
@pipedrive + @make_hq Previously: Business Podcast🎙️ https://xitter.cf/t.co/6GtFG57kAQ If you really need me 👉 https://xitter.cf/t.co/BruQRaqfhO
Berlin, Germany
Joined January 2022
- Tweets16.9K
- Following581
- Followers644
- Likes14.5K
Sam Hartmann retweeted

Tibo@tibo_maker16 May 2024
France
FranceConnected via France Android AppAccount-level information, not a live location or per-post device.
1/ Unique SEO strategy
Pat uses a unique approach called "Lean SEO" rather than focusing solely on keywords for ranking.
This framework offers multiple "small bets" to discover effective content quickly, rather than spending time on one piece that may not rank well.
Sam Hartmann retweeted
Jeff Bezos started Amazon at 30.
Sam Walton started Walmart at 44.
Colonel Sanders started KFC at 62.
You’re never too old to start your dream business! 💚
Sam Hartmann retweeted
I’ve recently talked to a several people I haven’t talked to in more than 2 years.
The one thing that stood out for me was that basically everyone is still playing the exact same game on the exact same level.
Many that were indie hacking 2 years ago - building little projects that generate $500/month here and there - are all still doing just that. A few projects died in the meantime, a few others got launched, and overall there was little net gain.
Most new projects are some variation of the projects they had launched 2 years ago.
People who focused on some content project 2 years ago are still doing some variation of it with hardly any progress in the meantime. Most did quit and reboot their project a few times but overall it’s still the same thing.
These conversations made it painfully clear that progress is not automatic.
You can’t just keep doing the exact same thing and expect wildly different outcomes.
More of the same will not unlock the next level.
This may seem obvious but it really isn’t.
It’s incredibly hard to stop doing something that is kind of working.
The projects are generating some revenue.
The newsletter is growing. Slow, yes, but the subscriber count is going up.
It’s like a bronze version of the golden handcuffs.
They are not even golden but still keep you trapped.
Another factor is that it’s natural to want to keep building on what you already know and own.
If you had some success building a certain type of project, you will want to keep building similar projects.
Starting from scratch is scary. It makes you feel like all previous efforts were wasted. There’s also a lot more uncertainty.
So most keep inching forward, taking small, manageable steps.
And as a result, they never end up far from where they started.
Sticking to what you know and what you’re good at is a recipe for stagnation.
People who 10x their results always do so by radically changing their approach.
Tim Ferriss did not 10x his audience by churning out more blog posts. Instead he wrote a book and launched a podcast.
His personal income did not 10x by selling more supplements or selling more ads but by investing in startups.
If I had kept building data products like Gum Spy, Product Explorer, or Newsletter Spy, my revenue maybe would have doubled in the last 2 years.
But since I started focusing on building an agency, it 10xed.
To be clear, this was not intentional. I’m just connecting the dots in hindsight.
Also I’m not writing this to throw shade at anyone.
This is just something I wish someone had told me 2 years ago.
It’s also something I need to hear right now.
My agency income has been mostly flat for a while and I’m pondering where that next 10x jump is going to come from.
I recently read 10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy.
One of their main points is exactly this: 10x steps require that you stop doing most of the things you’re doing right now. Otherwise you will be stuck in the incremental, linear improvement trap.
But I guess this is one of these simple ideas that you need to hear multiple times from different people and also observe in practice before you start actualizing it.
Also the real challenge is figuring out what exactly to keep and what to discard.
All I do know for sure is that more of the same is not the answer.
Sam Hartmann retweeted

Danny Postma@dannypostma13 Apr 2023
Indonesia
IndonesiaConnected via Netherlands App StoreAccount-level information, not a live location or per-post device.
"You're only successful because you have a large following."
BS. Here's how you can do the same with 0 followers 🧵👇
Sam Hartmann retweeted

Marc Lou@marclou31 Mar 2024
West Asia
West AsiaConnected via Europe App StoreAccount-level information, not a live location or per-post device.
I got 29,100 visitors from Google, for free, using programmatic SEO.
Here's how you can do it too to grow a startup:
marclou.beehiiv.com/p/how-to…
Sam Hartmann retweeted
1. problem⚡
2. timebox (deadline)🗓
3. write down spec✏
4. cut spec✂
5. don't fall in love with MVP💔
👨👩👦👦target group: hair-on-fire-problem-havers🔥⚡
🎯goal: learn
🔄iterate
Sam Hartmann retweeted

@levelsio@levelsio9 Dec 2023
Europe
EuropeConnected via Europe App StoreAccount-level information, not a live location or per-post device.
Alcohol is like daytrading, fast and big returns then giant crashes and long term a negative return and you lose most of your money
Fitness is like ETFs, slow and small returns that remain stable, and long term a compounding positive return and you actually build wealth
Sam Hartmann retweeted
Just booked an ad slot into 2025 😎
SaaS is fun, but don't sleep on directories
Sam Hartmann retweeted

Marc Lou@marclou29 Nov 2023
West Asia
West AsiaConnected via Europe App StoreAccount-level information, not a live location or per-post device.
My Twitter profile looks like I'm a happy robot who works 24/7 but...
- I still wake up and feel like shit
- I still binge YouTube and feel guilty
- I still feel insecure about every decision I make
The only fix I found is changing the stories I tell myself:
"You've got this"
Sam Hartmann retweeted
Pallyy just crossed 1600 paid customers, but it's been a long road.
After launching it was stuck at 100 customers, for ~2 years.
During this time a big motivator for me to keep going was reading a post by Jen (@lunchbag if you're reading, thank you!) on @IndieHackers.
She wrote about growing her startup Lunch Money to $80K ARR solo, which was incredible to see.
I'm not sure why this story helped me in particular but it just showed me that it's possible to do it solo which gave me the push needed to keep going.
If you see a post about how someone got to X mrr, don't feel bad because you're not at that level, instead use it as motivation.
If they can do it, then other people can too. Ask them about how they did it, and apply it to your projects.
Sam Hartmann retweeted
When I have a job, I miss the thrill of building my own startup.
When I build a startup, I miss the financial stability of a job.
There's always something missing.
Sam Hartmann retweeted
I’ve never been to Silicon Valley
I’ve never taken funding.
I built WishTender in my mom’s basement trying to help a friend get gifts safely.
You don’t need to do things the way everyone else does! Just build things that help people.
Sam Hartmann retweeted
My indie startup @podsqueeze_app just reached 12K MRR 🥳
Even though our MRR keeps growing my approach to building products/features stays exactly the same...
No matter what, I always ask myself these three magical questions:
1: What problem do I want to solve? 🤔
Listen to your users and figure out what is bothering them the most.
2: What is the minimum set of features I need to come up with a solution? 💡
It must be enough for your users to recognize what problem you are solving and how you are doing it.
3: Shall I keep working on it or should I move on? 🚶
If users are not lining up to use your product or at least giving you feedback on how to improve it is probably best to move on...
Sam Hartmann retweeted
When I was in a startup fellowship, I scored last in every pitch competition.
There was a highly charismatic fellow. He won every pitch competition. Right after the fellowship, his startup fell apart; He got in legal trouble and went MIA with the funds he won. I'm the only person from that cohort who has a profitable startup.
People are bad at betting on other people. So don't take it personally if people don't bet on you. Keep betting on yourself, and people will regret they didn't bet on you!
I have also been on the other end of this, where I passed over an applicant at WishTender, only to later realize they were better than the applicant I picked. It's hard to predict a person's potential based on limited information.
Sam Hartmann retweeted
👉 This is how I ship apps (that make sales) fast
One year ago I shipped my first real app, an AI blog writer.
It was an absolute pain to release. I just learned to code 2 months ago and it took me a month to release it
Today, I ship most of my apps in less than 3 days and they usually make at least a couple of sales.
Here is how I do it:
================
1) Planning
================
I start by writing down the list of features I need. I focus on the bare minimum for a simple reason:
If customers want something, they'll tell me.
Then, I make a visual representation of how my app works. I use milanote.com for that.
Just doing that x2 my coding speed because it gives me a clear view of everything I have to do.
I also like to have a look at competitor's reviews to find what people ask the most & directly add it as a feature.
================
2) Making the app
================
The #1 absolute thing here is to reuse code & components between your apps.
Whenever you make something, think "How can I make it re-usable later"
For example here, my privacy policy is exactly the same for all my projects, I just added a variable to my HTML so I have to change only one line and the whole page gets updated.
This works with anything, if you made a blog system on one of your old apps, just copy/paste it to the new one.
It's definitely worth spending some time to build your template with all re-usable elements, or you can buy a pre-made one (e.g. shipfa.st by @marclou)
A nice side effect of shipping apps is that the more you ship, the more pre-made "components" you'll have available, so you'll be able to handle most situations.
I also like to write all my code & functions in pseudo-code with a diagram like the above so I know exactly what to code beforehand.
================
3) Landing page
================
The #1 important thing when launching is to make a proper landing page with a good conversion rate. If your landing page sucks, everything else is worthless.
There are 2 main ways to increase your conversion rate:
- Reducing friction
- Increasing persuasion
Let's see each:
1️⃣ Reducing Friction:
Friction will be any kind of "cost" to sign up or purchase your app. A click is a friction. Signing up is friction. Paying is friction. And having to spend more than 10 seconds to figure out what your app does is friction.
So, the first step is to be clear. People need to understand what you do in less than 2 seconds or you'll lose their attention
💡 Pro Tip: If you have trouble explaining what your app does in a simple way, use TalkNotes.io with the style "Simple note". Just record yourself explaining what your app does, and it will simplify it.
A great example of a clear landing page is headshotpro.com. @dannypostma absolutely nailed it:
- The value proposition is the 1st thing you see
- Then you get a bit more details
- Then you get the call to action
- The call to action
In 2 seconds you know what the website does, no confusion is possible
Another example of minimizing friction is OpenForAds.com.
Instead of having the user click and be redirected to a new page to signup, there is an option to add the email directly on the homepage.
It then automatically creates an account, log in and redirect the user to the app. All that in one single click.
2️⃣ Increasing persuasion:
The more you can convince your users your app is worth it, the more they will buy.
The easiest way to do that is to follow the "thought process" of the visitors.
First, they know nothing about your app
=> Clearly state what your app does
Then they might wonder how it works
=> Show a "how it works" or a demo video
Then they might wonder if it would work for them
=> Explain who your app is made for & why
Then they might wonder how much it costs
=> Show pricing
etc.
There is no global rule for that since every market is different, so see what people ask you when you mention the app and in which order.
If you want a more complete guide: jeannen.com/landing-page-gui…
Another trick to increase persuasion is to use Social Proof. Humans are hard-wired to be social. No one wants to be alone.
And so, no one wants to be alone in using a product. Knowing other people are doing like you is reassuring.
Show any kind of social proof you have. Comments, retweets, user testimonials, etc.
You can use apps like senja.io (by @euboid) or testimonial.to (by @damonchen) to easily showcase your social proof on your landing page.
It can even be as simple as "50 makers like you use the app".
Obviously, copywriting is a skill that takes time to learn, but the more you ship, the more you'll learn.
💡Again, to go fast, re-use everything you can.
For example, you can copy your FAQ code from a previous project, paste it in ChatGPT with a description of your app and ask it to re-write the code specifically for the new app
=============
That's pretty much it. Was a bit of organization & marketing, but that's what shipping is about in my opinion.
Do stuff fast.
Hope this was helpful



















