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August 2014

First Impressions of Using Drip for Email Marketing Automation

Uncategorized Aug 27, 2014

About six months ago I began collecting the email addresses of folks who downloaded my app, VirtualHostX. This was entirely opt-in. I simply placed a MailChimp signup form on my download page. I promised users who join a three email course introducing them to a few of the major VirtualHostX features and a 10% off coupon for when they purchased….

My Favorite Coffee Cup

Uncategorized Aug 27, 2014

I feel slightly ridiculous even writing this post, but I always appreciate it when other folks review and suggest products that have made their lives a little better. So, here goes. The Tervis 12oz Tumbler is the best coffee cup I’ve ever owned. You would think it wouldn’t matter what sort of coffee cup you use, but after picking one…

Mailing Lists Are Your Friend

Uncategorized Aug 24, 2014

In this post I thought I’d share my history maintaining mailing lists for my products, how I make the most of them, and what sort of success they have and haven’t brought me. Near the bottom, I’m also going to share some real data about my open rates, etc. To begin with, it took me a long time to become…

Marketing is just another stage in the development process

Uncategorized Aug 19, 2014

Despite spending three years working in the Yahoo! Marketing department, I’m a terrible marketer when it comes to my own company. I’ll often be in the process of explaining to my wife some new marketing tactic I’m considering trying, when she’ll stop me and say “You sound like you’re apologizing for doing this. You don’t have to be embarrassed for…

Encouraging Serendipity

Uncategorized Aug 18, 2014

One of the challenges of running a small software business is how to turn customers into advocates for your company and products. It’s a challenge because unless there’s a support exchange, it’s entirely possible for your customer to go the entire lifetime of the app without ever having any direct interaction with you. Some customers may want that completely disconnected,…

Your First Success is a Trap

Uncategorized Aug 04, 2014

My good friend Mike and I have been discussing a theory about indie developers. I call it The Trap of Your First Success. Our idea is that while it’s incredibly hard to build a successful indie product, it’s even harder to repeat that success because of a trap indie developers often fall into. Let me explain. As I wrote about…