Speed, Viral, Trials, Simplify 💨
👋 Welcome!
NoCode App builder Bubble is going all-in with Figma! They are launching a brilliant new integration to import Figma files into your Bubble app. This will allow Makers to speed up the process of going from prototype to production, all without writing any code. MVPs can be built and tested more quickly. How does it all work? You specify the Figma file you want to import to Bubble, and it will bring in every visible frame in that file into the current app as its own page. Additionally, all the elements of your design will be imported and translated into respective Bubble elements. You will still have to connect workflows to different elements and have them interact with your app’s database. The process is not 100% accurate, but it will give you a time-saving headstart. You can find details in the Bubble Manual or read the story here.
😺 Product Hunt Update
August 2nd, 2020
🥇Stacky.me: Easily manage all your bio links in one place.
🥈 Logaster Creation Widget: Give your visitors a chance to create logos on your site!
🥉 Dato: Better menu bar clock with calendar and time zones.
August 1st, 2020
🥇 Depict.ai: Amazon-quality product recommendations for any online store.
🥈 High Output Founders' Library: An online center of gravity for actionable, practical advice.
🥉 Feather CMS: A modern content management system on top of Swift & Vapor.
July 31st, 2020
🥇 Jammies for Slack: Supercharge video collaboration in your Slack workspace.
🥈 Fever Free: Employee temperature checks + symptom reports verified by AI.
🥉 Indify: Customizable widgets for your Notion docs.
🚀 Maker News
Going Viral
Nicolas Cole has written over 3,000 articles and ghostwritten over 1,000 ghostwritten articles on the internet. In this thread, he shares his 10 lessons about “going viral.” Remember that the article you spend the most time on will not necessarily be the most read or shared. How do you find out what works? Write ten things and see what people read most, then double-down on that topic and repeat. Most importantly, “only consistent output matters” as Nicolas calls it “Fireworks vs Constellation.” Ideally, you should write twice per month as a minimum. The ideal scenario is where you are “giving readers Actionable Advice while simultaneously telling them a Personal Story.” Lastly, he recommends, not to start a blog, this should only be used for monetisation. “If you want readers, write in social environments.” Read the full thread to learn more or subscribe to Nicolas’ weekly newsletter How I Wrote This to gain more writing tips and insight into becoming a professional writer.
SaaS Trials
A helpful thread by Justin Jackson on the importance of bootstrapped SaaS businesses getting sufficient trials. Justin believes that those who target SMBs can have issues getting enough trials. If your plans, lie between $39 and $99 per month and you assume a trial-to-paid conversion of 40% to 60%, you will need at least 200 to 300 trials. From his experience, those who target SMBs are getting between 200 to 500 new trials per month. This means you can't dedicate many resources to winning just a few leads. Justin explains that “SaaS is more akin to selling cups of coffee than selling heavy-duty machinery.” So, “bootstrappers need to make adoption as frictionless as possible.” Requiring a credit card, prepayment for a year or offering a no-refund policy all reduce adoption. “You need every customer you can get.” Read the full thread.
Newsletter Launch
James Hickson gives us a great rundown of how he built and launched his food and drink newsletter hardlemonade.co. He explains his thinking behind the concept, his strategy for growing the publication (build in public + transparency) and the NoCode tech stack he’s used to create the landing page and write his newsletters (Carrd + Mailchimp). Read the full thread.
💭 Afterthought
To finish the day, a helpful tweet by Daniel Vassallo on simplifying big challenges. When we break down big targets into daily numbers, we realise that the work confronting us is more achievable than we first thought. It’s also mentally easier to track your daily progress this way. Take care and see you tomorrow!
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