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ConvertKit: How Nathan Barry Bootstrapped an Email Marketing Business

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Re: ConvertKit: How Nathan Barry Bootstrapped an Email Marketing Business

#51

Post by manmal »

zem wrote: post #49
scardine wrote: post #21

I love his book "Authority" (not affiliated with the author, just got a lot of value from it). It states that one of the best moves to make a claim of expertise is writing a book, and contains a framework to write a book about something you know in ~3 months. http://nathanbarry.com/authority/

i was interested, so i clicked through to the page ... and there's no way to just buy the book! the best i can do is a $180 package with the book and a bunch of other stuff i do not want. so i went to see if it's on amazon, and there is a hardcover edition there, but no kindle edition, despite the packages on the author's site all including ebooks. not sure if it's a deliberate barrier-to-entry (as in, "if you're not…

Just asking - you were curious, but now you are not because the book is not available in the form you like best?

Re: ConvertKit: How Nathan Barry Bootstrapped an Email Marketing Business

#52

Post by scardine »

GuiA wrote: post #46
scardine wrote: post #21

I love his book "Authority" (not affiliated with the author, just got a lot of value from it). It states that one of the best moves to make a claim of expertise is writing a book, and contains a framework to write a book about something you know in ~3 months. http://nathanbarry.com/authority/

The fact that you can't buy the book alone for $20 or so - but instead have to buy some sort of premium package that starts at $179 - is a definite put off for me, and also makes me wonder whether the content of the book is that deep/interesting, or if it's a trick to get the buyer so involved emotionally with the purchase that they'll end up believing it was absolutely worth it. I get that by selling $300 book bundl…

I got it for $79 in July, 2015. Not cheap also.

Re: ConvertKit: How Nathan Barry Bootstrapped an Email Marketing Business

#53

Post by luckyisgood »

zem wrote: post #49
scardine wrote: post #21

I love his book "Authority" (not affiliated with the author, just got a lot of value from it). It states that one of the best moves to make a claim of expertise is writing a book, and contains a framework to write a book about something you know in ~3 months. http://nathanbarry.com/authority/

i was interested, so i clicked through to the page ... and there's no way to just buy the book! the best i can do is a $180 package with the book and a bunch of other stuff i do not want. so i went to see if it's on amazon, and there is a hardcover edition there, but no kindle edition, despite the packages on the author's site all including ebooks. not sure if it's a deliberate barrier-to-entry (as in, "if you're not…

There used to be "just a book" option before at $49 if I remember correctly, that's when I bought it. So I'm pretty sure Nathan's decision to remove that option is intentional, or an experiment of sorts.

The book is really good; however, I would not have bought it then if I had had to pay $180. Is it worth it? Yes, if you're 100% absolutely certain that you want to create a business around a book.

Re: ConvertKit: How Nathan Barry Bootstrapped an Email Marketing Business

#54

Post by charlesdm »

karambahh wrote: post #50
charlesdm wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given how easy it is these days for a developer to make €50k (e.g. by contracting on a day rate fee for a company), there really is no need to eat noodles for years. You do work for 6 months, save up €50k, and live frugally (but not crazy frugal) for a while.

Let's say 500€ daily rate (which is probably average in France with a very large standard deviation between Paris and deserted zones and factoring varying daily rates which are domain specific and experience related. No way a junior RoR freelance would make 500€ in Massif Central for instance. Likewise, 500 is low for an experienced data science freelance working in banking in Paris). 20 6 500=60k€ gross After social…

1. Assuming you keep it in a company, and actually are smart about releasing it when you need it, so you don't have to pay all the tax upfront.

Re: ConvertKit: How Nathan Barry Bootstrapped an Email Marketing Business

#55

Post by karambahh »

jacquesm wrote: post #29
karambahh wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please bear with me, I am not trying to be a smart-ass like many seem to think, these are honest questions and I think that they also come from using a foreign language and coming from a different culture. I think you're right in calling that a problem of definition. I agree with everything you said about money and investors management. I'd just add that "stupid money" probably isn't the good kind of money :-) At lea…

> let's say a billionaire puts his 1B$ into a new venture, would you call that "boostrapping" as well? Depending on how he got the billion and whether or not there is outside investment involved, possibly yes, but the term is usually used for small amounts of money (say But truth be told very few people are in that luxurious position and those that are will almost never risk all (or even a substantial part) of their…

Agree that is entirely hypothetical and Elon Musk is an interesting example. I know he is sometimes risking a very large proportion of his private capital on his new ventures, but I would never have called that "bootstrapping".

(Once again, let me re-iterate that I have understood that "my" definition of boostrapping is not correct)

To me, a billionaire going all out on a new project is in a better financial, business & social position. "hey look, Elon Musk has launched a new thing, took his own billion to build it, must be awesome like his past ventures" compared to "hey, here is that John Doe we never heard of with his project he built in his home. To me, with financial capital comes social capital. When you invest all your money in a project, if it's 1B$ your social status "highly affluent guy with connections up to the white house and every Fortune 500 companies" does not change and is immensely useful. If it's your 5k€ your social capital is low and will get from "successful salaried software developer" to "the noodles-eating guy who didn't have a shower in 4 days". Guess which one is most likely to win deals?

Re: ConvertKit: How Nathan Barry Bootstrapped an Email Marketing Business

#56

Post by nathanbarry »

luckyisgood wrote: post #53
zem wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i was interested, so i clicked through to the page ... and there's no way to just buy the book! the best i can do is a $180 package with the book and a bunch of other stuff i do not want. so i went to see if it's on amazon, and there is a hardcover edition there, but no kindle edition, despite the packages on the author's site all including ebooks. not sure if it's a deliberate barrier-to-entry (as in, "if you're not…

There used to be "just a book" option before at $49 if I remember correctly, that's when I bought it. So I'm pretty sure Nathan's decision to remove that option is intentional, or an experiment of sorts. The book is really good; however, I would not have bought it then if I had had to pay $180. Is it worth it? Yes, if you're 100% absolutely certain that you want to create a business around a book.

Yeah, It was an experiment I started running when I focused on ConvertKit. So far it's increased revenue, but it obviously has the side effect of fewer purchases.

Re: ConvertKit: How Nathan Barry Bootstrapped an Email Marketing Business

#57

Post by mendelk »

zem wrote: post #49
scardine wrote: post #21

I love his book "Authority" (not affiliated with the author, just got a lot of value from it). It states that one of the best moves to make a claim of expertise is writing a book, and contains a framework to write a book about something you know in ~3 months. http://nathanbarry.com/authority/

i was interested, so i clicked through to the page ... and there's no way to just buy the book! the best i can do is a $180 package with the book and a bunch of other stuff i do not want. so i went to see if it's on amazon, and there is a hardcover edition there, but no kindle edition, despite the packages on the author's site all including ebooks. not sure if it's a deliberate barrier-to-entry (as in, "if you're not…

It seems to be available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Authority-Become-Following-Financial-...

Re: ConvertKit: How Nathan Barry Bootstrapped an Email Marketing Business

#58

Post by thebiglebrewski »

jacquesm wrote: post #31
thebiglebrewski wrote: post #24

Wow, this is pretty astounding. Congrats Nathan. Personally though, I don't get how this kind of marketing strategy works. I unsubscribe SO FAST from things that seem like mass emails that it just wouldn't work on me. I suppose I'm a huge exception to the general public? I'm even surprised when I look over at my girlfriend's gmail how many promotions she has (not in a separate tab).

> I'm even surprised when I look over at my girlfriend's gmail how many promotions she has (not in a separate tab). That sample gives you a potential of 50% of the market, and in my experience you are the exception and she is the rule, adjust accordingly.

Haha I know, I know, terrible stats practice. Just saying.

Re: ConvertKit: How Nathan Barry Bootstrapped an Email Marketing Business

#59

Post by thebiglebrewski »

nathanbarry wrote: post #47
csallen wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ConvertKit targets professional bloggers, podcasters, and other content creators. Generally, people who subscribe to these types of newsletters are there for the content. Getting it automatically via email is a huge perk compared to having to remember on your own and then proactively go out and find it. For example, Indie Hackers (the site that hosts this interview) has grown to about 8000 email subscribers in the pa…

Yep, like everyone is saying ConvertKit is about following content creators you get a lot of value or entertainment from. We tend to get better open rates and deliverability across the board because we exclude a lot of the traditional businesses that would use email marketing poorly (purely for sales).

That's a killer advantage Nathan! I hope it holds true as the business grows.

Re: ConvertKit: How Nathan Barry Bootstrapped an Email Marketing Business

#60

Post by brilliantcode »

GuiA wrote: post #48
artursapek wrote: post #15

I had no idea "professional bloggers" were such a lucrative market.

It is; the trick is to sell expensive shit to the "aspiring professional bloggers" demographic. Just like the best way to live off a 4 hour work week is to write a book about how you too can live off a 4 hour work week.

Marketing is such a powerful thing.

For instance I pay $60 CAD / month to intercom.io for a website that isn't even built.

THAT's powerful. Made me pay for shit I don't even use (but going to real soon....I keep telling myself that)

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