The Bootstrapped Founder

246: Corey Haines — Mastering Product Marketing

Aug 30, 2023

01:02:32

Snipd AI

Marketing pro Corey Haines shares tips for indie hackers and takes us behind the scenes of his business, Conversion Factory. He discusses product marketing, the benefits of subscription models, building websites, time management, and aligning products with personal preferences. Corey's expertise in running a marketing agency offers valuable advice for starting a business.

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Quick takeaways

Indie Hackers should focus on purpose-driven product development and train themselves to think like marketers to overcome the challenges of effective product marketing.

Having a swipe file can provide inspiration for marketers and help streamline their own work by drawing from successful examples in the industry.

Knowing when to hire a marketer for a startup depends on various factors, but finding the right person who understands the company's vision and can adapt to marketing complexities is crucial.

Deep dives

Challenges of Indie Hackers in Product Marketing

Many Indie Hackers struggle with effectively marketing their products. This is often because they have not built their products with a specific problem in mind, making it difficult for them to articulate the problem that their product solves. Product marketing requires a strong narrative and understanding of customer pain points to create a compelling value proposition. However, by focusing on purpose-driven product development and training themselves to think like marketers, Indie Hackers can overcome these challenges.

Introduction

3min

Learning product marketing as a technical person

17min

Subscription Models vs. Traditional Agency Model

28min

Building Websites, Time Management, and Streamlining Processes

5min

Building a Scalable Community and Aligning Products with Personal Preferences

4min

Where to Follow the Speaker's Work

2min

Importance of Domain Names and Challenges Faced by Technical Founders

3min

Get ready to learn everything about product marketing from our guest today, Corey Haines. Corey is a marketing pro who knows a lot about selling the right products to the right people. He talks about problems that indie hackers often face and gives helpful tips to solve them. He also invites us behind the scenes of his new business, Conversion Factory, which helps young companies with their marketing.

We chat about how Corey went from doing freelance work to starting his own company with two friends. He shares how they came up with the idea for Conversion Factory, their special way of (product) marketing, and how they make products really popular. We also look at new ways of doing business, comparing old and new methods — using subscription payments in an agency is pretty new ground. Corey's thoughts on this are really interesting and could change how you think about business.

We end our talk with Corey's views on how software and starting a business have shaped his career. He talks about why selling a product might be easier than creating software. We also discuss the benefits of having a business that makes steady money, which can help start other projects. Corey's experience in running a marketing company and the importance of being an expert in your field offer great advice. This conversation is full of useful tips for anyone interested in starting a business. So let's dive in and learn from Corey's experience!

Corey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/coreyhainesco
Conversion Factory: https://www.conversionfactory.co/

00:00:00 Indie Hackers' Struggles With Product Marketing
00:11:53 Hire Marketer, Launch Conversion Factory
00:17:56 Starting an Agency
00:30:36 Company Size and Service Needs Correlation
00:42:12 The Role of Software and Entrepreneurship
00:46:56 Website Design and Product Marketing
00:57:50 Product Marketing and Building Service Subscription

The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/corey-haines-mastering-product-marketing/

The podcast episode: https://share.transistor.fm/s/30c61a32

The video: https://youtu.be/WG6qrEnWNxA

You'll find my weekly article on my blog: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com

Podcast: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/podcast

Newsletter: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/newsletter

My book Zero to Sold: https://zerotosold.com/

My book The Embedded Entrepreneur: https://embeddedentrepreneur.com/

My course Find Your Following: https://findyourfollowing.com

This episode is sponsored by Acquire.com