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:

If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

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Episode 831 | Written vs. Verbal Ad Copy, Selling Into a Low-Awareness Market, and More Listener Questions (Rob Solo)

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