fundraiser from your profile is new.
6. Creator suite: Back in May, Instagram launched Creator Shops to help influencers earn a cut of the sales for products that they display on their profile page. At the same, Insta debuted a marketplace to make it easier for brands to identify creators whose audiences align with their target markets. The feature appears to be inspired by TikTok’s Creator Marketplace.

Quick thoughts: Re: the new desktop posting capability, I recently posted from my desktop, and it was nice to write a lengthy update with a full-sized keyboard. Previously, I used voice to text or iOS Notes to jot down my captions, but it was as painful as it was inaccurate. If you're a social media manager, or simply handling media for yourself, this update should make your life easier.

Parent problems: Facebook (now Meta), which owns Instagram, is in the midst of a widening PR crisis. While researching a product for children, Meta found that Instagram harms teens’ mental health, especially that of young girls. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said he still believes that building “Instagram Kids” is the right thing to do, but has paused the project.

Fountain of youth: Instagram is incredibly important to Meta's growth, and the company is concerned that its young audience is slipping away. Instagram generated about $24B revenue in 2020, nearly 37% of Meta's total.

Deflection: Meta is hoping that its rebrand will distance it from harsh scrutiny from users and Congress, after a whistleblower recently testified to lawmakers about Meta's "prioritization of profits over safety."

What do you think about Instagram’s updates? Share below!

Discuss this story, or subscribe to Indie Economy for more.

🌐 Best Around the Web: Posts Submitted to Indie Hackers This Week

🗣 How do you get customers to talk to you? Posted by Dashiell Bark-Huss.

🗺 A blueprint for SaaS pricing. Posted by Yaag.

😖 These SEO mistakes cost me eight months of growth. Posted by Jaume Ros.

🖥 Do you build desktop apps? Posted by Sebastián Benítez.

💰 Post your affiliate program. Posted by Kyle Krzeski.

🤔 Is Product Hunt losing its edge? Posted by Harry Heyworth.

Want a shout-out in next week's Best of Indie Hackers? Submit an article or link post on Indie Hackers whenever you come across something you think other indie hackers will enjoy.

💲 Accidental Founder Caspar von Wrede Hit $1.5K MRR

by Caspar von Wrede

Hi! I'm Caspar von Wrede, founder of Keepthescore, and I accidentally became an indie hacker.

I was a product manager, and started working on Keepthescore as another side project in 2016. It was my most ambitious project to date; up until then, I had created static sites and simple Android apps. Last year, the double whammy of COVID-19 and the death of my mother pushed me to reconsider my future. I realized that I was trying to love a job that didn’t love me back, so I took two months off from work to focus on doing what I loved: Hacking my own projects.

I added a Stripe integration to Keepthescore, and almost immediately, I was at $500 MRR. This showed me that people were willing to pay for my product, so I quit my job and became a full-time indie hacker.

In the six months since I've quit, I have managed to hit $1.5K MRR.

AMA!

What is your growth strategy?

I launched without a login, and posted my app on Reddit. I was thrilled when I started seeing usage numbers right from day one. This continued (albeit, very slowly) for the next four years. All growth has been organic.

Over the course of the the next few months, I aim to double-down on marketing. I have completely neglected it so far. Did I mention that I have no idea what I’m doing?

My go-to-market strategy was "mediocre SEO." The only proactive thing I do is publish blog articles in the hopes of getting more links. Here's my most successful one, which was on the front page of Hacker News for one day. Improving on this, and actually having a strategy, is what I plan to concentrate on next.

How has the transition been with PMing for a project of your own?

I find that I have much more clarity about the goals and KPIs of my own project. There are no distractions, no other stakeholders, and no meetings.

How did you get your Android app to over 100K downloads?

I made the app by copying another app that was extremely simplistic. I added a little design and some improved features, then just left it alone. It grew by itself. For a while, it was the number one app in the "Comic" category on Google Play. This helped.

The app was more or less dead until some dude made a YouTube video about it that hit 7M views. This alone resulted in over 200K new downloads!

What does your tech look like?

I decided to use Python Flask for my project, and had absolutely no idea what I was doing. (To be honest, I still have very little idea what I am doing.) Through sheer luck, I avoided making any catastrophic technical decisions, and I was able to create a solid foundation upon which I could continue to build. This was in October 2016.

I am absolutely a member of the “Boring Technology Club,” and continue to reap the benefits of that. Back then, my app was a server-side-rendered CRUD app. Now, I have a few sprinkles of Vue.js and some client-side rendering, but all still very boring and CRUDdy.

What's next for your product?

I will be adding subscriptions soon, but other than that, I have no plan.

My goal for the next six months is to reach $2K MRR. My revenue jumps around a lot because I also make custom scoreboards for B2B customers. Here’s an example. This is obviously not scalable, but it's a good way of earning more money. Also, it’s a great way of learning what customers want, and what they are prepared to pay for.

Discuss this story.

🐦 The Tweetmaster's Pick

by Tweetmaster Flex

I post the tweets indie hackers share the most. Here's today's pick:

🏁 Enjoy This Newsletter?

Forward it to a friend, and let them know they can subscribe here.

Also, you can submit a section for us to include in a future newsletter.

Special thanks to Jay Avery for editing this issue, to Nathalie Zwimpfer for the illustrations, and to Darko, Priyanka Vazirani, Bobby Burch, and Caspar von Wrede for contributing posts. —Channing