Hello there
This is the #19 issue of Weekly Dan.
Welcome to 36 new people who have joined this week. You are nice.
Every Friday, I share 5 golden nuggets with you:
One Personal Insight
One Marketing Tactic
One Long-term Trend
One Thought-provoking Question
One Great Resource
Let’s get going.
Personal Insight 🤯
Being a Founder means being okay with missed opportunities.
Every day you can do anything that you want.
You can partner with another company, try a new acquisition channel, or build a long-wanted feature. Each of these ideas can be tremendously successful.
You also know that focus is the only way to win. FOMO is real, but so is Shiny Object Syndrome.
Every day you decide what to say “No” to.
Right now, I am saying “No” to these opportunities
Weekly marketing streams
Launching a marketing agency
Hiring an employee
Growing on LinkedIn
I am especially envious of the last one. Because I see so many Twitter Creators growing there.
But if I ever change my mind, I will 100% use Taplio to build a personal brand on LinkedIn.
It has features that make growing on LinkedIn enjoyable.
“Picked-for-you” LinkedIn posts on a daily basis
Detailed performance for each post
Schedule posts in 1 click
Auto-plug: reply in the first comment
Send customized DMs in bulk
This should be a no-brainer if you have a B2B product or an agency.
But don’t listen to me. Try it for yourself.
Taplio has a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Marketing Tactic 🧭
I hate selling a pig in the poke.
It can increase sales. But only by “tricking” some users.
That’s why we always have a free demo of the product.
Sponsor This Newsletter is no different.
Transparency sells.
You will get customers who know exactly what to expect from the full version. Forget about refunding mad users.
Curious to try this tactic? Here are a few ways to do it:
Give a Free trial
Include a Free plan
Showcase an example of your product
Do product demos
Record a product video
Run a webinar about your product
Let people judge for themselves. This is the only way to build meaningful relationships with your future customers.
Long-term Trend 🛸
Subscription overdose
10 years ago, the startup world went crazy.
Founders figured out they could charge monthly subscriptions and get “endless” cash flow.
Now we have a subscription for everything. From a screenshot tool to an AI-Interior tool.
It will change in 3 years.
People will get fewer subscriptions and prefer products with different monetization strategies.
Here are three reasons:
It’s cheaper. Recession will hit hard, and canceling “nice-to-have” subscriptions will be a quick win for people.
It’s more flexible. Paying a subscription means you need to use the product every month. But what if you need this tool once in 3 months? Not a great match.
It takes less mental energy. You need to remember all subscriptions and watch how it takes your money every month. Paying one time is x10 easier for your brain.
Of course, not all subscription businesses are dead. Sometimes it’s 100% reasonable to have a monthly subscription (e.g., no-code website builder).
But I am sure we will see more alternative monetization models:
One-time payment
Credit systems
Commissions from transactions
Having a better monetization model for users could be your unique advantage.
Thought-provoking Question 🔋
When was your last experiment?
It’s easier to do the same thing over and over again.
Pick one product format and stick to it
Pick one thread template and never change it
Pick one cold intro and send it to 1000 people
It may not be effective. But it brings less uncertainty.
Indie Entrepreneurs can’t settle for it.
We need to test new ideas rapidly to get the best one. Even if it’s scary and uncomfortable.
Here are 7 ideas worth trying:
Launch a content product
Change your Twitter bio
Send a 3-sentence discount email
Increase your price x2
Send a different newsletter issue
Try a new acquisition channel
Write a thread about a new topic
The best thing that can happen? You will achieve better results.
The worst thing that can happen? You will learn more about your niche.
Your next marketing week will thank me later.
Great Resource 🏈
I often use this copy tactic.
Something is not Adjective
It’s a Superlative Adjective
For example, this is Sponsor This Newsletter’s Gumroad page.
I am not a Native English speaker. So, it’s challenging to find the right superlative word. And I tend to put “very” instead.
Hopefully, there is a tool to prevent me from doing so.
Meet, Lose the very. A simple tool to pick the concise adjective.
It’s not just very cool. It’s neat.
That’s it!
What have you enjoyed about this issue?
See you on Tuesday 👋
Absolutely not a CTA 🗿
No pressure. Whenever you are ready.
1) Get 50 actionable marketing models in MakerBox Frameworks
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2) Let me roast your landing page.
It will be painful. You will get more paying customers from it.