August 2023: approaching $5K
Updates and learnings from LocalCan app in August
August in numbers
100 subscribers
in this newsletter since I started it 2 weeks ago – thank you! ❤️$4.5K revenue
since I’ve launched LocalCan in May25 trials
in 5 days after introducing trials in LocalCan
Strong community is the best thing that can happen to your product
This tweet generated a bigger spike in sales than Product Hunt + Hacker News – why? I was not acting as a salesperson; in fact, I don’t think I even played a role here at all. Instead, a couple of people (thank you! ❤️) simply recommended LocalCan as a solution for the problem stated in the tweet.
Trial version - hopes and fears
I've added the ability to download LocalCan and use it for 7 days for free – no credit cards or email address needed. Already, 25 trials have started!
On one hand, I'm confident there's a large group of people, myself included, who prefer trying a product before purchasing. On the other hand, I'm concerned that they might not be convinced enough to buy, potentially leading to a drop in sales 🙀. 🙀
I treat Trial version as an experiment and I’ll report back in September!
I’ve specifically set up an analytics event that will tell me if the app was in Trial or is still in Trial when entering new license key (so just after a purchase)
How do I keep refund rate below 1%
There is 30-day refund policy and no try-before-buy option (well, except Trials introduced 5 days ago)
Here is what I do:
9 out of 10 issues people face are around setting up their apps behind a reverse proxy, not about LocalCan itself. I assist them in solving these issues individually. I actually recreate their stack on my MacBook, whether it's Laravel, Vapor, Remix, Storybook, etc. After solving the problem, I report back with a solution.
Then, I also add a troubleshooting guide to the Docs. This way, when a similar issue arises, I can simply send them the link to the Docs.
I update the app regularly, as other issues are missing features or bugs
That’s all!
August went supa fast!
See you next time! 👋
- Jarek