As Michael above has said, it works because they have a solid audience + reach. 37 signals is extremely good at marketing.
Having said that, I believe their play is to (1) get more people to notice their suite of products since they also sell SaaS; and (2) they're probably betting that 95% of people consuming the Once products are looking to use as is.
I think this is also good way for them to test product ideas and hypotheses they have internally, without having to spend tons of time or resources maintaining it. Then, if there is enough demand beyond the base product, I'm sure they would consider a SaaS version.
yeah tbh, I signed up for the new product they had, but they send an emial with loads of setup instructions ...absolutely not doing that, looks like a headache!
As Michael above has said, it works because they have a solid audience + reach. 37 signals is extremely good at marketing.
Having said that, I believe their play is to (1) get more people to notice their suite of products since they also sell SaaS; and (2) they're probably betting that 95% of people consuming the Once products are looking to use as is.
I think this is also good way for them to test product ideas and hypotheses they have internally, without having to spend tons of time or resources maintaining it. Then, if there is enough demand beyond the base product, I'm sure they would consider a SaaS version.
^^^ This!!!!
ONCE is a marketing strategy. 37 signals are amazing at marketing.
It's not a viable business. If it was such an amazing business model, why doesn't 37 signals sell Basecamp and Hey under ONCE?
yeah tbh, I signed up for the new product they had, but they send an emial with loads of setup instructions ...absolutely not doing that, looks like a headache!
the book publishing thing?