Many marketing efforts for an app require a significant amount of development. For example, creating a referral program requires many coding tasks. Half of the battle is to push through these tasks in the face of uncertainty of whether the effort will work at all.

#buildinpublic

Not that it matters, but I noticed I am 4 followers away from 200. It’s been a slow but steady climb since I started sharing my journey. Now that I’m focused on building app again, I intend to share more freely about my journey. #buildinpublic

I’m fighting hesitation to work on GreenBooks.app full time due to the decade (!) of lack of traction. It’s a good product, still earns $1.4K per month. I have to remind myself I’ve never put effort into marketing during this whole decade. #buildinpublic

I’ve found context switching between consulting and product work to be extremely expensive. The two require completely different mindsets, so it’s hard to keep a train of thought going on each. However, out of necessity many indie makers need consulting to survive. #buildinpublic

Ok, I finally published the first blog post for GreenBooks. Now that I have the platform set up, I plan to start posting regularly to boost SEO.

greenbooks.app/blog/why-i-bui…

#buildinpublic

I have to constantly remind myself, I don’t know anything, just ship and find out! 🛳

#buildinpublic

Small win. Created a videos page (greenbooks.app/videos) for GreenBooks. It’s so much easier to watch a video to learn something. I’m still not happy with the video quality though, but now I can iterate (re-shoot) and make them better.

#buildinpublic

Made the mistake of tying my startup to my identity last week. Paid the cost for it with my rollercoaster of emotion. It’s best to work on our ideas with a level of detachment.

#buildinpublic

I started working on a new startup idea recently. One moment I feel it’s a genius idea, the next moment I feel it’s the stupidest idea ever, and then repeat. I guess that’s normal? 🤷‍♂️

#buildinpublic

I feel it’s good to have holes in your startup idea. Because then you can talk to as many people as you want about it without fearing the idea would be stolen.

#buildinpublic

Thinking about repositioning GreenBooks.app as “a method to take total control of your money”, rather than “a well designed personal finance app”. One is a pain killer, the other is a vitamin.

#buildinpublic

Indie hackers, I would like your opinion on something. I’m creating the first blog for my app GreenBooks.app, and I’m trying to decide between a more plain text look or one with a header image. What do you think? My audience is “everyday folks”, 30~60+

#buildinpublic

A consulting project has taken over my entire attention the last three weeks. Now that that’s ending, it’s so hard to shift my focus back on my app. It’s easy to just open my Mac and start pumping out code/content, but to feel inspired again takes time.

#buildinpublic

I’ve been kind of quiet on Twitter lately, going through some changes in my life. Shifting priorities makes it hard to stay connected with what was familiar before. I’m still here though, reading all the great posts from the #buildinpublic community.

Ok, for my blog for greenbooks.app I’m going to use a pre-built system and just link to it from blog.greenbooks.app. I’m considering @Medium, but sometimes it asks readers to pay? Is there a better option than @Medium for blogging?

#buildinpublic

I’ve been so overwhelmed with consulting work, haven’t been able to do any work on @greenbooksapp. How do you strike a balance between consulting work and developing your own product?

#buildinpublic

What did I do to offend this guy? 🤷🏻‍♂️

#buildinpublic

“The best software is one I didn’t have to write.”

I don’t know where I heard this quote. Very true. I’m always fighting the temptation to re-invent the wheel. Who doesn’t want to build yet another blog system?

Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Still not decided.

#buildinpublic

Sometimes the best way to find out how to market to your target audience is to just ask :)

I followed up with a user who was satisfied with my support response, and she gave me some ideas for marketing to an older audience that I would never have thought of!

#buildinpublic

I need to create a blog for GreenBooks. GreenBooks.app run on @jekyllrb, which means I still have to do a little coding and styling to make it look good.

With so many blogging platforms, is there one you recommend to save me the work?

#buildinpublic