
Tell HN: I recorded a short presentation, and sold $14,379 in the first day - DVassallo
Hey HN — I wanted to share some data to show how useful it can be to have a decent audience on the internet.<p>Earlier this week, I spent no more than 16 hours prepping and recording a short video about I topic I know well. Yesterday I put it for sale on Gumroad [1], tweeted about it [2], and I already sold 234 copies for $14,379 worth of videos [3].<p>Last December, I did the same thing with a short technical ebook about AWS [4]. Since then, I sold $78K worth of PDFs in just under 4 months. At the time, I had 11K followers on Twitter. Now I have 25K.<p>I&#x27;ve been building an audience for 14 months. I started selling online 4 months ago, and now I&#x27;m close to making $100K [5]. I&#x27;m really fascinated by the opportunity of making a living from my own digital creations, and if you have any questions I&#x27;d be happy to answer them if I can.<p>---<p>[1] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;gumroad.com&#x2F;l&#x2F;twitter-audience&#x2F;hn<p>[2] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;twitter.com&#x2F;dvassallo&#x2F;status&#x2F;1252963753647316992<p>[3] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;twitter.com&#x2F;dvassallo&#x2F;status&#x2F;1253447751779487744<p>[4] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;gumroad.com&#x2F;l&#x2F;aws-good-parts&#x2F;corona<p>[5] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;twitter.com&#x2F;dvassallo&#x2F;status&#x2F;1253161719108493313
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kirubakaran
I follow [https://twitter.com/dvassallo](https://twitter.com/dvassallo) and he
shares a lot of insightful information and he's very open with his personal
and startup related numbers.

If you're bootstrapping your startup like I am, I'd recommend that you follow
him too.

Here are clickable links from his post above, for the lazy/efficient.

[1] [https://gumroad.com/l/twitter-audience/hn](https://gumroad.com/l/twitter-
audience/hn)

[2]
[https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1252963753647316992](https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1252963753647316992)

[3]
[https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1253447751779487744](https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1253447751779487744)

[4] [https://gumroad.com/l/aws-good-parts/corona](https://gumroad.com/l/aws-
good-parts/corona)

[5]
[https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1253161719108493313](https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1253161719108493313)

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philipkiely
No specific question, I had my opportunity to ask a bunch of him in a recent
interview, but I just wanted to comment to say that DVassallo is 100% legit
and has given me some great ideas, so ask him some questions.

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danroc
How much of your success would say can be attributed to your specific subject
and the fact that Twitter is your audience's "natural habitat?"

Do you know of other examples of people in niches that have nothing to do with
tech, having the same success on Twitter by doing similar things as you did?

~~~
DVassallo
Lots do well (low 6 figures in sales per year) in the health and fitness
category on Twitter, even with audiences smaller than mine.

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TheNakedPoet2
Daniel is legit.

I followed his journey after I discovered him via the sponsored tweet on AWS.

He stood as an inspiration & I've used few of his techniques to get to where
I'm now -
[https://twitter.com/Thenakedpoet2/status/1253285273250566145](https://twitter.com/Thenakedpoet2/status/1253285273250566145)

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alexmingoia
What are your thoughts on building multiple audiences considering trust and
credibility is such an important factor?

Since your (Twitter) following is your customer acquisition channel, do you
think this will restrict what you’re able to sell after this? In other words,
do you think a following of hackers who aspire to be entrepreneurs will force
you to sell “how to make money online” type material to continue your success?

I have a lot of subjects I would like to sell ebooks on, but that seems to
conflict with the strategy of cultivating a specific audience around a
personal brand.

~~~
DVassallo
I don't think it's a problem as many people think. Followers don't tend to
follow you to buy products from you. They follow mostly because they like to
watch a story as it happens, get some inspiration for themselves, and
occasionally learn something actionable. Talking on various topics doesn't
necessarily detract from being interesting in that regard (within some limit).

When it comes to monetization, only a small fraction will buy directly. Your
audience helps you most by spreading the word. Since they feel they know you a
little bit, they start recommending you and your work to their friends and
followers. It's this network effect that makes it really powerful.

~~~
alexmingoia
Thanks!

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jamesholden
1). Getting started.. write content or videos about something I am passionate
about? Just.. specific? niche?

2). How can I best stay true to the format? Like what is your top 10 always
make sure to do this.. and not that, etc.

3). What can I do to differentiate myself? Speaking well? Or do I need a hook?

I am interested in taking this route, and I have some ideas.. I just don't
know where to start. Those links and things help, so thanks for that.

~~~
DVassallo
Start with something of broad interest first, rather than a niche. It's easier
to find customers this way. If you have expertise in the niche, you likely
know the fundamentals well. Teach those fundamentals.

Don't worry too much about production quality. The value is in the message.
Many people fall in the trap of obsession on the production and get
demotivated by the lack of progress. Just think of this as a recorded live
talk. Prepare some slides, think about what you're going to say, and record.

The most difficult part is marketing. It helps to have an audience. People
prefer learning from someone they feel they already know a little bit.

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xwowsersx
Thank you for sharing. How did you go about building your audience? What would
you recommend as first step for someone without an audience? I've made some
videos and courses in the past that have done well and have always thought I
should be making more videos and/or writing more.

~~~
DVassallo
It started with the blog post in my pinned tweet. That made it to the
frontpage of HN and got me my first ~2000 followers in a week. Then I kept
sharing details about my business and self-employment journey. Occasionally a
tweet goes a bit viral, and it gets me a few hundred followers. But most of
the steady state growth happens from other people recommending me to their
followers. In the course I just released I go in a lot more detail about what
I did, and what I've seen work and not work.

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zerr
I don't use Twitter - I find it unsubstantial. I can't imagine following
anyone or anyone following me. Like, how do you acquire followers - posting
geeky jokes or retweeting jokes from others? (etc...)

~~~
DVassallo
You can use Twitter in many ways. But I treat it as a virtual town square.
Some important info, some gossip & news, and plenty of conversations. People
get to know me a little bit, and I get to know some people.

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RareSoft
Were you ever concerned about potential downsides of building an online
business linked directly with your real identity?

Have you experienced any downsides to it?

~~~
DVassallo
Authenticity has a price. It can affect job opportunities, lost business,
awkwardness, and other things. However, I control what goes out and stays
hidden. I don’t feel an obligation to share everything, and if it’s something
I feel can harm me, I keep it offline.

So far, I didn’t experience any consequential downsides, but I’m sure I’ve
closed some employment opportunities with some of my comments. (But I was
aware of that risk when I made them.)

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guhsnamih
How many blog posts/tweets/days did you take to get there from the first one?

~~~
DVassallo
My average is about 2 tweets per day (to my timeline), and it has been
consistent since the beginning. I wrote 5 blog posts in the first 3 months,
but then settled on Twitter.

