I made $3.9k in sales from 124 customers.
This platform has been instrumental in creating momentum for my project so I wanted to share what worked and what didn't.
I see side projects as two sides of the same coin. One part is to get the product up and running. Second part is to grow and sell the product. It's not as straightforward as it sounds.
I excel on the first part. I get pure joy in building products. It's like experimenting in the lab. But the second part is born out of necessity to keep the project alive. It is challenging personally.
I took a 6-week sabbatical from work in July. I had plans to read several books, but could not get through a single page. I just couldn't focus, so I decided to pick back up on Wise Charlie (www.wisecharlie.com). I already had the product and website which I built a while ago.
In July, I rebuilt the website to support better UX, well-refined copy, clean product pictures and asking website visitors to buy the product and/or subscribe for the newsletter. I also asked for the feedback from folks on Indie Hackers. Thanks for helping me out!
@rosiesherry retweeted my tweets and I started getting come traction. Thank you, Rosie!
I started reaching out to folks on Twitter — DMs. This was my only strategy and it was done deliberately. I didn't want explosive growth.
I am a one man operation and I didn't want be overwhelmed with packaging and shipping. My project is not software based. It is a physical product. Operation doesn't stop after a transaction. I have to package and ship. It's not fun, but part of building and scaling. I also didn't want to outsource this work or sell on amazon. It was too early to outsource.
I store inventory in my house where I also share that same space with my wife. She is always rolling her eyes when she sees my inventory. When orders started to come in she was super happy. My wife was happy that I got rid of 156 boxes. I am glad I sold 156 boxes. Same result, but different perspective.
Wise Charlie remains still a side project. I have about 350 newsletter subscribers and it's been super fun on growing and selling a physical product. Mundane tasks are absolutely necessary and I have deep respect for people who are building and sharing. It's great to be a part of this community.
Cheers & Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best in 2021!
Super cute design @mihirchronicles
What’s your best traffic channel so far and what’s your plan in 2021?
Newsletter affiliation, Twitter and Reddit have worked out well so far. Plan is to just dig deeper into the topic. Write more about each mental model, share it on the blog and sell more cards. I personally don't have any growth plans other than having fun with it, master the topic and share it with others.
Hey Mihir - These look fantastic and they seem like a great gift!
Would you be able any insights on how you produce / source / print the cards and the packaging?
There are plenty of card/game manufacturers that you can google. I don't have the vendor name on hand. But I worked on a prototype with 4-5 manufacturers in China. I went with the one who provided the best quality-to-price ratio. Whoever you go with do not sacrifice on quality. It's okay to let go of margins for quality.
Thanks for sharing!
I love the website UX and the visual design of the cards. It's all very consistent. I also like the layout and typeface design on the cards. It simultaneously feels like it's a card from a board game, but also kind of like those nutrition labels.
I make a flashcard app and looked all over for inspiration for the look and feel of cards. There's something about cards that make them so usable. I'm also a big fan of critical thinking, so I might pick up a copy for myself.
I think the price is reasonable for something made by a one-man shop, but if this were a larger studio making it, $30 feels high. (If I saw this in a gift shop, I'd probably not hesitate to pick it up if it were $15.) Have you considered adding some blurb about how you're making these yourself? I think that might push people over the edge to purchase if they find it's a little shop making it. Even the story you shared is a funny one and makes the product feel more personal.
Congrats on your success so far too.
Thank you for your kind words and sharing your thoughts on pricing! I am not necessarily making these myself. I am handling shipping, packaging and logistics myself. Though I agree, I can attract more buyers by bringing the pricing down, but I am not ready to open that floodgate yet.
The way I look at it is I have done a lot of work on modularizing each mental model. Each mental model is digestible via a short definition, supporting illustration and a humorous example. I also complement each model by an in-depth analysis under blog. Now, one doesn't have to buy cards and can instead purchase a book. But I have customers who prefer to go over a few at a time. This makes it less complex to understand. This is why I feel up-charging is worth it. Hope that helps!
I LOVE your Fresh Card index cards app.
Congrats Mihir. Thanks for sharing your experience
Congratulations Mihir! Happy New Year!
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing Mihir...and look...! 😇
Happy New Year!
YES! Super happy you were able to pick that up from the post office.