Quick update from the cockpit.

This week was all over the place. One day I’m knee-deep in bugs, the next I’m staring at a new competitor on Reddit, and somewhere in between I shipped a feature I’m really excited about.

Let’s get into it.

One of my Standard plan users reached out about a glitch in image generation. Turned out the culprit was hiding in Make.com’s HTTP module (the part that turns image data into a URL).

Not gonna lie, it swallowed my whole day.

But the cool part?

He caught it, pointed it out, and now it’s fixed. That’s the kind of user you want on your team, sharp eye, good vibe. You’re the man George!

One morning I opened Reddit and… boom. Worst news since I started Letterly: a big competitor appeared.

He’s ahead of me in some areas. More integrations, direct publishing, and decent short-form content. From the outside, it even looks like he’s either a really skilled dev or has a team behind him.

But here’s the thing: Letterly still wins in some big ways.

So instead of chasing his strengths, I’m doubling down on mine. This will be fun to watch unfold. Oh, and Letterly is MUCH cheaper.

I’m actually liking Letterly’s post copy so much, that I’m just converting these newsletter editions and also updating people on X. I’m using the Reporter, strict style with a CTA to Evora on the Move.

This week I added custom CTAs. Now you can drop your own call-to-action, and Letterly will sneak it into most posts. That way your posts don’t just float around, they actually pull readers back to your newsletter.

I also gave the hero section a little refresh. Nothing fancy, just sharper and easier to move around in.

User count is growing, just not fast enough. So I’m switching gears for the next couple weeks: outreach, outreach, outreach.

My target? 150 users, with 10 paid.
That’s about 6.6% paid. Feels like a stretch, but a healthy one.

If half of those 10 land on the Pro plan, that’s roughly $50 a month at today’s prices. That only covers about a third of my costs, but hey, it’s a solid first milestone.

Now here’s where it gets fun: if I eventually move pricing to $5.99 for Standard and $9.99 for Pro, the exact same 10 paid users would bring in closer to $78 a month instead of $50. That’s more than half of my current costs covered, with the same user count.

Baby steps, but every one moves the needle a little more.

I’ve set the Product Hunt date: August 30th. Two weeks to spread the word, polish things up, and get as many eyes as possible on launch day.

Follow the launch here

To get there, I’ve been cranking up outreach like crazy:

On top of that, I’m posting 3x a day on Reddit, staying active in build-in-public and startup communities, and sharing a ton on X and LinkedIn.

It’s a grind, but it’s what it takes. Hopefully this push will be enough to cross that 150 users / 15 paid line when Product Hunt day hits.

Quick money update:

I’m keeping Letterly’s price where it is for now, even if it means losing a little money. I’d rather people get hooked on the value first. What do you think, smart or risky?

Seeing that new competitor pop up on Reddit was a gut punch at first. But once the dust settled, it turned into a reminder: not every fight is worth fighting.

I don’t need to chase every feature he’s ahead on. That’s how you overload the plane and risk stalling mid-air. Instead, I should double down on the things that already make Letterly special. Better copy, more freedom to tweak, sharper images.

If you’re building something, here are the questions I’m asking myself right now:

Sometimes the smartest move isn’t to out-race the other plane, it’s to fly your own route better.

That's the latest from the hangar. Thanks for riding shotgun with me on this.

If you’re curious, want to test Letterly Beta, or just wanna say hi, reply to this. I read every one.

Talk soon,
Vicente

As with any digital ad campaign, the important thing is to reach streaming audiences who will convert. To that end, Roku’s self-service Ads Manager stands ready with powerful segmentation and targeting options. After all, you know your customers, and we know our streaming audience.

Worried it’s too late to spin up new Black Friday creative? With Roku Ads Manager, you can easily import and augment existing creative assets from your social channels. We also have AI-assisted upscaling, so every ad is primed for CTV.

Once you’ve done this, then you can easily set up A/B tests to flight different creative variants and Black Friday offers. If you’re a Shopify brand, you can even run shoppable ads directly on-screen so viewers can purchase with just a click of their Roku remote.

Bonus: we’re gifting you $5K in ad credits when you spend your first $5K on Roku Ads Manager. Just sign up and use code GET5K. Terms apply.

Use code GET5K now