Day 687 - Small bets within a small bet - https://golifelog.com/posts/small-bets-within-a-small-bet-1668726989965
Crazy hypothesis about why my Carrd plugins project clicked:
It’s a small bet project containing many smaller bets within.
It’s started as a side project, a small bet within my portfolio of products. Though I’m now putting more focus into it, I still consider it a side project, a small bet. Within that project itself, I’m making many plugins to sell, each a small bet in its own right. This is where it gets meta – many small bets within a small bet.
Maybe that’s the secret! I get to push out many bets within the project, and test which one works better, which one doesn’t, and make more plugins that work well. For example, because of the success of my free accordion plugin, I made another one in a different design. Likewise for the paid navbar plugin – I made a simple version, it sold well, then based on feedback, I created a separate upgraded version the meganavbar plugin.
The versatility from having many small bets within the Carrd plugins projects also gives me more opportunities to share links to them in online Carrd communities, because they solve different problems and painpoints. My indie twin @ayushtweetshere like to say, “Put more buy buttons on the internet.” So I went to count all the buy buttons for my most successful project so far… There’s THIRTY FOUR of them! So there’s a bit of in-built virality to them.
But of course, not all plugins work well though. Some are too niche, too specialised to have widespread appeal, like the video button plugin. So not everything works, but all in a day of work when it comes to using the diversified small bets approach – expect wins and fails. But the great thing about that is - the wins and fails are small. I don’t spend more than a few days making each plugin. Most of them are done in 1-2 day. In fact the work that takes longer (and less enjoyable) are the tutorials I have to create for each paid plugin.
It’s so interesting to analyse this project, how it has it’s own path that’s not similar to common best practices in indie hacking.
Perhaps that’s the key.
That it finds its own way.
It’s a small bet project containing many smaller bets within.
It’s started as a side project, a small bet within my portfolio of products. Though I’m now putting more focus into it, I still consider it a side project, a small bet. Within that project itself, I’m making many plugins to sell, each a small bet in its own right. This is where it gets meta – many small bets within a small bet.
Maybe that’s the secret! I get to push out many bets within the project, and test which one works better, which one doesn’t, and make more plugins that work well. For example, because of the success of my free accordion plugin, I made another one in a different design. Likewise for the paid navbar plugin – I made a simple version, it sold well, then based on feedback, I created a separate upgraded version the meganavbar plugin.
The versatility from having many small bets within the Carrd plugins projects also gives me more opportunities to share links to them in online Carrd communities, because they solve different problems and painpoints. My indie twin @ayushtweetshere like to say, “Put more buy buttons on the internet.” So I went to count all the buy buttons for my most successful project so far… There’s THIRTY FOUR of them! So there’s a bit of in-built virality to them.
But of course, not all plugins work well though. Some are too niche, too specialised to have widespread appeal, like the video button plugin. So not everything works, but all in a day of work when it comes to using the diversified small bets approach – expect wins and fails. But the great thing about that is - the wins and fails are small. I don’t spend more than a few days making each plugin. Most of them are done in 1-2 day. In fact the work that takes longer (and less enjoyable) are the tutorials I have to create for each paid plugin.
It’s so interesting to analyse this project, how it has it’s own path that’s not similar to common best practices in indie hacking.
Perhaps that’s the key.
That it finds its own way.