Startups For the Rest of Us

Should your first customer pay you, or get your product for free?  In this episode, Rob Walling answers listener questions on charging customer zero, what metrics to track for a seasonal transaction fee-based SaaS, what it really means to sell into a low-awareness market, and when freelancers help vs. hurt your bootstrapped business. He also calls in Producer Ron to break down exactly how he thinks about writing copy for a podcast ads. Want to get your question answered? Drop it here. Topics we cover: (2:42) – Six years to overnight success (4:55) – Should customer zero pay or get it free? (8:42) – Writing ad copy for podcast ads (15:14) – Metrics for a transaction fee-based SaaS (18:40) – Moving from GMV-only to subscription plus fees (20:38) – Selling into a low-awareness market (23:53) – When bootstrappers struggle without problem awareness (27:09) – Podcast music history editor Josh (31:44) – How to find and work with freelancers Links from the show: SaaS Launchp