A Better Lemonade Stand #315

💛 Sponsor

📧 Get Bigger Sales from Email & SMS

Omnisend handled the boring part of analyzing millions of emails for you, so now you get to geek out over some data, like:

• What’s the ideal subject line length? 

• Which magic words will make people actually open your email? (Spoiler: It's not "FREE PIZZA.")

• How many CTAs before you’re just yelling at people? (Asking for a friend.)

• How long should your email be before it feels like a novel? (Less Dickens, more tweets.)

• How big should the discount be to make someone actually care? (Because 5% ain’t cutting it, Karen.)

We’ve got all those answers wrapped up in one infographic. Check it out, then get back to more exciting things than reading millions of emails

📈 Trends

Sweaty Content is Winning Hearts (and Clicks) ❤️📈

Forget immediate perfection. The new trend in content creation is all about being raw, real, relatable while keeping it affordable.

Known as “sweaty content,” this behind-the-scenes, unpolished style is reshaping how solopreneurs and indie hackers connect with audiences.

The numbers don’t lie: 66% of Gen Z Americans prefer unpacking content that explains or breaks down a process over simply consuming polished media, emphasizing the growing appeal of relatable, detailed storytelling.

Today’s audiences simply resonate more with authenticity, consistency, and value.

Why This Style Works 🤔

Take Uneducated Economist, a channel with over 143K subscribers, built entirely on simple, unscripted discussions filmed in his car. Or fitness creator Sam Sulek, who’s gained nearly 4 millions subs by sharing unfiltered, no-frills workout vlogs.

1. Relatability Over Perfection: The unfiltered/raw videos like Sam’s fitness videos create genuine connections and are process-focused to stand out in a saturated niche. This aligns with the 80% of viewers aged 18–44 who actively consume niche content weekly, looking for creators they trust over production.

2. Low-Cost to Start: With just your phone and a story, you’re good to go, no expensive setups needed. Uneducated Economist has over 1,800 videos shot on phone, his channel’s success shows that consistency and authentic storytelling matter more than fancy production.

3. Evergreen SEO Value: These raw tutorials and guides rank well on Google, meaning your content can keep driving leads long after it’s posted.

How to Make Sweaty Content Work for You 🎥

Scenario: You’re Building a No-Code SaaS Tool

• Step 1: Record Your Daily Process

  • Film yourself solving a specific problem (e.g. automating customer sign-ups).

  • 📹 Example: “How I Automated Onboarding for My No-Code App in 30 Minutes”

• Step 2: Share Your Insights

  • Break down what worked and what didn’t, highlighting the tools you used like Airtable or Zapier.

  • ✍️ Example: “Zapier saved me 5 hours a week, here’s the step-by-step.”

• Step 3: Post It

  • Skip paying for heavy editing, just ensure the video is clear and simple.

  • Add a simple CTA, like “Download my no-code automation template for free”.

Now Amplify Impact 🚀

1. Repurpose for Other Platforms

   • Break a 10-minute YouTube video into short clips for Instagram Reels, TikTok and even transform it into Twitter/Linkedin posts too using an AI repurposing tool or ChatGPT.

   • Example: Post a bite-sized hack such as, “Zapier can save you 5 hours a week, here’s how”.

2. Leverage SEO

   • Create search-friendly titles like “Best No-Code Tools for 2024” or “Zapier vs Make: Which One’s Better for Indie Hackers?”.

   • Optimize video descriptions with links to your product or templates.

3. Consistency is Key

   • Upload weekly updates, even quick 5-minute videos.

   • Build trust by documenting your journey authentically.

Why This Trend Matters Going into 2025

Raw, authentic content removes barriers to entry, enables solopreneurs and indie hackers to build audiences without massive budgets or technical expertise.

When combined with YouTube’s powerful SEO engine, sweaty content offers unparalleled opportunities for:

• Lead Generation: Evergreen tutorials rank in search and attract viewers over time.

• Community Building: Relatable storytelling fosters trust and loyalty.

• Sustainable Growth: Consistent, valuable content builds momentum organically.

💡 Insights

🧠 Unlock the AI Skills You Didn’t Know You Had

Prompt engineering isn’t dying, it’s evolving. Jared Zoneraich reveals how non-technical experts will lead the next wave of AI innovation:

1️⃣ Let Experts Define the Problems: Companies are shifting focus to industry expert to identify challenges that AI can solve. No coding? No problem. Your knowledge of your field is the real superpower.

2️⃣ Good Enough is Good to Start: Don’t wait for perfect data. Write, test, tweak, and repeat your prompts to get better results. Small steps lead to big wins.

3️⃣ Speak the Model’s Language: Keep prompts clear and focused. It’s about asking smarter questions, not longer ones.

Focus on expertise, refine with purpose, and then use AI to amplify your vision.

👉 Unlock Expert Prompting Tips

📩 How to Sell Newsletter Sponsorships with Any Audience Size

Ads aren’t just for massive newsletters like Morning Brew or The Hustle. Even small newsletters can turn their subscriber base into a decent revenue stream.

Here’s How

• Start with Easy Wins: Platforms like Beehiiv let you monetize early with ads and boosts, even with a small audience. Use these ads to learn what works and build initial credibility for more profitable sponsors.

• The Magic Number for Direct Sales: Once you hit ~5,000 subscribers (B2B) or ~10,000 subscribers (B2C) and drive consistent ad clicks, you’re ready to sell directly. Why? Direct ads = better margins, stronger relationships, and scalable revenue.

• Package Deals = Sponsor Wins: Instead of single ads, bundle multiple placements. A 3-ad package offers enough exposure to deliver results for sponsors while maximizing your revenue.

Takeaway? Don’t wait for a massive list, start small, experiment, and grow from there.

👉Get the Secrets to Newsletter Monetization

🚀 Cracking TikTok’s Playbook for Consumer Apps

Two weeks ago we talked about how consumer mobile apps are making a comeback, thanks to recurring revenue and TikTok’s reach. This week, let’s go deeper into how creators are using TikTok to grow apps that generate steady income.

Here’s How They’re Doing It

1. Repurpose E-commerce Strategies: Apps are mimicking e-commerce success, using UGC and storytelling to go viral, just like Tabs Chocolate that scaled to $10M/year.

2. Partner with TikTok Shop Creators: Creators already know how to sell products. Work with them to show how your app solves problems, like skincare apps using before-and-after videos.

3. Focus on High-LTV Niches: Focus on communities with loyal fans, like golfers, poker players, or style enthusiasts. Build apps that solve their specific needs.

Why This Is Big: TikTok’s algorithm rewards creative content, not big follower counts. That makes it a powerful platform for anyone looking to grow their app.

👉 Learn TikTok’s Secrets for App Growth

💼 How Rodrigo Supercharged His Job Board’s Traffic

Rodrigo took JobBoardSearch.com from being a little-known site to a traffic magnet in just two weeks.

Here’s how he did it without spending a fortune:

• Submitting to tons of high-DR directories like WordPress, Coursera, and StartupInspire to boost his sites authority and visits.

• Sharing valuable content like infographics and job search tips to earn backlinks.

• Rodrigo used a custom Reddit bot to post job offers every 15 minutes to his subreddit, driving consistent traffic and engaging over 175 active users within hours of launch.

The results? More people discovering his site, better search rankings, and tons of new visitors, all through clever, affordable strategies.

👉 Here’s How to Get More Backlinks

🧰 Apps & Tools

🖥️ Crust AI: Transforms your data into custom client portals in under a minute that you can integrate with Airtable, Monday.com, or Notion.

🚀 Rocketlaunch: SaaS starter kit designed to turn your product from idea to production. (need to understand how to use React).

🔎 Public Builders: Directory of indie makers and startup founders who build their projects in public.

🖋️ Image to Caption: AI caption generator designed to create captions for images and videos in your brand's voice.

🎂 BirthdAi Cards: Create unique and personalized birthday messages using AI to nurture your email list.

📊 Sharbo: A competitor feature intelligence tool that lets you track, compare, and sync competitor products against your own.

🤖 Product Updates

💻 AI Will Control Your Computer in 2025

Sam Altman reveals AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) could be complete within a year, allowing it to handle nearly any task as well as or better than humans.

• Best Time to Build Tech: Altman says revolutions like this are when upstarts thrive. With AGI and no-code tools, you can launch and scale products without coding. It’s a golden era for creative problem solvers.

• Leverage Creativity & Expertise: AGI will tackle complexity, but your domain knowledge, distribution strategy and creativity will be crucial in identifying and solving problems.

👉 Learn What AGI Means for You

🎵 AI Music Creation Gets an Upgrade with Suno V4

AI is making waves in music creation, and Suno V4 is leading the charge with enhanced vocal quality and genre versatility in it’s early access.

• Why It’s Exciting: From country to metal, Suno V4 creates tracks that sound professional, no prior music experience needed.

• What Creators Are Saying: “Endless possibilities,” says one user who’s already experimenting with unique sounds.

👉 Look at Some Early Access Examples

📰 Analyze News Like Never Before

The Washington Post has launched “Ask The Post AI,” a generative AI tool that delivers summarized answers and curated results based on its award-winning insights since 2016.

It uses a scoring system to rank the most relevant articles for each query, ensuring high-quality and fact-based responses.

This could spark a trend among other news platforms as it adapts to modern search behaviors and create habit-forming tools for a new generation of readers.

👉 Try Out Washingtons Posts New Chatbot

🖇️ Everything Else

🦋 Bluesky Hits 1M New Users Daily: Bluesky is booming in the social media space and appears to be a clean substitute for X, offering personalised feeds that you can follow in a manner similar to X lists. (🔗 Sign Up to Bluesky)

🫗 Coke Joins the AI Advertising Hall of Fame: Coke’s latest AI holiday ad signaled their entry into the growing league of brands transforming marketing with AI. (🔗 Here’s 11 More Examples)

🚨 Domain Rating ≠ Traffic: DR is just one metric. Many high-DR sites can have no organic traffic because their backlinks come from buying them through spammy sources. (🔗 Learn the Truth About DR)