Don't Overcomplicate Your Marketing
Simpler marketing is better. Focus on converting strangers to loyal customers instead of just user acquisition. Attract superfans early on to help determine design needs rather than prioritizing design too soon.
Key Facts & Points
- Start with optimizing your offer and conversion funnel before trying to attract users.
- Do research on users, competitors, trends to sharpen positioning.
- Simplify the marketing funnel - one main acquisition channel, one activation moment, one key offer, one upsell.
- Use nudges like discounts, guarantees, scarcity to increase conversions.
- Focus on direct user acquisition like social media, email lists before SEO.
- Improve all areas of marketing holistically each month.
Redesigning Design and UX
Focus on attracting superfans and core features before design and UX. Shift focus once product is more stable.
Key Facts & Points
- Perfect UX early on means neglecting other growth areas. Stay flexible as product changes.
- Superfans will overlook imperfections and show you ideal UX over time.
- Shift to UX focus once feature set feels complete and product is stable.
- Poor UX that loses user trust means they won't pay you.
- Look for low conversion to paid accounts as sign UX needs improvement.
450+ Paid Users in 3 Months
Email lists, influencers, and in-app feedback drove 450+ paid, 1K+ free users, $2K MRR in 3 months.
Key Facts & Points
- Built a waitlist prior to launch, grew over time.
- Reached out to Twitter influencers.
- In-app feedback is critical for user communication.
- Onboarded 2K+ institutions with team of 2-3.
- MVP approach with essential features and constant user feedback.
Publisher: Indie Hackers Newsletter
TV Advertising Uncertainty Due to Strikes
TV ad commitments down due to production strikes limiting scripted shows. Unclear if other programming can retain audiences.
Key Facts & Points
- Networks have less scripted shows to promise advertisers for fall seasons.
- Reality TV, game shows, animation filling holes but may not retain viewers.
- Ad buyers wary of commitments due to economic conditions already.
- Some think this could permanently shift dollars away from traditional TV ads.
Changes at Twitter Under Elon Musk
Twitter sees controversies, changes under Musk including reinstating banned accounts, new revenue models.
Key Facts & Points
- Ye's (formerly Kanye West) account reinstated but still can't monetize.
- New sign at HQ removed for permitting issue.
- Launched sharing revenue program favoring high-profile, far-right users.
- Threatened to sue nonprofit tracking increased hate speech.
- Reorganized trust and safety team under Musk.
Publisher: Marketing Brew Newsletter
Does Revolut's Culture Threaten Crypto Commitment?
Rapid founder turnover in crypto division concerning given price declines.
Key Facts & Points
- Revolut Crypto key to first profitable year in 2022 but has seen 5 execs depart in 4 years.
- Made significant hiring investments in crypto but market conditions worsening.
- Insiders split on whether commitment remains long term.
Viva Wallet Under Regulator Scrutiny
Viva Wallet faces inquiries from European regulators related to compliance practices.
Key Facts & Points
- Greek payments unicorn being probed by regulators across Europe.
- Reportedly fired compliance team members who raised internal concerns.
- JP Morgan bought 49% stake in 2022.
Publisher: Sifted
Instagram's Upcoming AI Features
TLDR: Leaked images show Meta's plans for AI-powered Instagram features related to content and messaging.
Key Facts & Points
- Labels to distinguish AI-generated images from real photos.
- Summarized direct messages for influencers.
- Tools to transform images into any visual style.
- Replace parts of images easily with AI.
- Timing of features rollout still unknown.
Lawsuits Against AI Art Systems Emerge
TLDR: Artists are suing AI firms like Stability AI for unauthorized use of their work.
Key Facts & Points
- AI needs huge datasets including copyrighted art to train.
- Artist found her work used to train Stable Diffusion, sued Stability AI.
- Raises issue of updating IP laws for AI systems.
- Could devalue original creations if AI duplicates freely.
Netflix's "Deep Fake Love" Reality Dating Show
TLDR: New Netflix show uses deepfakes to make contestants think partners are cheating.
Key Facts & Points
- Couples separated, shown fake videos of partners cheating.
- Must guess if videos are real or AI-generated.
- Criticism raised around exposing contestants to deepfake psychological manipulation without consent.
- Mainstreaming this technology through entertainment is also concerning.
Research Shows GPT-3's Reasoning Ability
TLDR: GPT-3 scored similarly to college students on verbal reasoning tests.
Key Facts & Points
- Performed well on intelligence test questions and SAT-style problems.
- Made some similar errors in reasoning approaches as humans.
- Still struggles with physical/spatial reasoning that is easy for humans.
- Unclear if GPT-3 is mimicking human reasoning or utilizing new approach.
