Steal my idea?
Hey all. I launched a newsletter that gives away business ideas I’ve researched pretty thoroughly but don’t have time to execute. It’s all for fun in the hopes of improving my idea muscle and to maybe get some fun dialogue going. Looking for fellow indie hackers to recommend other pieces of analysis or visual representation they’ve used to convey their business ideas in the past that I could incorporate into the infographics I’ve been making. Better ways of representing TAM? Cool market maps? Ways to break down unit economics? Would love to get recommendations on how to improve
You got some great ideas and they're presented really well. This really shows that execution is king, even though I like your ideas I won't execute. But I like the concept, giving insights/angles I didn't have before.
Thanks @Justkay ideas are fun but they are also cheap. It’s the execution and tactics that are the hard part. Anyone can steal an idea, not everyone can carry out a business plan to take something from 0 to 1
Looks like SoftwareIdeas.io has a competitor now.
Your newsletter looks nice, but I didn't understand all ideas. Maybe there needs to be another description of the idea besides "Pitch in a Tweet"?
I also don't know what "from the top rope" is supposed to mean or what a "fake rave review" is. What does "SMI" in "How it makes money" stand for?
Another point to consider: How well am I able to consume the infographics on my phone? I don't want to zoom.
Wow @nikwen thanks for taking some time to review.
-Still trying to figure out what dimensions substack optimizes images at. Maybe someone else knows?
-Pitch in a tweet: I’ve been trying to force myself to get the pitch into a brief yet informative overview, hence the pitch in a tweet. It’s easy to drone on and on but hard to make it short and punchy. The fake review and from the top rope (a play on the term used in pro wrestling, basically translating to here’s why this is crap or won’t work) were supposed to supplement the description.
-SMI stands for Steal My Idea, the name of the newsletter
-The other site you mentioned is really cool. I’m kinda going for less of an authoritative research feel and more of an irreverent, fun, creative tone. Like the Wikipedia for business ideas someone thought of while walking their dog
Here's what I would optimize:
Try to use terms which everybody understands. If you need to explain it, it's too complicated.
Adopt a mobile-first design. Having to zoom to read the newsletter is cumbersome. Complicated layouts with multiple columns often do not work well on mobile. This is not an issue of image resolution. It's an issue of layout and usability.
Embed text as actual text and not as part of a graphic. This makes the newsletter a lot easier to read. Users expect newsletters to be text-heavy. Info graphics are something I would rather expect on a blog or on Twitter.
@nikwen what do you think of the new layout? Used some of your suggestions
https://www.stealmyidea.io/p/smi-005-build-a-coaching-and-ticketing
Wow, Avon! Looking really good. 🔥
First of all, I love that you followed up with me. Lots of people tell me they will, but most people never do. Props to you for doing it. 👍
Second, that redesign is amazing!
It feels like a newsletter now. The sections are super clear. I can understand almost everything. The GIFs are a cool idea. The text is easy to read on mobile.
This is like a 1000x improvement in my opinion. 🎉
Here is what I believe could still use some work:
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
One last suggestion: Make a standalone IH post for issue #5. People will like it. 😉
Thanks @nikwen your advice was spot on and gave me motivation to improve it. If you were going to give time for thoughtful feedback the least I could do is follow through. You seem to know a ton about the newsletter world. Plus you read it all with a keen eye. Thanks again. I think I might take you up on the suggestion to make a standalone post as well to show the progress
Avon, glad I could help!
To be honest, I don't know much about the newsletter world. At least not yet. I just love making good products and giving feedback to people.
You seem to be really good at business in general, analyzing business ideas and running the cold, hard numbers. That's something that I need to learn.
I'll happily give feedback on your future issues, too.
Thank you sir. What type of software development do you mainly work on? I run a last minute tour and activity marketplace that has an iOS, Android, and web presence. Could potentially be a fit for collaboration down the line
Recently, I've been doing lots of web development. React, Node.js, TypeScript, Express, GraphQL. You know what I mean. ;)
Before that, I've had lots of experience with mobile development. I was even offered a book deal on Android development in 2013. Aside from that, I maintained some of the core applications (calculator, terminal) of the Ubuntu Touch operating system. Those shipped on ten thousands of phones.
As I mentioned, recently I've mostly been active doing web development, but I made sure to check out React Native every now and then, too.
How is Bubba Booking doing these days? Would you like to meet on Zoom next week?
Wow you've got a lot of experience. Yes it would be great to connect. I can walk you through our progress so far. Feel free to download the Bubba Booking App in the meantime if you are curious (none of the tours and activities will be close to you though :)) I'm free most of Monday morning EST time (I'm based in Boston). Do you have any time on Monday?
@AvonBarksdale I'd love to hear about your work on Bubba Booking. Really curious how you are growing the marketplace. :)
Can you contact me through the email on my profile? If you do, I'll send you some time suggestions tomorrow.
Thanks @nikwen I’m going to revamp the layout for the next issue and focus on moving text to the newsletter body rather than in the image. You saved me a lot of time. I had been googling optimal pixel widths for mobile newsletters and experimenting with image sizes but now understand it’s not so much a function of width or resolution but too small of text
You're welcome! Sounds good what you're planning. 👍
I love it. Congratulations on the launch Avon!
@Flurly thanks! I have a long way to go but hopefully I can learn from the community some best practices