Debunking Common Phrases in Indie Hacking

Over the years I've come across cliches across the industries that are often times just regarded as truth. May it be because there is no concrete way to disprove it but in theory completely sounds legitimate. They make sense, so it they should be correct, right?

"Build it and they will come"

"Build it and they will come" is probably one of the biggest ones out there. It is one of the most misleading expressions out there. No, people will not start lining up for that application you just built. The fact is, the market is almost saturated everywhere. Without addressing a proper niche and having a clear product strategy plan, there is almost zero chance your application gets off the ground.

A good strategy needs to be in order on who you are specifically targeting based on your product. This was something I had to learn the hard way. For example, let's say you built a note-taking app without any specific niche in mind. You are already setting yourself up to fail. In the note-taking app space, there are already several big players like Google (Google Keep), Apple (Apple Notes), Notion, Obsidian, etc. Trying to aim for the general public is an uphill battle in almost any kind of application. This is the case for almost any industry; rarely is there a need that has zero players in the market. Unless, that is, you are creating a completely new market or need for a service or product, which is also a different conversation in itself.

Suppose then you tweak it a bit and aim for note-taking specifically for book lovers. Although there are already players in that field, you aren't going against the big competitors. The dynamics completely change based on what features you are trying to build and how you are marketing it. Although it is a smaller market compared to the general public, there are still millions of people who love books. The same goes for targeting specifically gamers for note-taking. Your UI/UX and how they would use your application completely change, as well as the SEO and keywords you use to find the product-market fit.

"Scratch your own itch"

That was my main pain point realization. Without having a proper product and go-to-market strategy, I was just "Scratching my own itch". I heard somewhere that if there is a pain point you experience, there is a good chance that other people feel it too. That is true to some degree, but that pain point you experience appeals more to a certain demographic rather than everyone in general. What you want to find is which demographic appeals to that pain point the most, rather than just building it and hoping for the best.

"Build in public"

Another one is "Build in Public". Yes, it works, but only if you have a following and you've already established some sort of name for yourself out there. But in order for you to have a good following, you have to have already 'done' something. It's like a chicken or the egg scenario. Without one or the other, you aren't able to get the ball rolling to actually start building in public. Most of the time, it feels like you are shouting in the middle of the forest.

What I learned is that anything you do needs to have proper SEO. Before, I didn't have the knowledge of SEO optimization. I would build something thinking people would just find it. For example, my note taking app, was a simple daily reminder to help people remember their book passages. It was a pain point I personally experienced and thought other people would benefit from it. It was something I primarily built for myself. I didn't do any research but realized how do people find it?

I found out later on that the SEO optimized word was "A gentle daily reminder". For some reason, thousands of people search for this phrase every day, but my app was optimized for the keywords "quotes reminder". It was practically impossible for the demand to find the supply.

After a couple of months of what felt like bumping my head against the wall, trying and trying, I'm soon starting to get traction on my apps. I've focused on creating a proper strategy first and doing my research on what keywords are optimized rather than just jumping in with both feet and building immediately.

Do not make the same mistake as I did. Do the market research. Do not listen to the cliches and sayings that you hear too often. It might just be the change you needed to make to enable your first sale.