resources to grow as an indiehacker
Inspired by this source tweet from Nat Eliason
| Session | Title | Author | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session 1 · Sell | Meditations | Marcus Aurelius | Goodreads, Audiobook on Spotify (es), Podcast audiobook with subtitles on Spotify (es), Ebook in Spanish |
| Session 1 · Sell | Turning Pro | Steven Pressfield | Goodreads |
| Session 1 · Sell | Never Split the Difference | Chris Voss | Goodreads |
| Session 1 · Sell | Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son | George Horace Lorimer | Goodreads |
| Session 2 · Build | Zero to One | Peter Thiel | Goodreads |
| Session 2 · Build | The Fountainhead | Ayn Rand | Goodreads |
| Session 2 · Build | Thinking in Bets | Annie Duke | Goodreads |
| Session 2 · Build | Shoe Dog | Phil Knight | Goodreads |
| Session 3 · Validate | The Goal | Eliyahu Goldratt | Goodreads |
| Session 3 · Validate | Antifragile | Nassim Taleb | Goodreads |
| Session 3 · Validate | Bastiat + Read + Hayek Essay Unit | Frédéric Bastiat, Leonard Read, Friedrich Hayek | — |
| Session 3 · Validate | The Richest Man in Babylon | George S. Clason | Goodreads |
| Session 4 · Grow | Free to Choose | Milton Friedman | Goodreads |
| Session 4 · Grow | Energy and Civilization | Vaclav Smil | Goodreads |
| Session 4 · Grow | The Book of Elon | Eric Jorgenson | Goodreads |
| Session 4 · Grow | Man's Search for Meaning | Viktor Frankl | Goodreads |
| Session 5 · Scale | The Beginning of Infinity | David Deutsch | Goodreads |
| Session 5 · Scale | The Prince | Niccolò Machiavelli | Goodreads |
| Session 5 · Scale | Finite and Infinite Games | James Carse | Goodreads |
| Session 5 · Scale | The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin | Benjamin Franklin | Goodreads |
Note: there doesn't appear to be a single Goodreads entry for the Bastiat + Read + Hayek essay unit.
Copywriting is "effictively figuring out what people want and then using words to get them to do what you want them to do (source).
I've said it 1,000 times: learning copywriting is hands down the most impactful business skill I've ever developed. It helps in business and life (source).
- Sam Parr, bootstrapped The Hustle to 8-figures, sold to Hubspot, now host of My First Million
Here's a path to learning this skill, based on The Gary Halbert Letter:
- Read recommended books and newsletters:
Gary recommends to read these as fast as possible and do not take notes (you'll take notes later)
| Title | Author | Book | Audiobook | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific Advertising | Claude Hopkins | Amazon Paperback | audiobook on YouTube | 1-hour summary on Founders podcast |
| The Robert Collier Letter Book | Robert Collier | Amazon Paperback | 12-hour audiobook on Audible, audiobook on YouTube | ✖️ |
| Tested Advertising Methods | John Caples | Amazon Paperback | ✖️ | Free PDF, Read free on Internet Archive |
| How To Write A Good Advertisement | Vic Schwab | Amazon Paperback | 8-hour audiobook on Audible | ✖️ |
| The Gary Halbert Letter (all back issues) | Gary Halbert | ✖️ | ✖️ | Newsletter Archives |
| The Boron Letters | Gary Halbert | Amazon Paperback | ✖️ | ✖️ |
| The Lazy Man's Way to Riches | Joe Karbo | Amazon Paperback | 7-hour audiobook on Audible | ✖️ |
| Breakthrough Advertising | Eugene M. Schwartz | Breakthrough Advertising Book | ✖️ | Read free on Internet Archive, applying learnings to TikTok |
| 7-Steps To Freedom | Ben Suarez | Amazon Hardback (second edition) | ✖️ | Free PDF |
- Copy out all the ads and direct mail letters:
| Ad | Link |
|---|---|
| "Do You Make These Mistakes In English?" | https://swiped.co/file/do-you-make-these-mistakes-by-max-sackheim/ |
| "What Everybody Should Know About This Stock And Bond Business" | http://www.infomarketingblog.com/images/This_Stock_And_Bond_Business.jpg |
| "The Nancy L. Halbert Heraldry Letter" | https://swiped.co/file/coat-of-arms-letter-by-gary-halbert/ |
| "How To Burn Off Body Fat, Hour-By-Hour" | https://swiped.co/file/body-fat-hour-by-hour-halbert/ |
| "At 60 Miles An Hour The Loudest Noise In This Rolls Royce Is The Ticking Of The Electric Clock" | https://swiped.co/file/rolls-royce-ad-by-david-ogilvy/ |
| "Why Men Crack" | https://swiped.co/file/why-men-crack-ad-by-young-rubicam/ |
| "How To Collect From Social Security At Any Age" | https://swiped.co/file/social-security-ad-by-gary-halbert/ |
| "The Admiral Byrd Transpolar Expedition Letter" | https://swiped.co/file/admiral-byrd-expedition-letter/ |
| "The Lazy Man's Way To Riches" | https://swiped.co/file/lazy-mans-way-to-riches-ad-by-joe-karbo/ |
| Any material written by Gary Bencivenga, Dan Rosenthal, Joe E. Kennedy, Pat Garrard, Steve Brown, Drew Kaplan, Claude Hopkins, Joe Karbo, Ben Suarez, Joe Sugarman, Gene Schwartz, and yourself. | Millionaire Apprenticeship Program Ad by Gary Bencivenga |
- Pick 1 direct mail letter above and package up by hand (write/draw on paper)
- Reread all the books and newsletters from Step 1 and take hundreds of notes
- You should've read all those "headline sources" and copied down mucho headlines:
- Get back issues of The National Enquirer and copy all the repeated headlines.
- Get back issues of Cosmopolitan Magazine and copy all the repeated headlines, especially the "cover blurbs."
- Read "2001 Headlines" compiled by Jay Abraham and note down relevant headlines.
- Take all your notes and headlines, copy them to index cards and put them in a box.
- Take a break for a few days from all this stuff.
- Read and reread every ad or direct mail package that has already been written about what you are trying to sell. Take notes on index cards.
- Take another break. If you have thoughts or ideas, keep them all in your head. Don't let them out... yet.
- Time to write your ad. Grab all your index cards, shuffle through them. Write down your ideas on more index cards.
- TODO@jsjoeio - add step 6