Oh, yes, it took 6 days to make 3,626 sales on price $101,528, but it was year of making, about 7.
First few dollars that I made were for icon set named "Grayish HD" for $0.99. It was my first money online, and I loved it.
I loved the idea of making money for thing that I created with love, and people were sending me money for it when I was doing something else. I just discovered digital content leverage: create something once with sufficient effort, then sell it repeatedly with minimal effort.
7 years later some guys were sharing screenshots of their iPhones after discovering that iOS 14 now allows you to add custom icons to your home screen using the Siri Shortcuts app. It became so popular.
When I noticed the hype, I made some icons in my style, downloaded some widgets, and tried it all out. I loved how it looked and shared a screenshot on Twitter. Followers started asking about it, So I quickly packaged them, uploaded them to Gumroad, and embedded them on a Notion site using Super.
The next day, the tweet had hundreds of retweets, thousands of likes, and over 100k impressions.
The day after that, almost a million.
The next thing I knew, it was everywhere. My icons got published on notable tech sites like Cult of Mac, iMore, AllThingsTech, and Gridfiti. I think at this time I was around the $6k mark in sales.
Then MKBHD shared a video using my icons for his setup, and linked them in the description. Then I was making $28 every 28 seconds!
The day after, sales jumped from $6k to about $40k, and during the time of this writing, sales are at $116,147 from 4,188 customers.
All from one. Single. Tweet.
I had right content, in the right time, and it created huge results.
So, I have some advises for you.
1. Try to publish more often.
In the internet age, the bold are those that aren't afraid to publish their work for the world to see.
2. Act immediately
I could miss this opportunity like any other person can. Acting quickly is crucial if you plan on riding the wave.
3. Be transparent
Share what works, and share what doesn't. Transparency is visibility.
4. Have a clear schedule
I had a flexible schedule, and it helped me a lot. Freedom of a clear schedule allowed me to take action as soon as the inspiration came.
5. Charge more
These are first time iOS customizers, so there's no notion of what an iOS icon set should be priced at.
6. Do it for the art
I didn't do it for money. Some people see success, and try to replicate exactly how it happened, but it won't work.
Plans for the future.
Short-term metrics:
- 4,188 total icon sales
- $116,147 in revenue
- 97% profit margins
- 6.2m impression
- 216,800 visitors
Long-term metrics:
- 5,216 email subscribers
- 4,620 Twitter followers
- 180 Super customers
Spending time on things that will buy you time is always a good use of it.
Try many things once to figure out what you want to do twice. Figure out what you've got stored in your brain that can be of value to others, then share it with the world.
