It was time. I was finally launching PH launches on Product Hunt.

I had been working on the project for the past month and had 180 case studies. I love curation, but I’d reached the point where I just wanted it out there. I needed to launch, otherwise I was likely to put pause on it and lose moment.

Preparing For The Launch

I launched PHLaunches on August 3rd. I spent a couple of hours preparing launch materials and released it shortly after midnight.

Click here to view the launch at Product Hunt. 

In retrospect, I wish I had spent more time on the preparations. I worked hard to create a compelling tagline and comprehensive first comment.

The graphics I created where shit and really let the launch page down. I used Phigma templates to help me create the images. Now, this is an amazing product that has a lot of potential. However, I hadn’t used Figma before. I had no idea what I was doing and was trying to whip up compelling graphics using an unfamiliar product. The images reflect that.

Action steps:

• I will experiment more with creating graphics using Figma.
• I’ll start a ‘swipe file’ of graphics I’d like to emulate with future launches

Launching The Product

I launched it at 5pm in my time (Melbourne, Australia). It took a while for it to show up on Product Hunt itself, but I’d observed this happening with other launches.

After 90 minutes, I was in 6th place with 10 votes. By 7pm, I had gone back to 8th position. This was a bit depressing. The leaders for the day were averaging 30 votes, with the top being at 85. I try not to tie emotions to product launches – especially when I put minimal effort into the actual launch – but I’d started to feel a bit depressed. I thought the meta nature would have led to a lot more attention.

After 6 hours, I had 100 uniques to the website – eight of those had visited the recommended page. At the 7 hour mark, I was in ninth place with 51 votes. At this point I was feeling defeated and went to bed.

By the time I woke up, there was just five hours left in the launch. It finished as one of the top 10 products of the day with 153 upvotes. Today, 4 weeks later, it has 245 upvotes.

I intentionally stepped away from social media during this time. I posted five times during the evening; largely because I was so fascinated by behaviour during the launch and wanted to share it. I quickly moved to taking notes in a Google doc to avoid overwhelm.

This was a strong reason for the average result. Not that many people would have been aware of it. I’d recently restructured my Twitter present and had set up a specific account for my indie/bootstrapping adventures. That account only had 28 people following it. I could have achieved a lot more if I had waited to build up my profile. I also avoided manual outreach. 

I stand by both decisions. They impacted on my results but allowed me to learn a lot more. 

Action steps:

• Focus on building up my Twitter presence
• Create an outreach plan for future launches

The Results

PH Launches finished as 9th or 10th Product of the Day. I had around 435 visitors on launch day and 600 visitors for launch week. These visits averaged 30 seconds. Of these visitors, just 19 visited the recommended page and 8 checked out the submission page. I made 39.79 from the launch: two copies of Jim Raptis’ Launch Checklist and one copy of his Phigma templates.

I was disappointed with the lack of affiliate income. I had been hoping to make at least $100. Most of the people who are active on Product Hunt however would have been aware of the recommended products. They would be a lot more useful to those who aren’t that active on Product Hunt, which means I need to look at promotional opportunities outside of the PH community. 

I was also disappointed with the amount of time people spent on the site. I worked my arse off to create those case studies and it felt like most visitors only gave them a cursory glance. However, I suspect that is a reflection of how I presented the information. I need to work on ways to make it more useful.

Action steps:

• Look at promotional strategies outside of the Product Hunt ecosystem
• Find a different way to present the information

Getting feedback

The launch was disappointing in many aspects but was definitely worth it for the feedback I got. I didn’t get as much as I would have liked, which was frustrating. I had previously posted on Indie Hackers seeking feedback and hadn’t gotten any responses. It felt like I was creating in a vacuum and I didn’t know what to do.

Steph Ness was incredibly helpful with his feedback. He recommended having a badge for the products that were #1 Product of the Day, and creating a button so that people could skip straight to the case studies.

Another person suggested creating a newsletter to make it easier to stay up to date with new launches. I had considered this, but didn’t want to make the commitment. I decided to do a quick test. I got 46 email signups by the end of launch day. In the following weeks, I got 10 more. 

I am very grateful for these data points. They really helped guide my decisions.

Was it worth it?

I am glad I launched the product. The feedback was helpful and temporary traffic helped me push through my resistance. However, it probably wasn’t the best timing for the product. 

I could have made a much larger impact had I waited an extra month. I could have improved the product and spent time creating better marketing materials. Product Hunt has rules about relaunching the same product, so I’m not sure I will be able to promote it on there in the future. 

I believe it was worth launching earlier for this specific website. I was able to earn some affiliate commissions, which helped go towards some bills. I have started an email list, which I can slowly build on to send more traffic to the site. I also have experience and data that I can use to influence future launches. I am planning to be more strategic with future launches

Would you mind if I brainstorm some quick ideas for you to put on Gumroad? You probably already have a path you wanna take bootstrapper directory but maybe some gumroad/google sheet products could get you a few bucks to hold you over?

via Twitter

I was both excited and terrified. My online profile was a mess. I had been planning on revamping this website, but had chosen to prioritize the websites that had the highest income potential. This made it difficult for anyone to understand exactly what I did.

I quickly pressed publish on my resume page and kindly accepted Andrews offer. He ended up suggesting 7 great ideas.

Idea One: 100 Twitter Templates

Andrew recommended that I copy this idea for my own audience and then sell it on Gumroad.

My first reaction was to reject the idea. I launched a product about how to network on Twitter in 2010 and though the market was over-saturated back then.Behaviour has changed so much – and I don’t necessarily like it. I also struggle with how information is structured in Google Sheets; I very much prefer WYSIWYG editors.

It did get me thinking.

#1

I love nature and follow a lot of ecologists on social media. Years ago, I had considered creating information products and resources for Australian ecologists.It would be incredibly easy to create a template for that audience. I wouldn’t even have to use Google Sheets! I could create a guide about 50 recommended blog posts. I could create an ebook that listed different types of blog content and go into brief descriptions. I could even repurpose content from past products!

There is no guarantee I would earn an income, especially as I have virtually no profile in that niche. I could seed copies with some of my ecologist friends on social media.

My main problem with this is that I don’t want to monetize content targeted at this community. The natural environment is facing enough obstacles as it is. I did plan to turn the domain into an information hub and monetize it via affiliate links, however it is a case of too many ideas and not enough time.

I will be sitting on this idea and revisiting it in the future. In the meantime, I can reach out to ecologist friends and see what types of information would be useful to them.

#2

In 2010, I released an ebook about how to network on Twitter. I’ve chosen not to re-release this ebook as the information is outdated. There is also a lot of existing products about Twitter.

Most of those products overlook the networking/connecting potential of Twitter. I could revisit the idea and create a product titled “50 Ways To Network On Twitter.”

Instead of creating a template, I could create a list of various ideas. It wouldn’t take too long: maybe a week. The problem is that it would take time away from other projects which at this point have a better chance of monetization.

Idea Two: Featured Spot on Bootstrapper Directory.

I tell the stories of interesting indie hackers and bootstrappers at Bootstrapper Directory. Andrew suggested I sell featured spots on the website. He described this as low hanging fruit. He said:

 Put up a sales page on Gumroad for a Featured directory spot. Charge $50. Maybe $25 for the first 10. And list all the ways you’ll feature someone.

He also suggested several ways to leverage the paid promotion opportunity.

I agree with the concept and have seen it work with a lot of directories. It does have amazing potential. I don’t believe it is right for this directory.

My focus is on creating something so incredibly useful that people can’t help sharing. That means prioritizing the best people – not putting those who have the money on the top. I’m working to create pages so compelling that people want to check out the products recommended by that person.

It is an idea that may be useful for other projects.

Idea Three: Bootstrapper Lead Generation.

Andrew pointed out that I’d done a lot of profiles.

He recommended that I create a service where help businesses find potential customers. I could charge $50 to help find 10 qualified leads. He said that a $49/ Month SaaS needs to only convert 1 sale based on my recommendations to break even within 60 days. He also suggested turning this into an information product and not a service.

This does seem compelling. The sheer amount of research I do for each profile means I have a lot of background information.

It also seems risky.

I have done this kind of work before when I helped people in the online entrepreneur niche generate word of mouth. This included marketing strategies, such as list posts, and direct outreach. I was very uncomfortable doing this and it triggered my social anxiety.

The goal with my reentry into the online business sphere is to create a business that doesn’t exacerbate my mental health issues. I’ll be avoiding the idea for this reason.

Edit: I’ve created a product!

Andrew sent me some further tips and recommendations about turning the content into a spreadsheet of useful press contacts. I ended up creating Bootstrapper Press Directory. It’s a Google Sheet of opportunities for you to get your business or your product featured, whether it be an interview or a guest post. I’ve careful curated this list so it only contains websites that are receptive to cold pitches. Will be writing more about my experiences creating this product.

Idea Four: Bootstrapper Lead Gen Monthly

He said:

 For $50 a month create a premium newsletter where you reveal what bootstrappers need to run their business. What are they asking for? What do they need to do more of? Instead of Biz Ideas, you’re selling Purchase Intent.

This is a great idea – and one that I’m disappointed I’m unable to pursue. I have multiple health issues that limited the amount of time I can put towards projects. This would take a lot of effort at the beginning; something I can’t afford when I’m already super broke. It would be better to put that time towards the directory, especially when I’m *this* close to achieving my curatorial vision.

I could look at doing something like this in the future once I’ve accomplished what I want with other projects. In the meantime, I can collect resources that may help with this.

Idea Five: Create a Paid Newsletter 

Andew recommended that I create a paid newsletter. He said that there was no need to write or send “more”. I could provide benefits to paid subscribers such as early access or longer profiles.

I have considered this, but I don’t think I could pull this off. The depth of my profiles are meant to be one of the main attractions to the site. I don’t think the information I’m planning to share is time sensitive. At this point, it seems more logical to stick to the free newsletter format. I’ll stick to affiliate mentions and sponsorships for now.

#3

I did realize that I could use this for other sites! I have a blog called Geelong is Changing, where I have over 1000 posts showing how my hometown is changing. This is a passion project that takes a lot of time for researching. The information just sits there.

Andrew suggested creating a paid newsletter. I could create sections dedicated to news, people and places. I could then create opportunities for paid ads and shoutouts. He recommended Chris Osborne’s article on Profitable Newsletters.

This is an awesome way to monetize Geelong is Changing and wouldn’t necessarily take that much time. I’m not sure about the viability of the idea: Geelong has a township of 200’000 people and I don’t want to go beyond curation. For now, I’m putting this idea at the back of my mind. It’s intriguing but I need to be strict on time. It does have a lot of potential and is something I’ll be mulling over.

Tip: Andrew made this free presentation about monetizing newsletters.

6th Idea: Jade’s Travel Guide

He referenced a recent tweet where I mentioned I can find under-the-radar spots.

He said:

I made Influencer’s Guide to Bali based on knowing what questions creators have when traveling to Bali.

He suggested creating super specific mini travel guides in google sheet. He gave 100 Reputable Birding Destinations in Australia and How to Photograph them as an example.

Unfortunately, I had already tried this idea.

I run a nature blog.

I had experimented with creating specific mini guides based on unknown locations based on research I had done… and no-one had visited them. They were too niche. I could have created round up lists but I kinda like these locations flying under the radar. Too much tourism to certain spots can be detrimental on the environment.

He recommended getting super specific about theme rather than location. Two suggestions were:

• Under the Radar Instagram Spots
• Perfect Pinterest Photo Ops in South Australia

#4

This gave me the idea. I curate a lot of pics from IG for inspiration for my local street photography project. Could I monetize that?

I already had:

• a registered domain about photo ideas in Geelong. I’d contemplated creating an app or adsense monetized website.
• Images from Instagram that I had saved as inspiration.

It is definitely a valid idea for photographers. My curation could save time. However, I had a couple of barriers:

• they are not my images. I know any buyers would be paying for my curation and not the photos, but I still feel icky. I know how hard it is to monetize photos.
• How would I curate it? I don’t want to embed the image as that seems unfair. I could create links but that could get messy fast.
• I saved a lot of the images to notion by using an online service to download and then reupload to Notion. I would have to spend a lot of time tracking down the original photo.

It likely would have very small demand – but it does build on a side project I’d already been thinking about. I’m going to put this idea on pause, but I’m very grateful for it.

7th Idea Jade’s OldSchool Pinterest Audit

Andrew referenced my resume page which mentioned I was awesome at Pinterest. He recommended that I adapt the strategy that Glen Allsopp mentioned in his SEO Video Audit post. He said that I should be open that you knew Pinterest a while ago. Call it “old School knowledge.”

It is a solid idea, but one I don’t think would currently work. I previously offered this as a service on Fiverr. Just like any time I’ve offered services, this made me greatly uncomfortable. My recent experiences with a migraine disorder and generalized anxiety caused me to lose what little confidence I had.

#5

I adapt the idea and offer consults to people with blogs. So many people in the bootstrapping and build-in-public niches are missing opportunities when it comes to word of mouth. I could easily give a lot of businesses at least 5 actionable tips and it wouldn’t trigger my anxiety to the same extent.

I could also offer this to Australian ecologists. One thing this Twitter consult has helped me with is identifying that there is so much lost opportunity in that niche. Even better, it wouldn’t take that long to put up a sales page for a consult.

It wouldn’t take much to do a quick redesign of the website and offer free consults to ecologists I’m friends with on Twitter.

I’m very grateful to Andrew for the consult. It was a very kind gesture and one that meant a lot. It did spark a lot of ideas that I hadn’t considered.

At this point, I won’t be pursuing most of them. This broke woman needs to prioritize the business that will earn her money the quickest and help her manage her health issues. I will be doing some quick tests in the ecology niche but otherwise, will continue to focus on building Bootstrapper Directory. I believe that it will really start to gain traction by the end of the month. I’ll be exploring the reasons why in a future blog post.

Unfortunately, Andrews experimented didn’t make me become a fan of Google sheets. However, I’m definitely an advocate of his work and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to others.