How do you balance building vs. marketing as a solo founder?
1 comments
I think that's super common among technical founders (really, everyone).
But I'd gently reframe the problem. It's not really "building vs. marketing"; it's "building vs. distribution." After all, what you're talking about is getting more people to use your products. For technical products, that looks a lot like building: a thoughtful README, great documentation, spending time in communities where your customers are and both listening and helping. And, in the process of doing that, if there's an opportunity to pitch what you're working on, then pitch.
Don't worry about building complex "marketing systems" right now. Just get out there and help people in the communities you're trying to serve, and learn from the way they frame the problem (take careful note of the language they use to describe their problem...flip that around and turn it into your website copy!)
I wrote up a guide for exactly this situation: https://strategicnerds.com/blog/the-indie-developers-guide-t.... I also wrote a book on technical marketing that you can see on my blog as well. (see, that's me helping, then gently pitching)
Also FWIW, I am not a believer in automation. Yes, automation for optimizing ad spend and fixing SEO/AEO site issues. That stuff is great. But automating social media is a terrible idea. You just come across like a bot. Speak like a normal person and, truly, have fun with it. You're connecting with teh people you're trying to serve!
But I'd gently reframe the problem. It's not really "building vs. marketing"; it's "building vs. distribution." After all, what you're talking about is getting more people to use your products. For technical products, that looks a lot like building: a thoughtful README, great documentation, spending time in communities where your customers are and both listening and helping. And, in the process of doing that, if there's an opportunity to pitch what you're working on, then pitch.
Don't worry about building complex "marketing systems" right now. Just get out there and help people in the communities you're trying to serve, and learn from the way they frame the problem (take careful note of the language they use to describe their problem...flip that around and turn it into your website copy!)
I wrote up a guide for exactly this situation: https://strategicnerds.com/blog/the-indie-developers-guide-t.... I also wrote a book on technical marketing that you can see on my blog as well. (see, that's me helping, then gently pitching)
Also FWIW, I am not a believer in automation. Yes, automation for optimizing ad spend and fixing SEO/AEO site issues. That stuff is great. But automating social media is a terrible idea. You just come across like a bot. Speak like a normal person and, truly, have fun with it. You're connecting with teh people you're trying to serve!
I've been building an AI tool to automate marketing across developer communities (Reddit, HN, Twitter, etc.) because I got tired of choosing between shipping features and getting users. But I'm wondering — is this avoidance healthy, or should I just force myself to get better at marketing? How do you split your time, and what marketing activities actually moved the needle for you?