Freedom to Decide ✨
👋 Welcome!
We begin with an inspirational story by Polina Marinova, founder and author of The Profile newsletter. In March, she left her job at Fortune magazine, to go full-time on The Profile. But, as with so many, her plans were hit by the Coronavirus and the following lockdown. The world was changing overnight and her deepest fears of what might happen were becoming true. Many would have doubted their decision to launch a business at such a time, but not Polina! She was still confident, because before she only wrote about entrepreneurship, now she was living it! She shares with us her 10 biggest learnings from the past three months, useful for all aspiring Indie Makers. Don’t underestimate yourself and earn trust with your audience by being consistent. Despite all the risks, for Polina, it’s about independence: “The freedom to decide what you work on, how you spend your time, and who you do business with.” And she concludes with some fitting words by Beyoncé: “I don’t like to gamble, but if there is one thing I’m willing to bet on, it’s myself.” Read her full story.
Photo by Kristina V on Unsplash
😺 Products of the Day
June 23, 2020
🥇 Shortlist Metrics: A simple tool to help you scale your link building faster.
🥈 Plato Circles for Inclusion: Free mentorship for people from underrepresented communities.
🥉 Taplink: Drive more leads and sales on Instagram.
🚀 Maker News
Safari Browser Privacy
Apple is bringing some updates to Safari in the Big Sur release. Paul Jarvis from Fathom Analytics explains that new privacy features will block Google Analytics from tracking users on websites. This will make the data more inaccurate. He adds that Fathom can by-pass blockers using their custom domains as well as preserving user privacy. Learn more about Fathom and the competition here. Read Tweet.
TikTok Algorithm
Ryan Duffy from Morning Brew shares an insightful Twitter thread and post on how TikTok’s recommendation system works. There are weak and strong signals. After a video is pushed to a small focus group, engagement decides whether it may go viral. Influencers or brands with larger followings may get more views, but TikTok states that neither follower count nor past engagement trends play a direct role in the recommendation system. Learn more.
Learn + Improve SEO
If you want to learn or improve your SEO, Indie Hackers has shared a useful Twitter thread. They list a selection of resources from experts such as Ahref, SparkToro, Moz, and Neil Patel. It covers everything from keyword research, on-page SEO, link building and technical SEO. Particularly like the Cheat Sheet from 9elements. Read thread.
Single vs Double Opt-In
Indie Hackers shares an insightful Growth Bite on the single opt-in signup process. The key difference to double opt-in is that it minimizes the barriers and failure points, which are responsible for 20-40% of failure rates. A frequent issue is confirmation emails landing in the wrong Gmail tab. But it can have an effect on the quality of the emails, open rates and ultimately revenue. You can re-qualify emails using tools such as BriteVerify and Fresh Address. You also need to be aware of the relevant law in your country before implementing. Learn more.
🖥️ NoCode & Automate
Automation Masters
Arne Wolfewicz hosts the Automation Masters podcast. In the latest episode, he interviews Andrew Davison from Luhhu, an expert in NoCode automation using Zapier and Integromat. They focus on the most complex automation he’s built, spanning more than 20 steps in one row. They also discuss stability issues in complex flows, use of NoCode vs Code and helper tools for building automations. Listen here.
Automate eSignatures
eversign, which provides free, legally binding electronic signatures is now integrated with Integromat. Their post explains a number of helpful templates and provides a guide on how to connect eversign to the rest of your workflow. Once done, it will allow you to completely automate the eSignature process. Learn more.
Get Automation Work
Free Stock Photos
When looking for images to go on your website, viewing one stock photo website usually isn’t enough. Jeff Cardello has written a useful post on Webflow showing his 24 favourite websites for sourcing unique free stock photos. This is a great resource for Makers and creatives. Learn more.
💭 Afterthought
To finish, KP shares his new 4-step framework on how he evaluates an idea. Two additions in the ensuing replies include whether one would enjoy working on the idea for 5 years and to be early, but not too early. Bram Kanstein’s No-Code MVP is another great resource on building and validating startup ideas. Take care of each other and see you tomorrow!
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