Think Week #4

Product Hunt for Writers

Think Week – No. 4 – July 14th, 2024

Update (August 2nd, 2024)

I’ve moved this to a web application (link below).

https://indiethinkers.com

Back at it

Hi folks, it’s been quite a long time, but I’m back online.

I’m at loss for words when I think about what happened yesterday in Butler, PA.

During chaotic times you have to find solace in the things and people you love.

I picked up a pen and a notebook.

I started to write about what I hoped Indie Thinkers would be. How it’s fallen short, and how to get back on track.

My original vision was for it to be a distribution channel for writers. Another outlet to help independent thinkers build their own audiences and grow awareness for their work.

I wanted to be a servant leader.

A steward of a resource that anyone could leverage.

I get so much joy from helping others. From serving without expectation of anything in return. KIRUPA 🍊 talks about this in his essay on Intrinsic Motivation.

I felt years ago, and still feel, there are already enough writers sharing original, personal, thought-provoking, and scroll-stopping prose, but not nearly enough people sharing and promoting their work.

Sadly I wasted a lot of time building things (as any engineer would) that overcomplicated my original goal.

This led me back to Product Hunt.

Product Hunt started out as a newsletter because it was easy to validate the idea and new products could be promoted to thousands of people by simply forwarding an email.

There was no friction.

Why was I trying to boil the ocean?

Introducing Cards by Indie Thinkers

Cards is a daily newsletter with two clear goals.

Help writers grow and introduce readers to remarkable content.

What if you could have a splashy launch for an essay as if it were a product?

Prose is a product for us writers after all. Right?

The name, Cards, is inspired by the physical notecards many writers create for their Zettelkasten and personal knowledge management systems.

One of the best examples of using notecards for writing & research is Billy Oppenheimer’s deep dive into the system that fuels Ryan Holiday’s prolific output.

Each newsletter issue will promote the work of another writer on Substack.

first card published yesterday

Cards will hit your inbox once a day, Monday through Friday.

If a daily newsletter isn’t your thing, I totally understand if you unsubscribe. I won’t take it personal. Think Week will still be a weekly roundup published every Sunday.

Publishing to no one

Launching an essay or a product into the void can be disheartening.

Product Hunt allows creators and entrepreneurs to pick a launch date and drive traffic to their website to grow their customer base and audience.

I want to do the same for Writers.

Pick a date, submit your essay, and pull a new audience into your orbit.

At time of writing, Indie Thinkers only has 639 subscribers, but when there are 10,000, then 20,000… I believe this could be such a helpful platform.

If you want to have your work featured, you can submit here.

Let me know your thoughts, would love to hear from you.

Best,

—

Daniel K. Hunter