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Founder Stories

Top Growth Strategies 📈 from Indie founders (that actually worked)

https://fernandopessagno.medium.com/i-grew-my-startup-to-100-000-visitors-per-month-with-no-time-for-marketing-254ba456ad4a

$0 to $1000 MRR under 100 days in the middle of a pandemic

Product Hunt, Affiliates, LinkedIn, OpenStartup

https://baremetrics.com/blog/friendly-growth-study
https://www.groovehq.com/blog/hacker-news
https://plausible.io/blog/startup-marketing
https://levels.io/hoodmaps/
https://twitter.com/1HaKr/status/1285840218067615757
https://www.startupschool.org/posts/27805

Making $160,000 in Two Weeks via Appsumo

AppSumo, Lifetime Deals

https://www.indiehackers.com/@guillaume_lemlist/how-we-made-160-000-in-two-weeks-launching-our-saas-on-appsumo-6be00cd8af?fbclid=IwAR0fFdpZDH56FLDBiFUrJnSEA9R5aTH2LZo3MikRoHd1DbwQwNET5K0A7M8

Competition-hacking our way to 10x customers

Automation, Viral / Quirky

https://blog.emailoctopus.com/growth-hacking-our-way-to-10x-customers/

Hacking Twitter getaways: 10k new followers

Giveaway, Twitter

https://levels.io/giveaway/

How I Got 100,000 Visitors and 5,000 Email Subscribers in 6 Weeks

Content, Viral / Quirky, PR

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/100k-visitors-and-5k-email-subs-in-6-weeks-heres-what-i-did-wrong-b9bc6bc352
https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/how-i-created-2-000-in-monthly-recurring-revenue-in-30-days-2ce9a2227f4a

Growing A Brand to $1.1M/month at 23 Years Old

Email Marketing, Ads, Facebook, Giveaway, Referral, Pre-Launch

https://www.starterstory.com/stories/brumate?utm_campaign=%2413k%2FMonth%20hot%20sauce%20online%20store%20and%20subscription%20service.%20%28PFyJd5%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Starter%20Story&_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJzYW1hbnRoYXdhbGxzMjNAZ21haWwuY29tIiwgImtsX2NvbXBhbnlfaWQiOiAiSmNoa2l2In0%3D

Getting 1,000 site visits from one single comment

Reddit, Twitter, HackerNews

https://www.starterstory.com/blog/how-i-hustled-my-way-from-0-to-1000-email-subscribers

From Launch to >$15K of revenue in 48 hours

Facebook, Lifetime Deals, Funnel, Ads, Product Hunt

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-i-earned-16k-in-48-hours-with-my-saas-launch-detailed-breakdown-578ad8f767

Using Reddit to boost mailing list

Reddit, Content

https://www.starterstory.com/blog/cracking-reddit

How We Got Our First 100 Paying Customers in 24 Hours

Email Marketing, PR, Referral, Twitter, Conversion

https://www.groovehq.com/blog/startup-first-paying-customers

Getting to #1 on Product Hunt

Product Hunt

https://blog.lemlist.com/how-to-end-1-product-of-the-day-on-product-hunt-with-almost-no-preparation/

Running a Successful Kickstarter Campaign that Made $15k In 28 Hours

Pre-Launch, Email Marketing, Instagram, Giveaway, Content, LinkedIn, Medium, Facebook, Kickstarter

https://sumo.com/stories/kickstarter-email-list

From $1m to $2m ARR in 6 months with no fundings in the middle of a pandemic

Co-marketing, LinkedIn, Content, Giveaway, Communities

https://medium.com/@guillaume.moubeche/from-1m-to-2m-arr-in-5-months-with-no-fundings-growing-in-a-time-of-crisis-6c1aaeadeac6?source=bookmarks---------3------------------
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-we-got-to-the-front-page-of-hn-and-stayed-17-hours-with-no-help-5ec8c6c485

I got 400 signups with a video of a product that didn’t exist

MVP, Pre-Launch, Landing Page, Monetization

https://www.lunadio.com/blog/i-got-400-signups-with-a-video-of-a-product-that-didnt-exist

Bootstrapping a Side Project to $6k/MRR

Referral, Gamification, Lifetime Deals, Funnel

https://blog.usejournal.com/how-i-bootstrapped-a-side-project-to-6k-month-while-secretly-hating-everything-it-stands-for-f7405823de4?source=search_post

6 days, 3,626 sales, $101,528 in revenue

Hype, Twitter

https://tr.af/6

From $0 to $323,010.43 in 14 months

Video, Communities, Ads, Monetization, Content, Facebook, Surveys, Landing Page, Funnel

https://www.reddit.com/r/EntrepreneurRideAlong/comments/gr09ww/from_0_to_32301043_in_14_months_with_a_simple/

Getting 100 Free Beta Testers Without a Product or Landing Page Ready

Pre-Launch, Email Marketing, Beta Users, LinkedIn, Gamification

https://www.chanty.com/blog/got-100-free-beta-testers-without-product-landing-page-ready-yet/

How I get the first 500 Paid Users paying $5/mo for my SaaS

Monetization, Customer Service

https://blog.inkdrop.info/how-ive-attracted-the-first-500-paid-users-for-my-saas-that-costs-5-mo-7a5b94b8e820?source=search_post&gi=75c812adfad9

How I increase in-app purchase by 30%

Monetization

https://medium.com/swlh/how-i-increased-lonely-planet-s-in-app-purchase-revenue-by-30-case-study-inside-35213dd0f29a
https://medium.com/the-post-grad-survival-guide/how-i-made-150-000-from-my-bedroom-8784c2f85df3
https://twitter.com/AlexLlullTW/status/1297142782113570816

$0 to $30k within a year

Funnel, Customer Service

https://www.groovehq.com/blog/first-year

How I Got My First 10 Paying Customers - Without Spending Any Money On Marketing

Funnel, Customer Service, Email Marketing

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-i-got-my-first-10-paying-customers-without-spending-any-money-on-marketing-ef74745355

50+ eBook pre-sales ($383 made)

Pre-Launch, Digital Products, Validation, Pricing

https://www.indiehackers.com/product/failory/50-ebook-pre-sales-383-made--MHmHNw3XPwkBkt994FR

How I grew Software Ideas to $6k MRR in three months

Pre-Launch, Monetization, Giveaway

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-i-grew-software-ideas-to-6k-mrr-in-three-months-4b6598f378

14 days, $14K in sales, 1,000 customers

Digital Products, Validation, Communities, Co-marketing

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/14-days-14k-in-sales-1-000-customers-and-what-worked-for-me-e08032d029

0 to 2500 subscribers in less than a month

Communities, Ads, Referral, LinkedIn, Product Hunt

https://medium.com/swlh/the-power-of-early-beta-users-b1cf08317721
https://hackernoon.com/how-a-week-long-project-took-me-to-2-on-product-hunt-and-the-front-page-of-hacker-news-2ir3y16

Lessons and Regrets from My $25000 Launch

Digital Products

https://www.swyx.io/coding-career-launch/

$110k in two weeks after launch

Digital Products, Pre-Launch, Twitter

https://twitter.com/alexbdebrie/status/1247535800557830146
http://justinmares.com/how-i-validated-my-idea-for-kettle-fire/

Use Customer Expansion to Skyrocket Growth

Expansion, Monetization

https://baremetrics.com/blog/customer-expansion
https://medium.com/@teaminfinity/goodbye-trello-5dcfe93ab414

$6,116 from my product launch - no audience

Landing Page, Email Marketing, Pricing, Twitter, Pre-Launch

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/6-116-from-my-product-launch-no-audience-here-is-how-full-breakdown-8a00ba7992

Growing a Slack Bot from beta to $25k per month

Product Hunt, Pricing, Monetization

https://blog.markgrowth.com/growing-a-slack-bot-from-zero-to-25k-per-month-37041207d1fe

How I Got 100,000 Visitors and 5,000 Email Subscribers in 6 Weeks

Twitter, PR, Psychology, Content

https://medium.com/better-marketing/how-i-got-100-00-visitors-and-5-000-email-subscribers-in-6-weeks-b696102bb7ec

6 Steps I Used to Sell Over 215,000 Fitness eBooks

Digital Products

https://medium.com/@shawnlebrun/the-6-steps-i-used-to-sell-over-215-000-fitness-ebooks-c6eb0312fa55

0-20k email subscribers in a year

Content

https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/gqanwf/020k_email_subscribers_in_a_year_how_i_promote/
https://www.shopify.com/blog/bestself-co-content-syndication#:~:text=Cathryn%20Lavery%20and%20Allen%20Brouwer,of%20your%20day%20every%20day.

£8k Instagram Giveaway → 1M new followers

Giveaway

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/8k-instagram-giveaway-1m-new-followers-419b48dae2?utm_campaign=digest-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=indie-hackers-emails

Grow Your Twitter Audience

Twitter

https://twitter.com/JanelSGM/status/1299326094416531461
https://themesberg.com/blog/design/how-we-redesigned-our-product-page-and-improved-page-value-based-on-google-analytics
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/send-personal-video-welcomes-to-increase-conversion-af5a674a03
https://copyhackers.com/2018/02/beyond-buzzfeed-used-quizzes-generate-10000-qualified-leads/
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-i-gamified-my-saas-onboarding-to-increase-growth-d69cb02679

How We Increased Pricing Page Conversion Using Email

Exit Offer, Conversion, Funnel

https://blog.wishpond.com/post/115675436127/how-we-increased-pricing-page-conversion-using-email
https://zerotousers.substack.com/p/how-43-founders-got-their-first-users

#1 on Product Hunt (Ultimate Guide)

Product Hunt

https://blog.salesflare.com/product-hunt-launch

The secret to Mention's 54% increase in signup conversions

Landing Page, Design, Conversion

https://clearbit.com/blog/how-mention-increased-their-conversion-by-54-using-clearbit/
https://unbounce.com/conversion-rate-optimization/made-up-product-increased-conversions/
https://wordlift.io/blog/en/web-stories-seo/

discounts to members of various communities

Pricing, Monetization

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/do-you-offer-discount-promotions-on-special-occasions-christmas-easter-new-year-s-eve-e3adfe04bb?commentId=-MQ3E_X9gy_K6pFSTuWf
https://blog.friger.io/how-reframing-discounts-led-to-a-4x-increase-in-yearly-plans/

Use GIF & memes for free brand exposure

Viral / Quirky

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/tip-use-gif-memes-for-free-brand-exposure-ce453d04e4
https://ariyh.substack.com/p/dont-showcase-good-features
https://jakobgreenfeld.com/badge
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/underrated-acquisition-channel-posting-on-competitor-feature-requests-d088520cb5

My online course made $6,622 in 5 days. Here's how I did it

Digital Products, Content

https://www.preetamnath.com/blog/online-course-6622-in-5-days-how-i-did-it

5 Tactics I’ve Used To Get 25,000 Newsletter Subscribers

Ads, Facebook, Co-marketing

https://medium.com/an-idea-for-you/5-tactics-ive-used-to-get-18-000-newsletter-subscribers-f7a25123a2c4
https://ariyh.substack.com/p/0-is-better-than-free

Get more paid subscribers by offering a complementary newsletter

Conversion, Digital Products

https://joshspector.com/paid-newsletters/
https://stories.betalist.com/how-i-tricked-techcrunch-into-writing-about-my-startup-248083eb0c34

The First Thing I Send To People Who Give Me Their Email Address

Email Marketing, Content

https://medium.com/an-idea-for-you/how-to-write-welcome-email-ee42c6713a7

Actionable advice to acquire your first 100 sign ups

Beta Users, Pre-Launch, Twitter

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/actionable-advice-to-acquire-your-first-100-sign-ups-bcde36a256

Experiment with Shared Ads on Twitter

Twitter, Ads, Viral / Quirky

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/experiment-with-shared-ads-on-twitter-382ca1d485
https://twitter.com/hey_ciara/status/947978992723820544
https://eminfaliyev.medium.com/hacking-facebook-ads-advertise-by-using-other-s-paid-ads-for-free-use-case-dd641791b6ed
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/when-people-land-on-your-webpage-give-them-goals-growth-experiment-2-case-studies-d0d436354e

Tip: Give shoutouts to get shoutouts

Viral / Quirky

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/the-art-of-getting-a-shoutout-a63d18ef4b

$10K in preorders in 3 days

Pre-Launch, Validation

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-i-got-10k-in-preorders-in-3-days-a27d2a38cc?utm_campaign=top-milestones-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=indie-hackers-emails

How a tiny peanut butter company grew to $500k per month in sales

Viral / Quirky, Cold Email, Influencers

https://thehustle.co/how-a-tiny-peanut-butter-company-grew-to-500k-per-month-in-sales/
https://databox.com/converting-trial-users-to-paid-customers#monetize
https://newslettercrew.com/ep39-one-simple-trick-to-grow-a-newsletter-to-1-million-subscribers-with-sam-parr-from-the-hustle/
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-we-gathered-thousands-of-users-to-our-app-for-free-using-reddit-6c65d19012
https://medium.com/startup-grind/how-i-launched-the-2-most-upvoted-product-of-all-time-on-product-hunt-f3772fb20ad8

My Guide Attracted 2,100 People in 3 Days. Here's the Behind-the-Scenes

Giveaway, Twitter, OpenStartup, Pre-Launch

https://kevoncheung.com/blog/building-in-public-guide-behind-the-scenes
https://medium.com/infinitypm/how-we-made-70k-in-10-days-by-launching-a-lifetime-deal-without-appsumo-b81d93930c43
https://twitter.com/Vinrob/status/1355050202399465473

Lessons from 300+ Indie Hackers Posts about Newsletters

Instagram, Giveaway

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/lessons-from-300-indie-hackers-posts-about-newsletters-6eb8d3c44b

How Shopify Increased Revenue 90% in 365 Days

Giveaway, Hype, Content, Funnel, Affiliates, Paid, SEO, Twitter

https://sumo.com/stories/shopify-marketing

Growth Marketing Mint.com From Zero To 1 Million Users

Monetization, Ads, Content

https://okdork.com/quant-based-marketing-for-pre-launch-start-ups/

1.5 million subscribers in 18 months

Landing Page, Content, Referral

https://medium.com/the-mission/how-morning-brews-referral-program-built-an-audience-of-1-5-million-subscribers-3315482c1aa5
https://www.saleshandy.com/blog/avoid-gmail-promotions-tab/

Altruistic referrals are 86% more effective

Viral / Quirky, Monetization, Referral

https://ariyh.substack.com/p/altruistic-referrals-are-86-more

The Wiki Strategy: How to Grow Your Blog to 100k+ Monthly Visitors

Content, SEO

https://medium.com/better-marketing/the-wiki-strategy-how-to-grow-your-blog-to-100k-monthly-visitors-723824ff50a7
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/i-grew-my-twitter-account-from-300-to-37k-followers-now-im-building-an-app-0e57680322?utm_campaign=top-milestones-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=indie-hackers-emails

Getting 30,000 Hacker News visitors to your website

HackerNews, Viral / Quirky

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20612717

NomadList Pricing Analysis

Monetization, Pricing

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/nomadlist-pricing-analysis-7760191976

We Made $214,500 and Set a New Record on Appsumo Deals

AppSumo, Lifetime Deals

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-made-214500-set-new-record-appsumo-deals-arto-minasyan/
https://www.project.co/appsumo-experience/
https://viral-loops.com/blog/paypal-referral-program-case-study/

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