Hey hey hey! We're super excited to get this out the door because launching side projects changed the game for us.
I’m Mikael, founder of Crew (http://crew.co) and Unsplash (http://unsplash.com).
We (@meseali, @kirillz, and @angusw) worked with Crew members @lukemiler and @littlebigmake to make this happen.
For the last 3 years, we were able to double Crew’s revenue every year not by running ads, but by building tools (side projects) to create value (more: http://www.fastcompany.com/30424...).
Marketing today is defined by how useful it is to your customers. And the bar for useful has risen substantially. Where blog posts, infographics, and webinars were once marketing gold, websites, apps, and tools are taking over.
We made Make This Year because we wanted to share everything we and makers like @pjrvs@mijustin@kadavy know about creating tools to supplement your core business so you can grow in the most efficient way possible.
So if you subscribe to Make This Year, you’ll get 1 lesson a month taught by an experienced ‘side project’ maker that will teach you a proven way to build different types of side projects, from email courses to tools, to substantially grow your business.
Previously, we teamed up with people like @ryanhoover, @andrewchen, @hnshah, and @naval for http://launchthisyear.com where we put together handpicked links to take your idea to launch.
If you happen to check this out today, thanks a lot for taking the time.
We’ll be around today to hop in the comments.
Happy to have you on board @mijustin ! You're a constant inspiration for us and love the way you're building a culture of making. PS. great job here as always: https://www.producthunt.com/book...
I have signed up as of course there is no downside to a free email but I am curious how is this going to differ from so many of the other "launch your side project" trainings out there? Is there a specific focus or goal behind it?
@robertwilliger thanks for signing up, Rob, and thanks for asking that!
We have two primary goals with this course:
1. Instead of just talking about theory or explaining how important side projects are, we wanted to make each lesson very hands-on that offers actionable tips and we wanted each lesson to cover a different side project from launching an email course to an app.
2. We're a big fan of side projects here at Crew (https://crew.co/labs) but we didn't want a course taught just by us and we wanted to bring some of the top side project makers together to share their no-BS learnings.
We are also keen on delivering top quality we promise and we thought we could make it best if we offered lessons only once a month instead of promising weekly.
Hope it answers your question.
Wish you the best of luck with the business!
Ali
@meseali Thank you so much for the reply. That does make it quite different from many of the other things out there. I like how it will be a different lesson each time and actionable. I also think that the monthly nature is excellent, as it can be hard to keep up with some of the more frequent ones. I hope you will share some results on the engagement regarding a monthly course as it could be beneficial to see if maybe less often is better.
@robertwilliger really happy to hear that, Rob. Thanks for taking the time to give feedback! Sure, this course itself is also a side project for us and we'd love to share our learnings along the way, too. Have a great rest of the week. Ali
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So cool, i really like the idea of building products to support your main business.
I still think this is one of the most inspiring blog post I've ever read:
http://blog.crew.co/how-side-pro...
But have you wondered, what would happen if you put the same energy, in your main business?
@sillaspoulsen thank you for the awesome feedback on the post, Sillias! Well, actually you raise one of the best questions about side project marketing.
Three things hit my mind:
1. Will they really come if you build it?
2. Even when you're ready to scale once you find product market fit, will you keep ONLY building and improving your product?
3. If you ever decide to do marketing, how much should it distract you from building?
You can always devote all the energy to your main business but if you ever decide to give it a shot, one of our key learnings has been to see that some side projects are actually less distracting than other marketing methods. (I have written around 2000words on it, check it out if interested: https://medium.com/swlh/side-pro...).
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@meseali Thank you Ali!
I will definitely give your blogpost a read!
And again you guys rock, keep it coming!
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This is awesome.
I love what the team at Crew have done with Unsplash, taking some leftover photos, giving them away, and in doing so creating a stock photo revolution, where high quality photos are now freely available to all. The way the product has evolved, with the latest addition being the collections, has been controlled really well, not running ahead too fast, and only adding features that really add value.
@mikeaag & I know the power of side projects well. Last year was pivotal for us, we went from 0 successful launches to 7 in just 12 months, learning a tonne of valuable lessons, getting involved in the great maker community, earning some side income and even landing a great job that I've been aiming at for years, all as a result of making side projects. We're so passionate about building and launching side projects that we're writing a book about our experiences and lessons learnt the past year at https://learningtolaunch.co/.
Ultimately, for any wannabe makers out there, I massively encourage you, go do it. You don't need any specific skillset, there's tools out there now that enable those with no technical background to build & launch something that can provide huge value. The only thing stopping you is truly yourself. That said, there are some lessons to be learnt with how to best go about the process of building and launching, so learning these tips from those who've been there and done that is a total no brainer.
Whether it's for fun, to market your main product, or as a stepping stone to starting your startup, getting into the habit of building and launching side projects is vital and an investment you won't regret.
@fredrivett Fred, thanks for those encouraging and awesome words, really happy to see you've been following our Unsplash & side projects journey. Personally, I've been pretty impressed with your serial making and have already been following the mockup designs of https://learningtolaunch.co :) Really interested to see how it will come out. Let's make stuff together! Cheers
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@meseali Thanks Ali! For sure, we're totally open to partnering up on side projects moving forwards, let me know if something fits, we'll do likewise!
Definitely looking forward to finishing off the book and getting it out there, the more materials that help people build and launch the better! 🚀
@jakeapeters haha I think I know what you mean :) Part of our team is based in Toronto, most people are in Montreal. I'm writing to you from all year warm Singapore. Cheers man :)
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