The Marketing Playbook That Grew My App to $13K/month

Key Concepts

• Engineering as Marketing: A strategy focused on building free, valuable tools related to a core SaaS product to attract organic traffic and potential customers.
• Free Tools Marketing: Utilizing free tools as lead magnets and SEO drivers to generate traffic and conversions.
• Keyword Difficulty (KD): A metric indicating how challenging it is to rank for a specific keyword in search engine results.
• Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): A predictable revenue stream indicating the total revenue generated from subscriptions each month.
• Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): The predicted revenue a customer will generate throughout their relationship with a business.
• Hrefs: A suite of SEO tools used for keyword research, backlink analysis, and site audits.
• Site GPT: Bonu’s SaaS product – an AI chatbot for websites that answers questions based on the website’s content.

Bonu’s Strategy for 1 Million Website Visits with $0 Marketing Spend

This video features Bonu, a builder who achieved significant website traffic (almost 1 million visits) and revenue ($500,000 to date, $13,000 MRR with Site GPT) without paid marketing, utilizing a strategy he calls “engineering as marketing.” He emphasizes this approach is ideal for builders who prefer coding to traditional marketing tasks.

Site GPT: Business Model & Metrics

Site GPT is a SaaS product that provides websites with an AI-powered chatbot capable of answering questions about the website’s content. The business model is subscription-based, with pricing tiered based on the number of chatbots, content volume, and expected message volume.

Key metrics shared by Bonu:

• Monthly Revenue (MRR): $13,000
• Total Revenue (since March 2023): ~$500,000
• Monthly Visitors: ~50,000
• Lead Conversion Rate: ~0.4% (200 leads from 50,000 visitors)
• Trial Conversion Rate: ~30% (60 trials from 200 leads)
• Trial-to-Customer Conversion Rate: 25-40% (25-40 customers from 60 trials)
• Average Revenue Per Customer: ~$100
• Customer Base: ~130 businesses
• Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): $1,700 - $1,800

The Seven-Step Process: Free Tools Marketing Playbook

Bonu outlined a detailed, step-by-step process for implementing free tools marketing:

1. Keyword Research (Hrefs Keyword Explorer): Begin with a blank search in Hrefs Keyword Explorer to identify potential keywords. This is particularly useful when unsure of the exact terms people are using.
2. Keyword Filtering (Include Keyword): Apply filters, starting with an “include” keyword relevant to your product (e.g., “AI” for an AI-based SaaS). This narrows down the keyword list.
3. Keyword Difficulty (KD) Filtering: Filter keywords based on Keyword Difficulty (KD). Bonu recommends targeting keywords with a KD of 10 or less, as these are easier to rank for.
4. Search Volume Filtering: Add a volume filter to ensure the keywords have sufficient search traffic. Bonu suggests a minimum of 1,000 monthly searches.
5. Keyword List Compilation (Notion): Create a list of potential keywords in a tool like Notion, including monthly search volume and KD.
6. Call to Action (CTA) Development: For each keyword, brainstorm a compelling CTA that directs users to the core SaaS product. (e.g., "Tried charting with one PDF? Create a chatbot with all your business content using Site GPT.")
7. Prioritization Table: Create a table prioritizing keywords based on volume, KD, ease of tool development, and relevance to the core product. Focus on building tools for keywords with high volume, low KD, easy implementation, and strong relevance.

Tool Creation & Efficiency

Bonu has built approximately 50 free tools. He emphasizes the speed and efficiency of creating these tools, leveraging AI. He can now create a new tool in under 5 minutes by instructing an AI (Cursor) to replicate existing tools with a new keyword. Examples of free tools include a PDF to Markdown converter and a chatbot name generator. These tools drive approximately 50,000 clicks per month to his website, with 90% of traffic originating from Google.

Technical Stack & Costs

Bonu’s tech stack is relatively lean and focuses on efficiency:

• SEO/Keyword Research: Hrefs
• Website Support: Site GPT (his own product)
• Scheduling: Cal.com
• Analytics: DataFirst, PostHog
• Call Recordings: Cibili
• Email Marketing: Bento
• Blog Posts: Feather (his previous SaaS product)
• Feature Requests/Bug Reports: Featurepace
• Documentation: Mintify
• Coding: CloudCode
• Subscription Analytics: ChartMogul

Key Arguments & Perspectives

• Builders Can Market: Bonu challenges the notion that builders are inherently bad at marketing, arguing that “engineering as marketing” allows them to leverage their strengths.
• Focus on Enjoyment: He advocates for focusing on tasks you enjoy, suggesting that building free tools is more appealing to builders than traditional marketing activities.
• Launch Quickly & Iterate: Bonu advises launching with a core feature and letting user feedback guide product development, rather than spending months perfecting a product before launch.
• AI-Powered Efficiency: He highlights the role of AI in streamlining tool creation, making free tools marketing more accessible and efficient.

Notable Quotes

• Bonu: “Most of our customers come from the strategy called engineering as marketing.”
• Pat Walls: “This is almost like a little hack that lets you drive traffic and focus on what he likes to do.”
• Bonu: “I would not spend months and months on launching something. I would say just launch with a very core feature of your product and then let users feedback guide you.”

Logical Connections

The video follows a logical progression: introduction of Bonu and his success, explanation of Site GPT’s business model, detailed breakdown of the free tools marketing strategy, technical stack overview, and concluding advice. The discussion seamlessly connects the product’s success to the specific marketing tactics employed.

Conclusion

Bonu’s story demonstrates the power of “engineering as marketing” – a strategy that allows builders to leverage their technical skills to drive organic traffic and generate leads without relying on traditional marketing methods. His seven-step playbook provides a practical framework for implementing this strategy, and his emphasis on launching quickly, iterating based on user feedback, and utilizing AI tools offers valuable insights for aspiring SaaS founders. The key takeaway is that builders can market effectively by focusing on what they do best: building.