In this episode, I talk about how I'm using podcasting as a business tool. Not as a guest, not to promote my product, not as an advertiser, but as a way to build up and strengthen my network amongst my "Ideal Customer Profile" in the video games industry. Mentioned in this episode: Feature Upvote, my SaaS product The Community Lounge, the podcast I…

I want to tell you what's happening with my product, Feature Upvote, over the last year or so. I've dramatically changed the positioning, to be a feedback management platform for the video games industry. Here's the story of why I repositioned - and how I did it. Check out the new "video games industry"-focused Feature Upvote home page.…

I was recently a guest on The Gross Profit podcast, hosted by James Kennedy. In that interview, James and I talked about our business heros, and well, it seemed to me that the conversation was a perfect fit for this podcast too. So, with James's permission, I'm sharing with you here the entire episode of The Gross Profit podcast in which I was inte…

I chat with Nathan Powell, freelance product designer whose work these days is mainly with B2B SaaS. We chat about how developer founders can go about improving their app's UX and general design. Mentioned in this episode: Nathan's website: https://nathanjpowell.com/ Descript: https://www.descript.com/…

I chat with Michael Koper, founder of Nusii. We talk about what it's like when your product spends several years at a revenue plateau. Mentioned in this episode: Michael's company, Nusii Michael on Twitter.By Steve McLeod

I'm the guest on my own podcast! A year ago, Ben Pages joined my company, Feature Upvote, to be our marketing manager. Ben had questions about the early days of Feature Upvote, and how this product came to be. He also wanted to know the origin of my low-stress approach to running a business. We thought, why keep this conversation to ourselves? Why …

I chat with Maeva Cifuentes, founder and CEO of Flying Cat Marketing, an SEO and content marketing agency. We discuss Maeva's journey from freelance translator to CEO of a successful marketing agency. Maeva also shares with us some practical SEO tips. Mentioned in this episode: Maeva's company, Flying Cat Marketing Maeva on LinkedIn Product-led SEO…

My frequent guest co-host Ed Freyfogle tells us about his recent marketing endeavours, including one that was inspired by April Dunford's "toilet talk". Toilet talk, you ask? All will be revealing during this episode. Mentioned in this episode: Steve’s company, Feature Upvote Ed’s company, OpenCage Geomob website April Dunford's "Toilet talk" Ed's …

We have two guests interviewing each other! I invited two friends of the podcast, Andy Brice, and Robin Warren, to chat with each other about what it's like running a lifestyle business in 2022 compared to, say, 10 years ago. Although both Andy and Robin run what they call lifestyle businesses, they've taken different approaches, based on what they…

I chat with Marc Jenkins, founder of 16by9, a small web studio that focuses on building WordPress sites. Marc and I talk about what its like to start and build up this type of company, and how, with some careful thinking, you can avoid letting your business become something you never wanted it to be. Mentioned in this episode: Marc's web studio, 16…

I catch up with my frequent co-host, Ed Freyfogle, after a long summer break. Amongst other topics, we discuss how bad customer support will lose you customers. We also talk about yet more payment problems - a common theme on this podcast, and for SaaS businesses in general. Mentioned in this episode: Steve’s company, Feature Upvote Ed’s company, O…

Something a bit different in this episode: we're playing an episode of the new Pushing to Production podcast, where Ed Freyfogle was the guest. It's a conversation about the technical stack Ed's product runs on. Lots of insightful discussion of the tech decisions you need to make in an API-based business. Mentioned in this episode: Pushing to Produ…

Simon Bennett, founder of SnapShooter, returns to the show. We chat about a generous acquisition offer Simon recently received for his company - and why he ultimately decided to not to be acquired. We also chat about Simon's new podcast, Ship SaaS Faster. Mentioned in this episode: Simon's company, SnapShooter Simon's new podcast for SaaS founders,…

An effective content strategy for your product requires getting backlinks. In this episode, I share 9 strategies I use for getting backlinks for my product's website - without doing things that make me feel dirty. Mentioned in this episode: My company, Feature Upvote Tooltester's email deliverability report Rand Fishkin's company, SparkToro Posts I…

I chat with Nick Swan from SEOTesting.com. We discuss how Nick took on a co-founder for his already-established business, why Nick decided to no longer be a 1-person show, and most importantly how Nick sold a small part of his company in order to join TinySeed, a startup accelerator designed for founders who would traditionally bootstrap. Mentioned…

We are joined by a good friend of the podcast, Peldi Guilizzoni, to discuss how to go about sponsoring events, newsletters, and podcasts to promote your product. In particular we talk about creative approaches that make your sponsorship stand out. Mentioned in this episode: Peldi's company, Balsamiq, a low-fidelity wireframing tool. Steve's company…

I first recorded this episode for the Business of Software podcast. I chat about the experience of attending the recent Business of Software Europe in-person event, together with Joe Leech, who was a speaker at the event. Joe and I shared our thoughts on the event, Joe from the point of view of a speaker at the event, and me as an attendee. Mention…