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Justin Jackson's SaaS marketing experiments

I'm the co-founder of Transistor.fm (podcast hosting and analytics). I write about SaaS marketing, bootstrapping startups, pursuing a good life, building calm companies, business ethics, and creating a better society,.

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Featured Post

Are you introverted or extroverted?

I think most folks assume that people who create content (YouTube videos, podcasts, screencasts, public speaking) are mostly extroverted.But this conversation I recently had with Aaron Francis, Marie Poulin, and Brian Casel on the Panel Podcast calls that into question: Curious how you would answer this question. Reply on Bluesky Reply on YouTube Or, reply to this email. Cheers,Justin Jackson PS: this is just a short clip from a fantastic episode of The Panel podcast. Listen to the whole...

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Hey friends, This episode was so good. Marie Poulin and Aaron Francis joined us to discuss the realities of building creator-driven businesses. We talked a lot about YouTube (they describe how each got traction there) and their current video making process. They also challenged conventional wisdom about sticking to one niche. For them, pivoting between projects keeps them fresh and prevents burnout, even when the traditional wisdom is to "just focus." Listen wherever you get your podcasts:...

Podcast killer

In the pursuit of "making podcasts more discoverable," the podcast industry has welcomed YouTube with open arms. However, I think we're underestimating YouTube. I think it's "eating the world" in a way we've never seen before: I just made a video about it: I also wrote a blog post about it: 👉 justinjackson.ca/podcast-industry-youtube And I released it as a podcast as well: JUSTIN'S BRAIN • EPISODE 11 Is YouTube going to kill audio podcasts? 10:19 MORE INFO I don't think YouTube cares about...

Hey friends, Peldi is the founder of Balsamiq Mockups and pioneered transparent business building in 2007. In this episode, he came to The Panel looking for advice. We invited Jay Clouse of Creator Science to share his wisdom. Jay had tons of practical suggestions for SaaS founders looking to build community and build in public in an authentic way. THE PANEL • EPISODE 3 Should you still build in public? Peldi (Balsamiq) and Jay Clouse (Creator Science) 01:00:10 MORE INFO Apple Podcasts...

AI can't code this

Chris Sacca told Time Ferris that "we're super f*cked;" I'm not convinced. I'm curious to hear what you think! I just made a video about it: I don't think AI replaces what a skilled programmer can bring to a high-quality SaaS product. To me, this "AI will build your app for you" hype feels like previously failed predictions around No Code, open source apps, buy "once.com," etc... If you have time, I'd love for you to watch the video and tell me your thoughts. (Leave a comment on YouTube, on...

Hey friends, We just released the next full episode of The Panel podcast, with guests Caleb and Taylor: THE PANEL • EPISODE 2 The business of open source - Caleb Porzio (Livewire) and Taylor Otwell (Laravel) 01:18:02 MORE INFO Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast Pocket Casts And more... You can also watch on YouTube. We want this podcast to feel like we're all hanging out at a conference, talking about what it's like to build products and run businesses. After you've listened, you can send us...

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Hey friends, This Friday, we'll publish a new episode of The Panel with Taylor Otwell (creator of Laravel) and Caleb Porzio (creator of Livewire and Flux). We talked about the state of web development as a career (should college kids be studying CompSci?), building a business on open source, and how taking venture funding has affected Taylor's business. Here's a sneak peek: Curious: do you think we should let people on the mailing list listen to episodes early? (We would love to figure out...

My friend Brian Casel and I have a new podcast. In it, we invite other founders to discuss (and debate) the realities of building a business. In our first episode with Colleen Schnettler and Tyler King, the topic of AI came up. THE PANEL • EPISODE 1 SaaS predictions for 2025 – Colleen Schnettler and Tyler King 01:02:02 MORE INFO Some people think AI will make launching software products trivial. "I'm still not convinced," I told our panel. I don't think AI can replace a talented human expert...

Hey friends, We just released the first full episode of The Panel podcast, with guests Colleen Schnettler and Tyler King (they were terrific). THE PANEL • EPISODE 1 SaaS predictions for 2025 – Colleen Schnettler and Tyler King 01:02:02 MORE INFO You can listen here: Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast Pocket Casts And more... You can also watch on YouTube. We want this podcast to feel like we're all hanging out at a conference, talking about what it's like to build products and run businesses....

Man vs Machine

I've been sharing a bunch of bite-sized thoughts lately. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. -------- AI isn't going to replace us I keep hearing people worry that AI will take over software development, product development, writing, video production, and other areas. I'd be worried if you write low-quality, spammy, clickbait articles (AI can do that easily). If you write simple, boilerplate code for a big company, your job might be at risk. But for those who care about doing quality work,...