zlacker

>>amanch+(OP)
For my SaaS, the first 100 users were almost too easy. I partnered with a company sitting on thousands of clients and offered my tool—free—to just 10% of their list. But I didn’t sell features. I asked what their clients hated most, then built a fix for that. One well-placed feature, and the doors swung open. Real users, real feedback—and we’re still building on that foundation.

Then there’s my blog. A creative sandbox, no overlap with my day job. No built-in audience. No distribution. Still waiting on subscriber #1 (Mom, seriously—now would be a good time).

Takeaways:

    Partner with someone who already has meaningful reach.

    Solve a real, hair-on-fire problem.

    Offer something free to earn early trust.

    Knock on doors, pitch relentlessly, repeat. And hope the gods of luck are listening.

As for the writing side—different beast. Slower burn, no roadmap, no shortcuts. Still wandering in the woods, but enjoying the walk. Open to ideas—and subscribers. (Mom… last chance.)

>>ednite+IB
Also, I subscribed to your blog. Content looks interesting, but asking for a name during sign up is a little off-putting.

>>d0live+dE
Got it—and thanks for subscribing! Really appreciate the feedback. I used the default settings, but now I know what I’ll be tweaking tonight. Totally agree—simple is best.

>>ednite+mW
Another piece of feedback: ~90% seems written by ChatGPT. That is very off-putting.

>>kroogm+3y1
The users comments all read like chatgpt. Loads of em dash. Short acknowledgement at the beginning e.g. "got it"

Strange times

>>diordi+mJ1
I really love using the em dash, especially now that I’ve learned how easy it is to type one the iOS and macOS keyboards — but the risk of being labeled an AI now really takes the fun away.

Butvthe normal dash is just wrong in most contexts it is used, and I simply cannot stand this.

>>Manuel+VL1
Agreed, I'm torn between my pedantry for adhering to style guides and being pilloried for seeming like an AI. There's no safe ground anymore.

(Though I used to use the em dash with spaces on either side — like this — and only recently converted to the more common, tighter spacing—like this. I might go back to my old ways since it's different from how AI uses them, like some sort of weird shibboleth.)