bohlenlabs

After several React projects, I recently went “back to the roots” and created an app with server-generated HTML using the ages-old Mustache templates.

For interactivity, I added a bit of HTMX, and to have beautiful forms, I added the web components from Shoelace, all wrapped up in a Vite build.

And I must say that this was a relaxing experience: No complicated React stuff anymore, and the Typescript-based server components on AWS Lambda render the pages within 30 msecs each. AWS DynamoDB powers the data layer.

Feels like 1997 again, but I am Happy with the new stack!

As a solo founder, I know perfectly how difficult it is to market a product. So I thought: Let's work as a group to make our products look awesome. Let's find customers and convince them to buy. And let's discover how to gain real traction with our products. It's easier when you do it in a peer group, with other business owners.

Great! What was your first successful SaaS about?

By the way, I couldn't find that site. Mind sharing a link?

As software engineers who run a startup, we disregard or even look down on marketing.

I wrote a blog post about a change in mindset that I needed to make in order to get my SaaS startups off the ground.

What are your ideas about this?

This is cool. Could you please add a LICENSE file so that it's clear what people are allowed to do with your code?

So many good links here, thanks to the OP for sharing, and to all commenters as well!

Should I add my tool to the site? ;-)

Yeah, you're right. It really depends on how far they are on their journey.

No, of course not. I'm a big fan of Susan Cain's book "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking".

Introverts are not necessarily shy or anti-social – these are qualities found in extroverts and introverts alike.

Introverts just need more energy when they are with other people. Extroverts even gain energy when they are with others.

Given that the noisy, interruption-based marketing style does not work anymore today, introverts are perfectly skilled for marketing: The new forms of marketing that focus on helping people get their problems solved, they give introverts a big advantage.

We introverts just didn't know that, I think. :-)

Ah, there is food for thought and learning, here. Thanks for sharing, I will try to understand what's going on there.

You're right. My tool (in its current form) is for people who know what they should do but simply don't do it.

However, if it's more like "how???", then you might like this popular blog post: https://2quiet2market.com/blog/spme-marketing-habit-for-solo...

Tell me what you think about it.

Cool thing. Guess I shouldn't reinvent the wheel here. Is there an open source example that I could learn from?

Build a model? In the sense of machine learning or in another sense? Cool idea, what could that look like?

So true. I can totally relate because I had the same problem.

Whenever I write code, it either runs, or does not. It’s my fault, or I could say: it is my responsibility.

This is different with marketing. It depends not only on me but on other people’s behavior. And most of the time, I couldn’t see any relationship between effort and results.

Therefore, I have on my product roadmap a gamified loop with feedback, so that reluctant marketers have fun and keep being engaged to use the platform and stick to their habit.

Why doesn’t this platform offer a “like” button for answers?

Oh wow, I like this one!

Whoa, this would be a dream come true, haha!

No, they want to build and not do marketing, if they could get away with it.

Similar to someone who wants to lose weight without exercising.

Yes, maybe saying "exercise more" is dumb because it would scare people away or make them say "Duh! Could have told you that!".

Maybe when I push it more into the direction of an "AI marketing assistant", the message could be like you said.

I must think about this, thank you so much!

Exactly. Busy, solo introverts deserve to have as much success as extroverts with a team.

I'm targeting people who don't love marketing and are totally busy with something else. At the moment, that's mostly solopreneurs and small startups. It's up to them whether they wanna go down the lifestyle business or the hypergrowth route, however I think a startup going for growth would have a full-time marketer on their team anyway, right?

No, you're not snarky at all!

These are great points. AI changed the landscape totally within a few months. I played with AutoGPT 2 weeks ago, and it's absolutely amazing, already today in its (still) raw form.

"Brain dead simple"... yes, that's definitely the way to go. Will think about how to make that happen. These buttons you were talking about sound great.

Hey, jaggs, thanks for your feedback as well! Of course, the things you mention are all super important, but I thought they might confuse someone who does not have experience in marketing.

But on the other hand, I could add them as further building blocks for marketing, so that the user can stitch them together to form their own playbook. As long as everything feels easy and like a game, I think this could work.

So, thanks again for your suggestions!

Wow, thanks for those cool ideas, mrieck! I already added AI to spice up the copy that the user enters (it's part of the Advanced plan), but your other ideas go way beyond that, thanks! Indeed, the AI could suggest what to do.

Regarding your 2nd paragraph: Yes, the true problem is not marketing itself with all its practices. The real problem is to make the user get into a habit and do it consistently. To help the user make it happen, I intend to add some kind of gamification and rewards. I was thinking about making it similar to those fitness apps that help the user eat less and exercise more.

In this case, the message would be "build less, market more".

Cool, thanks for your encouraging words, gumby! I hope your friend will have much success with it. Should any assistance be needed, make sure you join the online community for 2quiet2market.