Messages
4/27/2024
6 : 14
Where is the money coming from?
The truth is... The problem with marketing metrics is that most of them are meaningless: How much traffic did we get last month? How many TikTok views? How many clicks did we get from our FB ads? How
4/13/2024
8 : 24
Nathan had to jump through these hoops
Man... First, thanks to everyone for the incredible response to my Calm Companies essay. It's my most shared essay of the year, and I saw it appear in multiple email newsletters and briefly on
4/6/2024
8 : 44
We need more calm companies
Man... It's been hard to watch the recent layoffs in the tech industry. Seeing so many good people being let go has been heartbreaking. Getting laid off doesn't just rattle your career; it
3/2/2024
8 : 14
Product Hunt – worth it?
Remember when... Launching your product on Product Hunt (in the old days) could get you hundreds (or thousands) of new users. In his recent post, Tibo reflected: "When we launched Tweet Hunter
2/19/2024
1 : 44
Do this first, 100x
Howdy! It's time for another SaaS marketing tip. When you're about to launch something new, your first step shouldn't be buying ads, optimizing for SEO, or posting on social media. One of
2/10/2024
21 : 44
Is once enough?
Howdy! Eight years ago, I wrote a piece asking: are we at peak SaaS? My thesis was that people were tired of paying subscriptions for software and that the SaaS market was ripe for disruption.* Late
2/3/2024
10 : 14
A simple tip for user signups
Howdy! A local company here in Vernon asked if I could go for coffee. They are in a bind: they need to increase revenue dramatically, or they won't be able to pay their operational expenses. They
1/27/2024
9 : 24
I can't believe they chose us
Howdy! I've been a huge fan of the Acquired podcast for a while. They do deep-dive episodes on the history of great companies: Nike, Costco, NFL, Nintendo. They're a big deal, with nearly a
1/20/2024
9 : 24
What are you doing now?
Howdy! Thanks to everyone who replied to last week's newsletter. I got more responses than I expected! Seems like lots of folks are excited about this year's direction. As mentioned last week
1/14/2024
9 : 24
What you'll get this year
Howdy! I've decided that in 2024, the main theme of my writing will be marketing and growth tips for SaaS founders. Why? I listen to a lot of bootstrapping podcasts. A recurring sentiment by
1/5/2024
9 : 54
My 2023 year in review
Howdy! Happy New Year! Today, I'm sending you my annual review. Justin in Berlin For the last ten years, I've been sharing my thoughts and reflections in a year-in-review post each year. As
11/21/2023
20 : 24
Please don't do this
I can't believe someone just sent me this.
11/17/2023
2 : 52
Don't ignore the Prosumer market
The normal advice for people building SaaS companies is "Don't build software for consumers (B2C); build it for businesses (B2B)."
9/30/2023
12 : 4
How to do indie marketing these days
Here's 9 ideas that I think still work in 2023
9/22/2023
18 : 44
Flipping tables and hiring kids
It's me, JJ. I have tons of stuff to share with you: the Transistor team and I just got back from our team retreat in Nashville (here are some photos). And soon, I'll be heading to Belgium to
9/5/2023
13 : 34
How I would build a new startup if I had to do it all over
I've been brainstorming how I would build a new indie startup if I had to do it again in 2023. Here are 5 principles I'd use.
8/5/2023
8 : 14
Haven't heard from Paul Jarvis in a while
What ever happened to Paul?
7/22/2023
8 : 14
What I learned about you
hey, here's a few thoughts from today Thanks to everyone who replied to last week's email. I believe I got 63 responses, and while I couldn't respond to every email, I read all of them.
7/16/2023
13 : 14
Where are you at?
hey, here's a few thoughts from today One of the challenges of running this email list (which I started in 2008!) is knowing where everyone's at in their journey and what they're looking
7/8/2023
8 : 14
Ouch.
hey, here's a few thoughts from today Well, this hasn't been the most fun week on my mountain bike. 😬 I was heading down to the chairlift at the downhill park, slipped on some gravel, and fell