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Justin Jackson's SaaS marketing experiments

A few thoughts from today

Published over 1 year ago • 3 min read

Howdy, Justin Jackson here.

I'm trying something new with my newsletter: I'm going to send shorter emails, more frequently, featuring a few "thoughts from today."

Below is my first newsletter in this style. If this isn't for you, feel free to unsubscribe. (link is at the bottom).

The focus of these emails will be around bootstrapping, the good life, building calm companies, business ethics, creating a better society, and introspecting the tech industry

Here's the goal: I want you to respond to these emails. Tell me what you think. If you give me permission, I'll include your thoughts when I write these up as longer posts.

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yes, this new format is a response to elon

I've been a big Twitter user since 2008. In nearly 14 years on the platform, Twitter's had a net-positive effect on my life. I've met many friends there, had great conversations, been able to test out ideas and work in public, received helpful DMs and replies, and been able to promote different projects.

Now with Elon’s takeover, Twitter is in the hands of a man whose behavior I find reprehensible. Many years ago I respected him as an innovator, public figure, and entrepreneur. But he’s repeatedly displayed a willingness to spread misinformation, hurl obnoxiousinsults, and preside over a toxic workplace.

We, subconsciously, mimic the people we admire. Leaders like Elon have more influence over our thinking than we realize.

Instead of elevating folks like Musk, we should be following leaders who are mindful, respectful, have self-control, and can act with a reasonable amount of restraint.

Which puts me (and many others) in a weird position with Twitter. As the new owner, Elon has the freedom to do whatever he wants.

twitter profile avatar
Eli Pariser 🏞📲
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Twitter Logo
@elipariser
April 25th 2022
105
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500
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It seems likely that under his leadership, Twitter will get worse.

But where can the bootstrappers, founders, devs, indie makers, and others who found community on Twitter go?

When I asked this question on Twitter, Jack's response was pretty indicative:

"[Nothing really comes close to replicating the watering hole of Twitter]. Not even 1% of Twitter. Reddit is the closest but it’s all strangers."

None of the alternatives replicate what we've come to like about Twitter. As Evan Armstrong said on Every:

"Twitter is a place of active discussion and consumption. Its primary use case is to hear directly from experts, see breaking news, or debate ideas."

Or as Gexla said on Hacker News:

"What I like about Twitter vs any other network tool, is the random interesting stuff I can come across which is still somewhat related to people I follow."

And as Noah said:

"Nothing comes close to the community here on twitter though."

I'm not about to make any rash decisions (beyond "wait and see"), but it does feel like we're in limbo.

(what do you think about all this? hit reply and let me know)

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SaaS growth in a recession

Nine days ago, Peter Levels tweeted:

"My revenue is 40%-50% down since recession Most of ppl around me with companies from $100k/y to $100M/y have same issue."

At Transistor, our revenue growth is holding steady. We're growing a bit every month (but not nearly as much as we were in the initial months of the pandemic).

In the MegaMaker Slack, John mentioned that latest earnings report is "a strong indication of a downturn:" Google's profits fell by 27%.

(what are you seeing? is your business being affected? hit reply and let me know)

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collecting sales tax?

I'll have more to say about this in the future, but I can't believe how complicated and "taxing" it is for SaaS businesses to do sales tax registration, calculation, collection, and remittance globally.

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That's it for today.

Cheers,
Justin Jackson
@mijustin <-- I always sign with my twitter handle. should I keep doing this?

Justin Jackson's SaaS marketing experiments

In 2024, I'm sharing marketing and growth tips for SaaS founders

I'm the co-founder of Transistor.fm (podcast hosting and analytics). I write about SaaS marketing, bootstrapping startups, pursuing a good life, building calm companies, business ethics, and creating a better society,.

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