Five years ago, I created a small extension that lets you inspect an element by hovering over it. I created it as a one-week challenge because I was burned out from my main project. I was managing college and my projects, so working on big projects was very difficult. Whenever I worked on big projects, I usually got burned out with no real results, so working on a small project made more sense. I worked on it for a while and then posted a video on X. Surprisingly, it got attention. I normally had 0 engagement there, so people liking it was a huge motivation, and I decided to make it my main project.
Hoverify(https://tryhoverify.com) was born.
I worked on it for the next month and added a couple more features. In the process, I made my first sale . I'll never forget that moment. It brought huge validation, not just to the project but to myself as well. I was on a streak of failed projects, depressed from college, and didn't know what I would do in the future.
Launching on ProductHunt
I launched Hoverify on PH and posted about it in some communities asking for help. It received a couple of upvotes, and I went to take a nap expecting not much. When I woke up, I was blown away by the comments and upvotes Hoverify was getting. Sales were pouring in because I priced it very low - $10/one-time, which was discounted to $7 for launch.
Since then, I have been trying to grow it and have crossed $250k in revenue.
Hoverify is now an all-in-one browser extension with tools to enhance your web development experience and productivity with key features like- Inspector, Color eyedropper, Assets, Responsive viewer, Site stack, SEO, Capture, and Debug.
Here are some of my learnings:
1. No need to start with a subscription. Selling a subscription is very difficult. Hoverify didn't have any server cost, so I could afford one-time payments and support those users for a long time. Now, Hoverify is on a yearly subscription.
2. If you're doing one-time payments, then explore distribution channels. AppSumo and Facebook groups worked best for me.
3. Word of mouth will do wonders, so don't slack on customer support. Make it a priority.
4. Don't hesitate to offer your product for free if needed, especially if they are content creators.
5. Invest in SEO as soon as possible. I made a mistake by not paying much attention to SEO, and I'm still struggling to improve DR.
6. Have a unique name; this will help you rank at the top for the name even if your SEO is trash.
7. Engage with people, if somebody is talking about your product then sit in the comments section. Reply to positive as well as negative feedback.
8. Understand your audience. Once you start getting customers try to categorize them. Like in my case, my audience was web developers but the Wordpress developers showed the most interest. I targeted them the most.
I would love to hear your feedback, let me know what I can improve in the product and landing page. If you have some marketing suggestions then I would appreciate them as well.