Show HN: I make $3K/mo from a browser extension • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: I make $3K/mo from a browser extension

#21

Post by Gigachad » Wed, Jan 05, 2022, 6:07 AM UTC

jameshush wrote: post #11

vsnf wrote: post #10

Something I’ve noticed in many of these threads showcasing successful products is that they all focus on marketing. Advertising software, analytics software, etc. I rarely (never?) see any one post about their successful non marketing solution.

Selling more sales (aka marketing) is the ultimate value proposition. Google and FB print money because they call up business and say “Pay us $$ and we’ll give you $$$”.

I wonder how much of it is a zero sum game. Some amount of advertising would induce impulse purchase but surely some of it like marketing for a plumber just causes sales to be redirected to the one who spent the most on marketing rather than actually creating new sales.

Re: Show HN: I make $3K/mo from a browser extension

#22

Post by godmode2019 » Wed, Jan 05, 2022, 6:15 AM UTC

vsnf wrote: post #10

Something I’ve noticed in many of these threads showcasing successful products is that they all focus on marketing. Advertising software, analytics software, etc. I rarely (never?) see any one post about their successful non marketing solution.

Maybe people who think about marketing problems, tend to have more marketing knowledge and are better at marketing their own products and are people more likely to post on websites like this promoting their products.

I know I have folders and folders of unmarketed products.

Re: Show HN: I make $3K/mo from a browser extension

#23

Post by ignoramous » Wed, Jan 05, 2022, 6:17 AM UTC

trungdq88 wrote: post #2

Hello HN, I see another post sharing their success micro startups today on HN so I thought I should share mine. I started working on this browser extension for Twitter 8 months ago. It took 3 months to reach $60/mo, 3 more to reach $400/mo, and 2 more to reach $3K/mo – where I am now. When I start, I had 0 followers on Twitter. When it reaches $400/mo, I quit my job. I now live freely from corporate drama and travel…

Some browser extensions turned into paid products have morphed into $B dollar companies: (postman.com) https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/mQkDX9-zvcI

Good luck!

Re: Show HN: I make $3K/mo from a browser extension

#24

Post by jcims » Wed, Jan 05, 2022, 6:21 AM UTC

Gigachad wrote: post #21

jameshush wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Selling more sales (aka marketing) is the ultimate value proposition. Google and FB print money because they call up business and say “Pay us $$ and we’ll give you $$$”.

I wonder how much of it is a zero sum game. Some amount of advertising would induce impulse purchase but surely some of it like marketing for a plumber just causes sales to be redirected to the one who spent the most on marketing rather than actually creating new sales.

If your plumber's marketing is 'hey I'm plumber mcplungerface, call me' then yes. If your marketing is 'Hey s, protect your family from black mold! For $249 we'll inspect and treat your sump pump and water conditioning system and guarantee the work for ten years' you'll generate demand.

Re: Show HN: I make $3K/mo from a browser extension

#25

Post by trungdq88 » Wed, Jan 05, 2022, 6:21 AM UTC

ignoramous wrote: post #23

trungdq88 wrote: post #2

Hello HN, I see another post sharing their success micro startups today on HN so I thought I should share mine. I started working on this browser extension for Twitter 8 months ago. It took 3 months to reach $60/mo, 3 more to reach $400/mo, and 2 more to reach $3K/mo – where I am now. When I start, I had 0 followers on Twitter. When it reaches $400/mo, I quit my job. I now live freely from corporate drama and travel…

Some browser extensions turned into paid products have morphed into $B dollar companies: ( postman.com ) https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/mQkDX9-zvcI Good luck!

Thanks! :)

Re: Show HN: I make $3K/mo from a browser extension

#26

Post by jcims » Wed, Jan 05, 2022, 6:24 AM UTC

godmode2019 wrote: post #22

vsnf wrote: post #10

Something I’ve noticed in many of these threads showcasing successful products is that they all focus on marketing. Advertising software, analytics software, etc. I rarely (never?) see any one post about their successful non marketing solution.

Maybe people who think about marketing problems, tend to have more marketing knowledge and are better at marketing their own products and are people more likely to post on websites like this promoting their products. I know I have folders and folders of unmarketed products.

That's why it's easy for banks to make money, it's just sitting there.

Re: Show HN: I make $3K/mo from a browser extension

#27

Post by mrtksn » Wed, Jan 05, 2022, 6:24 AM UTC

vsnf wrote: post #10

Something I’ve noticed in many of these threads showcasing successful products is that they all focus on marketing. Advertising software, analytics software, etc. I rarely (never?) see any one post about their successful non marketing solution.

I don't think it's about marketing. I think it's because it solves an immediate problem or gives people something that they want and as it happens, the opportunities for the folks at HN or Producthunt are in that area because it's not a solved problem unlike things like developer tools, messaging or e-mail.

Think about it, what makes you funny inside? Knowing more about people or sending messages through slightly different UI?

Re: Show HN: I make $3K/mo from a browser extension

#28

Post by antisthenes » Wed, Jan 05, 2022, 6:28 AM UTC

Gigachad wrote: post #21

jameshush wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Selling more sales (aka marketing) is the ultimate value proposition. Google and FB print money because they call up business and say “Pay us $$ and we’ll give you $$$”.

I wonder how much of it is a zero sum game. Some amount of advertising would induce impulse purchase but surely some of it like marketing for a plumber just causes sales to be redirected to the one who spent the most on marketing rather than actually creating new sales.

Google's business model for the last decade has been to pitch people who want advertising against each other, bidding ever higher for top placements.

It's up to you to decide whether that's a zero-sum game (personally I don't think it is by a strict definition), but Google is certainly responsible for more and more companies allocating an ever growing part of their budget to advertising.

It isn't immediately obvious whether that results in more business. Some of these companies may be spending more and more just to keep the same amount of sales due to bid prices increasing.

This effect is somewhat masked in a vibrant and growing economy, so it's not that easy to distill.

Re: Show HN: I make $3K/mo from a browser extension

#29

Post by dillondoyle » Wed, Jan 05, 2022, 6:40 AM UTC

vsnf wrote: post #10

Something I’ve noticed in many of these threads showcasing successful products is that they all focus on marketing. Advertising software, analytics software, etc. I rarely (never?) see any one post about their successful non marketing solution.

He also makes devutils.app which is very 'HN-er' and from his blog looks like it's a good chunk of his ncome!

Re: Show HN: I make $3K/mo from a browser extension

#30

Post by marban » Wed, Jan 05, 2022, 6:48 AM UTC

vsnf wrote: post #10

Something I’ve noticed in many of these threads showcasing successful products is that they all focus on marketing. Advertising software, analytics software, etc. I rarely (never?) see any one post about their successful non marketing solution.

Vanity (metrics) is a great sales driver.