In this Q&A Janel Loi (Newsletter OS, Podcast OS, and Associate at On Deck) joined us to share her insights on launching quickly, using no-code, pricing and positioning, and more.

Key takeaways

You manage expectations through positioning

Janel’s first product was Newsletter OS. You can think of it as a dashboard packed with frameworks, templates, resources, and tools.

Janel’s Newsletter OS product would’ve been a terrible book. It’s not really well-suited to the linear progression of a book, and the word count would’ve been far too low.

But positioned as an OS and suddenly cons become pros.

Janel arguably popularized the idea of monetizing notion templates. Her product allows users to use only the parts of it that they need.

What mistakes do beginners make?

Not getting started, and not having a clear understanding of who their target audience is. Also, “Don’t take advice from an individual user too quickly. you’re trying to see the trends in what your customers like or dislike.”

What advice would you give to the Janel of two years ago?

Don’t be scared to raise your prices. Charging more gives you more profit but also, better customers.

The number one takeaway

Just get started. Surround yourself with people that can help you when you’re stuck. If you’re part of an active community then when you need them (to help launch your product for example) you’ve already built those relationships.

Other noteworthy remarks

• Atomize your content on Twitter and user graphics. Make it easy to digest.
• Be interested in others and build connections with them in the DMs.
• Figure out what you already have that you can sell. (Janel had originally made Newsletter OS for herself. So when she decided to sell it, she only needed to polish it a little.)