2 builders who never spoke to each other

Ship the smallest sellable version and price it now

Cut the planned product down to something you can charge for this month, attach a number without deliberating over it, and let purchases settle the argument. Each cycle of ship, watch, make the next version slightly bigger tells you whether the problem is worth paying to solve, and the price rises as the thing grows. A first price that is roughly right does not block a product people want.

The method

1. 01

   Ship the small thing, watch the reaction, then make the next version slightly bigger and attach a small price - repeating that cycle is what tells you whether a problem is worth paying to solve.

2. 02

   Cut the planned product down to something you can sell now: replace the long book with a short guide plus a couple of supporting assets, launch cheap, then raise the price as you add to it.

3. 03

   Validate a pain you keep hearing about by charging for the smallest possible container of it, then expand once people pay.

4. 04

   Pick a number, list the product for sale, and let purchases settle the pricing argument, rather than deliberating in the abstract.

5. 05

   A first price that is roughly right is enough to ship with. Approximate pricing does not block a product people want.

What it returned

• 45

  Amplification shipped as a 45-page PDF with stat walkthrough videos and Excel worksheets at $19, and later became a 55-page book with a bonus handbook and video case study at $39.

• $10

  JFDI began as a $10/month chat room addressing the loneliness of building alone, then went to $20/month with forums, a searchable member directory and recurring campaigns.

• $5

  Friday opened at $5 per person per month, which the founder calls not ideal but close enough to work for most customers.

• Justin cites Jason Fried, founder of Basecamp with millions of dollars in software sales, whose advice is to invent a price and see whether people buy.

Sources

• The 2013 revenue stats I didn't want to shareJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Revenue details · undated
• Fear of launchJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · How can you get over this fear? · undated
• How I price productsJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · How I price products · undated
• Friday - From side project to raising $450kLuke Thomas · failory.com · How did you build Friday? · undated