Strategies for Building and Launching Your Side Project / PyLadies Remote

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/strategies-for-building-and-launching-your-side-project-with-tracy-osborn-tickets-32211230658

Video Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HBuDWLfTfs
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWmvoe4quWE

Transcript

1. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Strategies for building and launching your side project
2. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Hi, I’m Tracy! @limedaring (daring, not darling)
3. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
4. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
5. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Question: What sort of projects are you working on?
6. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring • Pay attention to moments when you think, “I wish so- and-so existed…” • Wish an iPhone app existed but you don’t know iOS? Use this as an opportunity to learn while you build! What to build?
7. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring • Carve out a certain day/hour to work on your project. • Hopefully it’s something you enjoy doing so it doesn’t feel like “work” :) • Work on your project at hackathons and conference sprints! Making time for your project
8. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring • Make a plan and write it down! For example: • Make a list of the pages you want/need? • Wireframe your website pages? • Make a list of all your requirements? • Make a list of all your features? Planning your project
9. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring • Then cut down your project into the “minimum viable project!” (MVP) Planning your project
10. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring image credit: https://quickleft.com/blog/mvp-design/
11. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring • Then cut down your project into the “minimum viable project!” (MVP) • What features do you absolutely need? What features could you punt to after you launch? Planning your project
12. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Launch as early as possible
13. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring • It’s tempting to add features forever.
14. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring • It’s tempting to add features forever. • What if someone judges you?
15. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
16. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring • It’s tempting to add features forever. • What if someone judges you? • You’ll think of your product differently after launch — and that’s a great thing.
17. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring A bit about marketing your projects!
18. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Marketing is hard. Marketing takes a lot of mental energy.
19. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Marketing is hard. Marketing takes a lot of mental energy. Marketing is worth it.
20. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring How do we market what we build?
21. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Try to understand your customer, 
 especially if your customer isn’t you.
22. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
23. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Don’t forget to add analytics
24. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring analytics.google.com
25. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring segment.com
26. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring briefmetrics.com
27. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Have a landing page and 
 start building your email list.
28. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring drip.co convertkit.com campaignmonitor.com mailchimp.com
29. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring pages.github.com
30. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring launchrock.com
31. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring The easiest/hardest/best marketing tactic: writing content.
32. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
33. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
34. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
35. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
36. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
37. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Blog under your project, yourself, or both?
38. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Don’t forget analytics here too.
39. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
40. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Make sure to tie your postings 
 into your mailing list.
41. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
42. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Writing is great for 
 promotion that doesn’t look like promotion
43. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
44. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Some common complaints:
45. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Some common complaints: • But I’m terrible at writing!
46. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Some common complaints: • But I’m terrible at writing! • Writing takes too long!
47. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Some common complaints: • But I’m terrible at writing! • Writing takes too long! • But I have nothing original to say!
48. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Best practices for finding and sharing on relevant communities.
49. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring news.ycombinator.com
50. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
51. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring reddit.com
52. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
53. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring producthunt.com
54. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
55. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring For all of the above — 
 stick around and answer comments promptly. 
 More discussion = more interest = more views.
56. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring A bit about social media
57. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
58. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
59. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
60. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
61. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
62. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
63. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Things to consider 
 depending on what you’re doing
64. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Kickstarter
65. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring tinyurl.com/hellowebdesign #talkpay
66. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
67. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
68. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Cold emailing
69. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
70. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Some guidelines: • Keep your messages short.
71. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Some guidelines: • Keep your messages short. • Make it personal. Sound like a human.
72. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Some guidelines: • Keep your messages short. • Make it personal. Sound like a human. • Give someone an obvious benefit.
73. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Some guidelines: • Keep your messages short. • Make it personal. Sound like a human. • Give someone an obvious benefit. • Better to do it mostly manually rather than automated.
74. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Some guidelines: • Keep your messages short. • Make it personal. Sound like a human. • Give someone an obvious benefit. • Better to do it mostly manually rather than automated. • Use something like Boomerang for Gmail so you remember to follow up if they don’t respond.
75. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Blogging in general (especially if you work with small businesses.)
76. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
77. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Marketing tactics that 
 might not be worth it
78. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Paid advertising?
79. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring reddit.com/advertising
80. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
81. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Collaborations with 
 other projects/businesses
82. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring
83. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Resources for more
84. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring unicornfree.com
85. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring devmarketing.xyz
86. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring microconf.com
87. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring news.ycombinator.com
88. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring microconf.com
89. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring discuss.bootstrapped.fm
90. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring reddit.com/r/startups (etc.)
91. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring In conclusion…
92. PYLA DIES R EM OTE T RAC Y O S B OR N @limedaring Thank you! @limedaring