Four years in, I suppose you could say I'm still "launching," so I eagerly jumped right to the marketing part to see if there was any good insight.
Uh-oh. My experience has been pretty much the same. Paying for ads feels like lighting money on fire.
Like the author, I also stay away from social media. I've tried posting some videos and shorts, but since I don't actually consume any content on the platforms I'm posting them on, I don't really know what works. Not to mention it takes a long time to make even a single short, let alone a longer video.
Then I published a somewhat technical article on the product blog which brought in more traffic than a giveaway I did during the Christmas holidays, when I was literally giving the product out for free. Of course, the readers of the article were probably not the target audience of my product but it was still quite interesting to see.
I figure I'll keep writing more and see if something happens. Because the ads, videos and shorts were definitely a waste of time (and unlike the author, I don't have anyone I can ask for help).
Naturally, I'm still developing the product. Choosing what to work on is half the challenge. At least I feel productive when I'm writing code. Can't say the same for the other stuff :)
97 Twitch streams (and Youtube VOD uploads) + 32 shorts on Youtube, TikTok and Instagram. Best short got 5k views on YT, most got about 1k.
I didn't say I quit completely, I still stream when I play games because it doesn't cost me anything to do that since I was going to play the game anyway.
I no longer go through the VODs and try to cut them into shorts though, as it's such a huge time sink (and I don't think I'm very entertaining).
I made a couple of shorts directly related to my products too but as neither of them are really visual (one deals with micprohone audio, the other deal with mouse sensitivity), it's a bit difficult.
I’m really impressed by the project.
I love the entrepreneurial vibe — you have to do everything yourself.
It makes you realize how limited your time and energy are, and how important help from others really is.
That mindset is a big part of becoming an entrepreneur.
It's refreshing to see a realistic (and familiar) product story laid out. I've gone through this exact process (Thankfully I didn't try to self-host email) trying to launch products.
Uh-oh. My experience has been pretty much the same. Paying for ads feels like lighting money on fire.
Like the author, I also stay away from social media. I've tried posting some videos and shorts, but since I don't actually consume any content on the platforms I'm posting them on, I don't really know what works. Not to mention it takes a long time to make even a single short, let alone a longer video.
Then I published a somewhat technical article on the product blog which brought in more traffic than a giveaway I did during the Christmas holidays, when I was literally giving the product out for free. Of course, the readers of the article were probably not the target audience of my product but it was still quite interesting to see.
I figure I'll keep writing more and see if something happens. Because the ads, videos and shorts were definitely a waste of time (and unlike the author, I don't have anyone I can ask for help).
Naturally, I'm still developing the product. Choosing what to work on is half the challenge. At least I feel productive when I'm writing code. Can't say the same for the other stuff :)