53: Launching Transistor.fm with Justin Jackson

Today’s guest, Justin Jackson, just launched a podcast platform called, Transistor.fm. Justin describes the time he spent working with co-founder Jon Buda to get it ready to go live. Launching involves a lot of energy and emotion with ups and downs.

Whether working on your own or with someone else, Justin encourages you to take time away to work on something to focus on it and make significant progress.

Today’s Topics Include:

• Reporting is key feature for podcast hosting applications; Transistor.fm offers an awesome analytics feature
• When catching up with competitors, have a comparable minimum set of features
• Some features don’t look good in screenshots; showcase a feature
• Lots of time was spent on the launch, which Justin hoped would create a ripple effect for sign ups, word of mouth, tweets, and other engagement
• People see something on Product Hunt, and they buy it; it’s an easy decision but not an intent-based audience - looking for entertainment and freebies
• Splash for Transistor.fm made it the #1 product and generated sign ups
• A podcast is an investment; Justin decided to use credit card sign up for Transistor.fm to build a brand and trust
• Calculating churn, setting expectations, and reaching goals; banking on slow, steady growth
• Starting work on Spots.fm, self-serve ads for indie creators; making it as easy to advertise on a podcast as it is advertising on Facebook
• Get a company to sponsor you and write off as marketing expense; way for podcasters to earn income from their show
• Talk, observe, and listen to “normals” to find that people buy things because of podcasts; don’t change people’s priorities to fit your ideals

Links and resources:

Derrick Reimer Website
Derrick Reimer on Twitter
Ben Orenstein Website
Ben Orenstein on Twitter
Level
Derrick’s Manifesto
Tuple
Build Your SaaS Podcast
MegaMaker
Justin Jackson Newsletter
The Importance of Trust with Your Audience with Justin Jackson
Transistor.fm
Laracon
Tuple Native App and Level Inbox Workflows
Product Hunt
Rob Walling
Tim Ferriss