Total Revenue: ($3650.59 from 19 customers) Nov 1, 2015 - Apr 30, 2018
Just watched this 47-min presentation given by @adamwathan at @MicroConf in 2018 titled 'Nailing Your First Launch'. It was recommended by @RandallKanna
Adam shared a step-by-step guide for launching successful info products from idea to launch.
Thread 👇👇
Total Revenue: ($3650.59 from 19 customers) Nov 1, 2015 - Apr 30, 2018
Launched: May 2016
1st Day: $28,299
1st 3 days: $61,392
After 2 weeks he quit his job to focus on info products
Early Access: November 2016
1st Day: $82,919
1st 3 Days: $115,676
Sales from May 2016 - April 2018
Book $179,147
TDD Course $468,536
Total $647,683
There is a finish line
Doesn't take much time
Unlike SaaS, it puts money in the bank quickly
Selling subscription software is hard, courses are easy
-Building an audience
It's really important that people trust you
Having a large audience can make up for any other deficiency in your marketing strategy
How? Be helpful on the internet through blog posts, screencasts, etc.
Help people where they already are - @wesbos
September 2016, 436 followers
Started sharing design tips
In 1.5 years he reached 20.3K followers (now at 91.1K)
-Picking the right idea
Step 1: Have an idea
What are you already putting out there that people seem excited about?
Step 2: Test your idea
Put up a landing page, build an email list.
That's a good way to start but that won't work if you don't have an audience.
So Tweet about it. If it works, create a blog post.
Plan small
Books are easier to work on
Courses are easier to sell at a higher price
-Putting up a landing page
Put some incentive so people are willing to give you their email address
Show some social proof
Outline what you are going to do
Another sign-up form, Another social proof, Who am I (credibility).
**Advantages:**
The best form of product validation
Motivation to finish
You'll make money
**Disadvantages**:
Stressful feels like debt
Multiple tiers are tricky
Can't change the scope
Step 1: Tell your audience
Step 2: Share progress (keep them updated)
Step 3: Repurpose content (tweak a chapter from the book & turn it into a blog)
-Getting it finished
Strategy 1: Make promises (Accountability)
Strategy 3: Reduce scope
-Figuring out pricing
**Topic 1: Tiered pricing**
Single tier pricing:
Can be fine if you charge enough
Often necessary if pre-selling
In general, prefer multiple tiers.
2-tier pricing:
Usually price anchoring strategy
Works well with video courses
3-tier pricing:
Great for books if you can come up with additional content
Discount enough to be appealing, at least 30%
Stepped discounts, lower discount on cheaper tiers, and better discount on higher tiers
Reverse engineer non-discounted price from your planned discounted price, it'll help you charge more
*Step 1: Build the sales page*
Still include an email sign up that sends preview content for new traffic (preview lessons)
Testimonials and social proof
Sort tiers from the highest price to lower price, use visuals to communicate the value of higher tiers
More from Startups
1/ Tuesday was my last day as CEO of @CircleUp. I’ve been CEO since starting the co. in 2011 with my co-founder @roryeakin.
This is a thread about what happened, why and my emotions about it. For more detail:
https://t.co/vYImcm1bTM
Much of this I have never talked about.
2/ My goals: I hope it helps founders feel less lonely than I did. Little public content about the challenges of transitioning exists, but I longed for it. I’m not here to provide a playbook- just to share my experience. Hope it might build greater empathy.
Here goes….
3/ Why: When I tell people that I’m transitioning to an Exec Chairman role their first question is always: “why?” Short answer: co. pivot + fertility issues + health issues + a false sense that grit was always the answer = burnout. Long answer: is longer so hang in there with me
4/ Over a 12-18 month period that ended in late 2017 I ran my tank far beyond empty for far too long. You know that sound your car makes when it’s sputtering for more gas? It was like that. Worst year of my life. Since then it has felt like bone on bone.
5/ Here is what happened:
Professionally: pivoting a Series C company was a living hell in and of itself, as I’ve talked about before.
This is a thread about what happened, why and my emotions about it. For more detail:
https://t.co/vYImcm1bTM
Much of this I have never talked about.
2/ My goals: I hope it helps founders feel less lonely than I did. Little public content about the challenges of transitioning exists, but I longed for it. I’m not here to provide a playbook- just to share my experience. Hope it might build greater empathy.
Here goes….
3/ Why: When I tell people that I’m transitioning to an Exec Chairman role their first question is always: “why?” Short answer: co. pivot + fertility issues + health issues + a false sense that grit was always the answer = burnout. Long answer: is longer so hang in there with me
4/ Over a 12-18 month period that ended in late 2017 I ran my tank far beyond empty for far too long. You know that sound your car makes when it’s sputtering for more gas? It was like that. Worst year of my life. Since then it has felt like bone on bone.
5/ Here is what happened:
Professionally: pivoting a Series C company was a living hell in and of itself, as I’ve talked about before.
1/ We Pivoted a few yrs ago. This is the story- mostly my feelings. It has never been told publicly.
— Ryan Caldbeck (@ryan_caldbeck) April 16, 2019
This will be rambly and represents the chaos in my head at the time. There is [hopefully] no advice here. I don\u2019t know if we did it right.
if you are a software engineer, this is your call to arms 👇
when we put our Fast Checkout button on websites LOTS of people start using it to buy things
our goal is to put out Fast button on EVERY website in the world
the speed of our growth is primarily limited by our engineering resources
we already have some of the best in the world, our VP of engineering built much of Apples identity infrastructure before building Uber's new commerce stack
we engineers who have spent decades among the earliest engineers at LinkedIn, Nest, Google, Cisco, Lyft, Uber & more
our team have built identity, commerce and payment systems that support BILLIONS of people, and they are now building the next platform to do that: @fast
we have a chance to fix commerce, to fix the way the internet works, for BILLIONS of people
we need more help, we need your help
there is not often an opportunity as big as this, make the best career decision of your life and get ready for huge professional growth
reach out to us:
@domm @PeterGrassi1
[email protected]
[email protected]
let me pitch why you need to join 🚀
when we put our Fast Checkout button on websites LOTS of people start using it to buy things
our goal is to put out Fast button on EVERY website in the world
the speed of our growth is primarily limited by our engineering resources
we already have some of the best in the world, our VP of engineering built much of Apples identity infrastructure before building Uber's new commerce stack
we engineers who have spent decades among the earliest engineers at LinkedIn, Nest, Google, Cisco, Lyft, Uber & more
our team have built identity, commerce and payment systems that support BILLIONS of people, and they are now building the next platform to do that: @fast
we have a chance to fix commerce, to fix the way the internet works, for BILLIONS of people
we need more help, we need your help
there is not often an opportunity as big as this, make the best career decision of your life and get ready for huge professional growth
reach out to us:
@domm @PeterGrassi1
[email protected]
[email protected]
let me pitch why you need to join 🚀
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1/ Some initial thoughts on personal moats:
Like company moats, your personal moat should be a competitive advantage that is not only durable—it should also compound over time.
Characteristics of a personal moat below:
2/ Like a company moat, you want to build career capital while you sleep.
As Andrew Chen noted:
3/ You don’t want to build a competitive advantage that is fleeting or that will get commoditized
Things that might get commoditized over time (some longer than
4/ Before the arrival of recorded music, what used to be scarce was the actual music itself — required an in-person artist.
After recorded music, the music itself became abundant and what became scarce was curation, distribution, and self space.
5/ Similarly, in careers, what used to be (more) scarce were things like ideas, money, and exclusive relationships.
In the internet economy, what has become scarce are things like specific knowledge, rare & valuable skills, and great reputations.
Like company moats, your personal moat should be a competitive advantage that is not only durable—it should also compound over time.
Characteristics of a personal moat below:
I'm increasingly interested in the idea of "personal moats" in the context of careers.
— Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg) November 22, 2018
Moats should be:
- Hard to learn and hard to do (but perhaps easier for you)
- Skills that are rare and valuable
- Legible
- Compounding over time
- Unique to your own talents & interests https://t.co/bB3k1YcH5b
2/ Like a company moat, you want to build career capital while you sleep.
As Andrew Chen noted:
People talk about \u201cpassive income\u201d a lot but not about \u201cpassive social capital\u201d or \u201cpassive networking\u201d or \u201cpassive knowledge gaining\u201d but that\u2019s what you can architect if you have a thing and it grows over time without intensive constant effort to sustain it
— Andrew Chen (@andrewchen) November 22, 2018
3/ You don’t want to build a competitive advantage that is fleeting or that will get commoditized
Things that might get commoditized over time (some longer than
Things that look like moats but likely aren\u2019t or may fade:
— Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg) November 22, 2018
- Proprietary networks
- Being something other than one of the best at any tournament style-game
- Many "awards"
- Twitter followers or general reach without "respect"
- Anything that depends on information asymmetry https://t.co/abjxesVIh9
4/ Before the arrival of recorded music, what used to be scarce was the actual music itself — required an in-person artist.
After recorded music, the music itself became abundant and what became scarce was curation, distribution, and self space.
5/ Similarly, in careers, what used to be (more) scarce were things like ideas, money, and exclusive relationships.
In the internet economy, what has become scarce are things like specific knowledge, rare & valuable skills, and great reputations.
