A solo journey to 150k
Dracula PRO has hit 150K in sales — here's everything I learned along the way
I'm Zeno (@zenorocha) creator of Dracula.
Monetizing an open source project is very difficult, so I decided to share my personal journey and lessons learned. I hope this can be helpful and inspire your own journey.
January 2020
Getting Ready
$0
Lessons learned
Although I had traffic coming to the site, there was no way for me to contact people directly, so I began to build an email list.
People are tired of using crappy products with no support. That's why I decided to focus on creating a premium experience instead.
Don't be afraid to tell your story, even if you're sharing the most difficult moment of your life. Being vulnerable online is an advantage, not a weakness.
Tweets from this period
February 2020
Building in Public
$9,918.01
Lessons learned
Before launching to everyone, I asked some of my close friends about their opinions. Getting early feedback is key to a good product launch.
People are afraid of sharing sales numbers as they think this will attract competition. The only competition you have is yourself.
Every milestone was shared publicly. Regardless of how big or small, I started to create a habit of publishing quick wins.
Tweets from this period
March 2020
Reacting to Refunds
$17,476.46
Lessons learned
I never had time to work on my open source projects, but now that I was monetizing, I was able to spend more time doing something I love.
It’s painful to process your first refund request. It feels like you failed and that you’re not good enough. Still, you have to understand that there’s no such thing as the perfect product.
Sharing stories from users is really important and creates social proof. Your first customers are the most important - make sure they are happy.
Tweets from this period
April 2020
Going Viral
$29,734.00
Lessons learned
Transparency is a scarce resource. When people see someone sharing numbers and lessons openly, they get inspired by that, and you get credibility in return.
One day one of my tweets went viral. That caused a huge spike in traffic and sales. It definitely helped, but it's a one-time event.
When you're a company of one you have to do engineering, marketing, accounting, etc. Creating systems is crucial to manage everything.
Tweets from this period
May 2020 - July 2020
Adding More Value
$52,879.37
Lessons learned
By listening to users and implementing their requests, I was able to create a feedback loop. Keep adding value and people will notice.
I decided to write a book and give that for free for existing customers. I never wrote a book before, so I was super scared.
Once the book was out, I did many podcast appearances to spread the word and attract a new audience. There's no such thing as "build and they will come".
Tweets from this period
August 2020 - December 2020
Being Consistent
$87,733.80
Lessons learned
To keep people interested and maintain the momentum, I created a community challenge where users would share their setups on social media.
As the number of users grows, the number of support emails also grows. Because of that, I decided to increase the price.
Some days people would buy a lot. Other days I had almost no sales. Never underestimate the power of being consistent, especially when things are bad.
Tweets from this period
January 2021 - February 2021
Hitting The Mark
$101,578.04
Lessons learned
Pricing is hard, especially when you have to deal with different economies on a global scale. To address this, I implemented Purchasing Power Parity.
Don't look for a shortcut or some secret formula. Just be yourself and do your thing. Build your own journey and share it with others.
When you're creating a product there's no finish line. Although I'm happy to hit 100k, this is not the end, it's just the beginning.
Tweets from this period
March 2021 - July 2021
Building something new
$151,328.16
Lessons learned
Products are like investments, you have to diversify in order to minimize risk. That's why I built a new thing called Dracula UI.
Launching a new product while maintaining an existing one is super difficult. Add a full-time job to the mix and things get really complicated. I'm not gonna lie, I was extremely tired!
As things get bigger, it's important to protect your assets from a legal perspective. Because of that, I decided to register a trademark in the US.
Tweets from this period
Follow the Journey
Every month I send updates.