We’re so excited because Sumo Day is prime time for sales. In fact, last year, we saw 5x our normal site traffic and a 30K bump in total buyers! Some of our top partners in the past have included NeuronWriter, WordHero, and Tomba. And you’re about to join their ranks.

You’ve already done the work of listing your product in our store for Sumo Day. That’s great!

…now what?

Well, the next step is the fun part: promoting your product!

We’ve compiled some key dates, steps, and helpful tips to make the most of our biggest sale of the season. It’s all pretty straightforward—just follow along and build up the hype for your product!

Let’s get started.

Pre-Launch

Before Sumo Day goes live, it helps to start building up hype ahead of time and getting your audience excited.

Use these copy and graphic templates to start teasing out your Sumo Day sale!

Sunday, June 11

Our kick-off begins! At 5 pm CT, we recommend sending an email to your free users encouraging them to check out your can’t-miss deal on AppSumo. This is the best value they’re going to get for your product—one-time payment, no monthly fees. If they’ve been looking to upgrade their free plan, now’s their chance!

Use this handy template and feel free to make it your own!

Tuesday, June 13

As Sumo Day continues, make sure you’re using the most of your social channels, too.

This helpful template is a great starting point to spread the word about your special Sumo Day offer.

Wednesday, June 14

With one day left in the sale today, you’re going to keep the social momentum with another reminder post.

Here’s a handy-dandy template for your social channels.

Thursday, June 15

Now we’re nearing the finish line and it’s time to crank the FOMO up to 11.

Use this follow-up email template to let your audience know it’s their LAST chance to grab your limited-time deal before Sumo Day ends!

Heads up: Our sale ends at noon CT for non-Plus members. We highly recommend an early morning send!

Badges

Select partners, show off your AppSumo achievement with these “Top Partner” badges. It’s a great way to add social proof to your site and let the world know just how awesome you are.

Final Reminders

• Use our handy-dandy assets. We’ve collected these helpful creative templates and assets in one place to make promoting during Sumo Day a breeze. Just customize with your logo and branding, and share away on social and email.
  • Pro tip: Create banners and direct traffic to your deal page during the sale. You can try a tool like Optinly (lifetime access for just $59!) to make banners the easy way!

• Prep your support team. One thing past partners have noted during big sales events is how much the extra traffic they got. On launch day, make sure your support team is ready to answer questions and comments on your deal page to maximize your Sumo Day promotion. Responsive partners go a long way in building customer trust!
• Earn more as an AppSumo affiliate! 
  • If you’re not already an affiliate, there’s still time to join. Sign up to become an affiliate here—AppSumo Select Partners get preferential payouts, so don’t miss out!
  • If you’re already an affiliate, awesome. Be sure to prepare your affiliate link by heading into Impact and grabbing your unique URL. That way, you’ll be properly credited for your marketing and promotion efforts! The Affiliate team will be uploading all the Sumo Day creative you can use directly in your Impact account.

From September 19 to September 23, we’re getting back to basics with The $49ers Collection, a celebration of what we do best: lifetime deals at low prices. This collection features epic $49 tools to help you make BIG money for your business, help you save time, and boost your productivity like never before.

Tons of our customers have seen incredible results from the tools in our $49ers Collection, so we decided to talk to them firsthand.

Want to find out how people are using these awesome tools—and what kind of success they’ve seen?

Let’s dive in.

1. MeetGeek

MeetGeek is an AI meeting assistant that lets you record, take notes, and share call highlights, so you can maximize the effectiveness of your online meetings.

Alternative to: Otter.ai, Fathom, and Fireflies.ai

Customer use case

Richard Foleher is the owner of Everything Voice Ltd, which provides telecommunications solutions in the UK. The company helps businesses boost connectivity for a “more agile, more mobile, more ‘work anywhere’ type of ethos.’ MeetGeek completely changed the way Richard worked.

As you might imagine, Richard and his team conduct a lot of remote meetings. MeetGeek’s AI meeting assistant transcribes the important stuff so Richard’s team can focus on having high-quality conversations.

Normally, a team member would have to manually take notes. Richard says that thanks to MeetGeek, “10 to 15 minutes later, we’ve got a full transcription of the meeting with who said what. That’s very, very valuable to me because quite often a lot of my conversations are very technical.” (MeetGeek even gave us a transcript of our call with Richard to use for this post. Talk about full circle.)

Plus, Richard likes the ability to measure participant engagement during meetings. The seamless Outlook integration doesn’t hurt either, with meetings automatically synced and transcripts emailed to participants after.

Results they’ve seen

MeetGeek has given Richard hundreds of hours a month back, allowing him to focus more on what matters: his customers. “It saved me a lot of time because I’m not having to constantly remind myself, ‘What did we say we were going to do?’ or ‘What did so-and-so say they were going to do?’”

The tool alleviates the burden of having to remember important details for both Richard and his clients. By the end of each call, both parties have an accurate transcript they can point to. That way, everyone’s on the same page and nothing gets lost in translation.

Richard paid $59 for lifetime access to MeetGeek and says “in the very first transcription, it saved me more than $60 in time.”

2. Snackeet

Snackeet is a web story builder that lets you design interactive landing pages to engage your audience, collect leads, and launch surveys.

Alternative to: VideoAsk, Typeform, and Apester

Customer use case

Earl Williams is the owner of ESW Perfume Bar, a company that makes unique fragrances customized to the individual. At the company’s in-person events, “guests can design and create their own custom fragrance. It’s a great way to have fun and make a unique gift.”

Oftentimes, Earl found that people needed more guidance during events. Most folks had trouble picking the right fragrance on the spot. Enter Snackeet.

With Snackeet and its conditional logic, Earl was able to create a “scent finder” quiz to help people land on their perfect perfume. He got the PWA (progressive web app) on a tablet for in-person users and the scent-finding experience was ready to go.

Results they’ve seen

Snackeet is an engagement-boosting powerhouse, and Earl saw his paid customers double since building his lead gen quiz using the tool.

At in-person pop-up and vendor events, it’s no easy feat to catch a visitor’s eyes, especially when you’re competing with popular (see: food) vendors. Snackeet helped Earl get increased attention and engagement, creating buzz and even long-time relationships. While some purchased on the spot, others went on to book his company for private events. Plus, if they really loved their individualized scent, there was only one place they could return to for more: ESW Perfume Bar.

3. BasicOps

BasicOps is a project management solution that helps you prioritize tasks and communicate with your team in real time.

Alternative to: Asana, Trello, and Monday.com

Customer use case

Marc Coty is an account manager and media buyer at Grounds for Promotion, a boutique digital marketing agency. When Marc first joined, the team lived in the world of spreadsheets when it came to task management.

For this small company, it meant a lot of extra organizational labor. “There’s a lot of unnecessary manual work that goes into updating a spreadsheet rather than just quickly entering and completing tasks like we’re doing with BasicOps now,” says Marc.

BasicOps makes task management a breeze for Marc, with automatic recurring tasks that have helped him let go of manual calendar reminders. For example, when conducting creative tests on ads, Marc gets notifications to follow up on changes he’s made to see how they’re performing. It’s a painless way to make sure things don’t fall through the cracks.

Marc also likes the subtask feature which allows him to break big projects like “launch Google ads for a client” down into manageable components: set the budget, create ad copy, and so on.

Results they’ve seen

Thanks to BasicOps, Marc’s seen an overall change in the way his team stays organized and productive.

With tasks and subtasks, he can now get a birds-eye view of exactly what needs to be done—checking email and BasicOps first thing in the morning have become second nature for him. Marc saves a couple of hours per week with the tool and gets to put project management on autopilot.

“That’s maybe the core of who’s going to benefit the most is people who are on a more manual process. With AppSumo, they’re able to get it for a one-time fee and that cost quickly gets absorbed. You become reliant on BasicOps and realize how much time you’re saving with it.”

More buzz about our $49ers

Our $49ers tools are customer favorites back for a limited time only! Here are some real customer reviews about other all-star products in the collection.

gini

gini instantly generates investor-ready financial models, reports, and scenario plans, so you can manage cash flow like a pro.

“A great way to get the info I needed to manage cash flow. gini helped us take control of our finances without the need to wait to speak to my accounting resource to obtain the information.”

– Olivia Cotes-James, Founder of LUÜNA

Oviond

Oviond is a customizable digital platform that combines and organizes all of your marketing data into useful insights and automated reports.

“After purchasing one code, I quickly purchased another: that’s how much I enjoyed Oviond.

Setting up a client and connecting data only takes three minutes, and setting up dashboards and reports is made simple by the pre-existing templates (there are lots), which I then fine-tune to my client’s needs. I’ve had the product for 2 days, I’ve set up 6 clients on it with multiple dashboards and automated reports, and I am only getting praise about how fun and well presented the reports are.”

– Ann Balmier

SpeedPPC

SpeedPPC is a pay-per-click campaign builder that helps you create hyper-targeted ad campaigns that actually convert.

“I just onboarded a Google Ads client even though I’m not super experienced with Google Ads but I took the challenge because I wanted to use SpeedPPC and…

The client is blown away, therefore so am I!

Creating granular campaigns is super easy and it has saved me tens of hours already.”

– Chris Lourenco | Google Ads and Social Media Specialist

Check out the whole collection here!

To help you get into the holiday spirit, we asked our team to recommend their favorite gifts for that special someone (or Sumo-ling) in your life. For all those everyday entrepreneurs out there, we’d be remiss not to mention all the awesome tools you can use to grow your business…and stuff a digital stocking. 

If you’re a gift-giver who gets reactions like this every year or you just want some inspo for dope presents, let’s get started.  To make things easy, we’ve sorted our gifts into five categories, arranged from lowest to highest price for each.

P.S. Want to add some extra pizzazz to your present? Make it personal and custom with StickerMule Packaging Tape, now discounted in the AppSumo store!

Productivity

1. Journals and Planners

Clear Habits Journal [Plus Size] | $28

“This is hands down the best journal I’ve ever used. It’s the perfect balance of structure and freedom. After filling up my first one of these journals, I stocked up on half a dozen more. One of my top purchases of 2020.” – Chris S.

Rocketbook Smart Reusable Notebook |  $32

Source: Rocketbook

“When it comes to notetaking, there seems to be a divide between those who prefer pen and paper (some call these people “old fashioned”) and those who prefer using technology (some call these people “youths”). But we say, “Por qué no los dos?” Give that special notetaking someone in your life a reusable notebook that will give them that traditional feel while still streamlining efficiency.” – Chris G. 

Full Focus Planner | $40

“I use this every day! No joke. Okay, fine. Sometimes not on the weekends, but I can’t start my workday without spending 15-20 mins with my coffee planning my day in this planner. Love the format of tackling big items first and planning out exactly how much heads-down deep-work time you have every day.” – Nick C.

2. Kindle | $90

“I love this thing—I’ve read 30+ books this year (humble brag) because of it. also, I’m a big ol’ word nerd and the ability to look things up as I’m reading is a godsend. Also, I don’t know why you’d ever be getting it wet (I don’t know your life), but I love that it’s waterproof!” – Ilona A.

3. Garmin Vivosmart 4 | $99

Source: Wired

“This is a great reminder for any entrepreneur to step away from a screen, get outside, and get moving (especially when we’re all inside more than usual!). It monitors your heart rate and stress levels, reminding you to take a breather in high-stress situations. Plus, it tracks your sleep habits if you wear it at night—really helpful for me to understand why I may be more tired some days than others.” – Candice M.

4. Duex Pro Portable Monitor | $258

“Get an additional monitor for your laptop. Yes, one monitor won’t be enough for power user Sumo-lings. ” – Kim T. (Trust us, he knows)

For the Home

1. Grow Lamp | $37

“Quarantine has made plant parents of so many of us. If you know a plant lover who’s not getting enough sunlight for their plants, a grow lamp like this is a must-have. It clips to just about anything and it singlehandedly gave my Monstera three new leaves in less than a month.” – Max L.

2. Otherland Candles | $36 – $89

“Fantastic quality candles that also look gorgeous and don’t smell like a grandma’s house! I love that they use natural ingredients (no parafin!) and unique scent mixes. Makes your home feel like a bougie person’s house!” – Komal A.

3. Apple HomePod Mini | $99

Source: Apple

“Because music is one of those things that you just always want in your life. During COVID, music kept my brain creative and gave comfort through all the noise. The HomePod Mini is small enough that you can take it anywhere! Office, bedroom, living room, classroom, etc. not sure there’s a limit… Have a favorite artist, podcast, YouTube channel? ‘Turn up’ or turn it up… with the new Apple HomePod mini. AppleSumo, if you will.” – Josh G.

Food & Drink

1. 10.25″ Lodge cast iron skillet | $21

“Affordable and long-lasting, an iron skillet can go from stove to oven to table.” – Tina H.

2. Electric Wine Opener | $31

“I got this for Christmas last year and had no idea how important it would become in 2020. Zero broken corks, zero effort, lots of reward.” – Crystal G.

3. Btat Coffee Mug | $37

“Never drink a cold cup of coffee again. These insulated cups keep your coffee warm twice as long as a regular cup. Perfect for the upcoming colder months.” – Ayman A.

4. Charcuterie Board | $52

Source: For Joe

There’s a lot that goes into hosting a party: cleaning, music, food prep, and obsessively making sure your guests have enough to eat. Right up there with that is having a quality charcuterie board for all of your fine cheeses and hams. What makes this recommendation extra special to us is that 100% of the proceeds go to the family of Jarrett’s close friend, Joe, who was recently diagnosed with ALS. (suggested by Jarrett P.)

5. DO YOUR GIN | $59

Source: Etsy

“Thanks to the better part of 2020, we all can add ‘At Home Bartender’ to our resume. This kit comes with ingredients, and recipes that will have you experimenting to make your own one-of-a-kind infused gin in the comfort of your own home.” – Lauren C.

6. Hamilton Beach 2-Way Brewer Coffee Maker | $60

“I hate K-cups. They’re bad for the environment and I think the flavor is weak. But the boyfriend loves the convenience of single serves because he’s always on the go. This coffee maker offers the best of both worlds and keeps us both happy.” – Celeste H.

7. Instant Pot Duo 6 qt | $79

“This appliance will change your life for the better! I use mine literally every day, from cooking sushi rice all the way to making the perfect risotto and Indian dishes. I gift this to all my friends, especially people who say they can’t or don’t cook.” – Komal A.

8. Meat Thermometers

Meater Smart Meat Thermometer | $99

Source: Meater

“I can’t grill without this! I mean, let’s be real—I still could, but this really helps. Can use it for any kind of meat…steaks, salmon, chicken, beaver—whatever you want, Papi. You can program the app with the doneness you like and it will give you an accurate projection on internal temp, external temp, and how exactly long you should leave it on.” – Nick C. 

Don’t trust Nick’s taste in meat thermometers? (The beaver comment was sus.) Try this alternative:

Thermopen MK4 | $99

“I never have to worry about overcooked steaks or undercooked brisket (or turkey).  Gives you instant results and is extremely accurate.  Definitely a must-have for anyone who enjoys cooking or BBQing.” – Eric S.

9. Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano | $129

“If you haven’t tried cooking with a Sous Vide cooker like this, you’re missing out. Vacuum seal whatever you’re cooking, put it in a water bath, set the Sous Vide temperature, and come back to exactly perfectly cooked food.” – Eric F.

Health, Wellness, and Self-Care

1. Taotronics Retractable Hands-Free Dog Leash | $21

“This hands-free dog leash has been an absolute game-changer for any outdoor activity with my dog, Margo, whether I’m taking her on a walk, a run, or camping. I recommend this for ALL dog owners. If you don’t have one, get one!” – Sarah P.

2. Wellness therapy acupressure mat | $25

Source: Amazon

“Oh, where to begin? $25 well spent, and it makes its money back in the first few sessions. The first few minutes lying on the thousands of plastic spikes is somewhat torturous, but what follows is the relaxing of the fascia, the loosening of the muscles, and the release of pressure points throughout the body. Throw a little Enya on, light a nice candle, and melt away into pure relaxation.” – Jay S.

3. Hiccopop Omniboost Travel Booster Seat | $35

“For anyone who has a baby or toddler, this is basically the most handy thing ever. It’s a booster seat (cool!), but it’s ALSO a camp chair and a stable seat for placement upon a table (keeping your baby at eye-level). I use ours 7 times a week! It’s machine-washable (obviously) and a great price!” – Rachel W.

4. “Relax Karen” Kit | $38

Source: More Aromatherapy

If this year has you feeling like the world is on fire, the “Relax Karen” kit will make you as zen as that dog meme: “This is fine.” While we can’t solve all the big problems, we can take a deep breath, draw a hot bath, pour in the aptly named “Fresh Out of F*cks” bath salts, and let our troubles drift away. (suggested by Olman Q.)

5. LL Bean Wicked Good Moccasins Slippers | $79

“These slippers are my absolute favorite WFH accessory! The soft and fuzzy interior keeps my feet warm and cozy all day without overheating.” – Kellyn M.

Just for Fun

1. IKEA Bygglek Lego storage | $15

“I don’t own this (yet), but what a cool partnership! I am always about function and this is both functional and fun.” – Tina H.

2. Create Your Own Reel Viewer | $30

Source: Uncommon Goods

“Remember these fun gadgets from your childhood? This is a great personalizable gift for any special someone in your life. Load up the reel with photos of favorite memories, inside jokes, text, and more!” – Max L.

3. JBL Flip 5 | $99

Put your thing down, JBL Flip it, and reverse it with this Bluetooth speaker that brings the party wherever you carry it. Take it to the living room, the beach, or your next board meeting to make a grand entrance to your own personal theme song*. (suggested by Seann S.)

* = results may vary depending on the song. Use “WAP” at your own risk. 

Final Thoughts

We hope this guide gives you some ideas for that special giftee in your life. Whatever you decide to wrap up, make sure to keep the spirit of togetherness alive this year, especially in an era of social distancing.

Call up your loved ones just to say hi, surprise a friend with that thing they totally don’t need (but secretly want), or send a handwritten card!

Happy holidays, Sumo-lings, and stay safe!

Our Meet the Makers series rounds up some of our favorite Marketplace success stories and talks to the enterprising founders behind some of your favorite Marketplace products about their experiences. Jump into some of the best Marketplace Case Study stories below, hear about their launches, and steal their secrets for success!

1. Thrive Anywhere

What It Does:

The Lead Magnet Library from Thrive Anywhere features workbooks, planners, and everything else entrepreneurs need to create their own professionally-designed lead magnets and tripwire products, so they can grow their lists.

Meet Lynette:

My name is Lynette Chandler. I am the founder, creative director, content developer, and basically Lead Everything at Thrive Anywhere.

I was talking to a long-time friend, and she said that being on AppSumo legitimizes our company in her eyes. This is something I cannot buy or advertise my way to.

For 14 years, I developed WordPress plugins, and that was my business. After a traumatic event in my personal life, I felt inspired to make a change. I’m a planner junkie, love creating systems, and enjoy creating art. So I merged the two and Thrive Anywhere took off in 2018.

How did you find out about the AppSumo Marketplace?

I’m a long-time fan of AppSumo and one day, I read someone’s email. I can’t remember if it was Noah’s email or the AppSumo email. What I do remember was seeing the call for people to submit their products through Haul Drop.

Naturally, my products don’t qualify, since they’re not exactly physical products. I followed some links and landed on the AppSumo submission form. At that time, I didn’t think you guys were accepting any other products but SaaS. I also didn’t know you all were planning the AppSumo Marketplace. I figured, “What’s the worst that could happen?” and submitted my product and promptly forgot about it.

Months later, I heard from Seann, who told me the application wasn’t approved for the full promo—something I completely expected—but approved for the new Marketplace.

Tell us about your launch! Any challenges?

Overall, it was a smooth process. The folks at AppSumo gave lots of information about the process in an easy-to-understand format. I appreciated the examples given along the way.

The hardest part was to figure out what to offer, at what price points, so it could be sustainable for us. Plus, we had to figure out how to make all that work within our existing delivery system. For example, I didn’t know how to generate thousands of coupon codes, and now I do. I also learned more about our own shopping cart system through this.

The other tough part is also writing the copy. In one portion, I didn’t know where that copy would go and how it’s presented. Writing copy also isn’t my strong suit. I wrote and rewrote everything so many times. I was also very grateful for Seann, who cheerfully answered all my questions and was super fast, too.

What value did you receive from your promotion?

The best value from the promotion isn’t monetary. Sure, we’ve sold many codes and reaped financial rewards from it, but one of the biggest values for me is impacting how people see us.

I was talking to a long-time friend, and she said that being on AppSumo legitimizes our company in her eyes. This is something I cannot buy or advertise my way to.

The other thing of value for us is in reaching new people we couldn’t otherwise reach on our own. Again, I can advertise to reach new people, but with this promotion, I’m not losing my shirt on advertising mistakes.

What advice would you give to anyone interested in the Marketplace, so they can get the most of their launch?

Understand that Marketplace deals are different.

Since you have to bring your own traffic (and reviews) at the beginning, you must decide if you want to make your offer available for new customers only or everyone.

If you decide it’s for everyone, you want to strike a balance between offering an unbeatable deal and future sales. Do something special for people who give you reviews. You can tell them—or not—but you can’t go wrong if you reward them. Pull out all the stops. Ask people you know to share the promotion and reach out to your affiliates if you have any. For best results, reach out personally.

What’s been your favorite thing about launching with us?

It would definitely have to be reading the reviews and seeing how my product helps others.

What’s your company vision? Tell us what’s next for you!

I’m working on streamlining our system even more. I’m always on the lookout for new topics to make into workbooks and now looking into creating Canva templates.

2. DocPro

What It Does:

DocPro offers a document generation tool that helps users quickly and efficiently create automated documents and contracts. Users can choose from over 1,500 templates through DocPro’s advance search function, complete a questionnaire to customize the template, and generate a legal document automatically.

Meet Kim:

I’m Kim, the CEO of DocPro, a leading online provider of automated documents to businesses and individuals.

I think AppSumo has the fairest revenue sharing plan anywhere on the planet.

DocPro launched at the beginning of this year (2020) with a team of 10 people. Our original idea was to build a community based on commonly used legal documents. We encourage our users to share their documents with us, which will then be revised by our lawyers into templates and made available to other users. We’re also open to document requests from our audience.

How did you find out about the AppSumo Marketplace?

We applied to Noah Kagan’s “Let Me Help You Sell” program soon after the launch of our site, and we got into the final 10 !!

Tell us about your launch! Any challenges?

Ultimately, we didn’t win in Noah’s program, but we got into the Community Spotlight program anyway. Launching is easy for a SaaS company like us, as we already have Promo Codes developed on our system. All we need is to generate thousands of unique codes for AppSumo, along with a promotion page for your product.

The most challenging part is actually responding to positive and negative feedback after launch. You will need to dedicate someone to respond promptly on a daily basis. It’s important to keep your feedback loop short and fix any issues promptly. It’s also always important to stay polite and positive, even if you think the criticism is unfair or unfounded.

What value did you receive from your promotion?

It is generating good regular income for our site, given how much revenue the new program shares with us. I think AppSumo has the fairest revenue sharing plan anywhere on the planet. In addition, DocPro has increased its exposure to our target market segment, small businesses through AppSumo.

What advice would you give to anyone interested in the Marketplace, so they can get the most of their launch?

You should have a dedicated sales or marketing personnel responding to feedback daily, particularly when your site is first launched.

What’s been your favorite thing about launching with us?

Your revenue sharing program— it’s the best deal in town.

What’s your company vision? Tell us what’s next for you!

We’d like to provide an end-to-end product whereby our users can not only create documents with us, but also negotiate, execute and store the signed document on our cloud for easy access.

3. Markup Hero

What It Does:

Markup Hero is a fast and elegant screenshot and file annotation tool that does everything you need without the bloat. It works on Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome, and Mobile Web.

Meet Jeff:

Hey, I’m Jeff Solomon, the Co-Founder & Product/Marketing Head at Markup Hero.

Our primary goal was receiving feedback to help prioritize our roadmap. We have a list of 1000 things we want/need to do, but prioritizing them based on what customers really need was always a challenge. We got this in spades.

We’re a small team of three hustlers: one dev, one product/UX, one marketing/BD/ops. You get the picture. We’re very scrappy; everyone is a builder and we’re very iterative and strategic about what we build, why, and when. We launched in March 2020. We actually use “bare metal” servers (as Glib likes to call it) for certain aspects of our product. Basically, it means we have some real hardware vs. virtual servers which is pretty standard these days; we use both.

How did you find out about the AppSumo Marketplace?

I’ve bought from AppSumo many times, but only stumbled on the marketplace recently through some FB groups.

Tell us about your launch! Any challenges?

There was some prep work, but it was clear that putting in the extra time to get the listing and being ready to field support/questions made a huge difference. We focused our channels to the AppSumo questions forum, our product roadmap, and Intercom. With that, we were able to manage the volume, which was particularly high in the first few days.

Sidenote: the listing was accidentally launched for six hours a few days before our scheduled launch, so we were caught off-guard. But it was promising to see people finding the listing even without any promotion!

What value did you receive from your promotion?

Our primary goal was receiving feedback to help prioritize our roadmap. We have a list of 1000 things we want/need to do, but prioritizing them based on what customers really need was always a challenge. We got this in spades.

As a company, we always try to balance our product development between two things: what customer is asking for and some aspirational/strategic goals that we think will either “wow” customers (“I didn’t even realize I needed that!”) or allow us to break into different customer segments. Of course, we also got users and revenue, which is always valuable. Because our product is somewhat viral—when you use it, you share it—we’re getting users from users, and that was important for us.

What advice would you give to anyone interested in the Marketplace, so they can get the most of their launch?

We went with a one code offer. I think for the Marketplace, this kinda makes sense. It makes support simpler. Also, consider that the Marketplace is better for earlier stage products compared to select deals. AppSumo is a great place where you can get started, learn what you need from the community, then build out your product from there. Afterward, you can try and launch a select campaign six months later. That’s what we’re planning to do.

What’s been your favorite thing about launching with us?

Meeting the users, for sure. While it’s true that AppSumo users can be demanding and extremely vocal, they can also be surprisingly reasonable. We had a number of users tell us that they wouldn’t use the product without X, Y, and Z features. But they also said that they would hang on until we had them. Along the way, Sumo-lings gave us more valuable feedback and even helped us debug some issues.

What’s your company vision? Tell us what’s next for you!

Our original idea with Markup Hero was “annotate anything”. The idea the file annotation could only extend to images and screenshots, which is what almost all of the competitors and incumbents offered, seemed so limiting. Why can’t you annotate more than that? PDFs, Google Docs, Word Docs, Sketch Files, PSDs, Keynote Files, etc.

Today, we have images, PDFs, and Google Docs/Sheets/Slides. In the long term, we’ll enable more and more file types. But the vision goes beyond that.

What we discovered is that file annotation doesn’t just need to happen in a silo. Again, that’s pretty much the standard approach for most products—you take a screenshot or upload an image, then you share it. But what we see is that people need and want to annotate from everywhere they already work.

So think of our product as something you can open files with from wherever you are: Google Drive, Slack, Asana, Jira, Toggl, whatever tool you can picture. If you want to annotate something, then you just “open with Markup Hero.” We’ve done some of this with Google Drive and Slack, and we’ll do more with more tools over time.

4. Niceboard

What It Does:

Niceboard is a modern, easy-to-use job board software that lets you create and manage your own job board business with just a few clicks.

Meet Olivier:

Hi, I’m Olivier and I’m the solo CEO/Founder of Niceboard. I design, build, and market the product!

The best part about launching on the Marketplace has been the exposure to a sizeable amount of users willing to share feedback and help improve the product.

I started the business early this summer after running DesignerJobs (a job board I had made for designers and creatives) for a few years. I’ve asked many times to either sell or white-label the software powering it. So I decided to take the plunge and created Niceboard!

How did you find out about the AppSumo Marketplace?

I heard about it on ProductHunt from an existing AppSumo user who was running a deal on the marketplace.

Tell us about your launch! Any challenges?

Launching on the marketplace was pretty smooth overall. It just took a little effort to put together a compelling listing (description, imagery), which actually helped me refine my pitch and value proposition in the process.

The main challenges I faced during and after launching were dealing with all the new customers I was onboarding and fixing bugs as they were being reported! At one point, my app was even crashing every now and then. I had to rewrite a good chunk of the code while doing customer support, which was super stressful at the time. In the end, it all contributed to making Niceboard into a much more robust product.

What value did you receive from your promotion?

I’ve received a ton of feedback and ideas for new features, had tons of bugs exposed and fixed, and gained a better understanding of the market and users’ needs. Oh, and the money doesn’t hurt 

What advice would you give to anyone interested in the Marketplace, so they can get the most of their launch?

Get into the habit of asking your users for reviews if they’ve been satisfied. Next, communicate a lot! Finally, be ready to handle a ton of feedback.

What’s been your favorite thing about launching with us?

The best part about launching on the Marketplace has been the exposure to a sizeable amount of users willing to share feedback and help improve the product.

What’s your company vision? Tell us what’s next for you!

I plan on releasing more features for Niceboard—more specifically, our “Pro Plus” plan, which will include the much-anticipated feature of API access.

Overall, the product’s direction will involve making job boards more and more customizable. That way, users can really go all out and build their own custom vision through our software—all without writing a line of code! Depending on the product’s rate of growth, hiring a developer could be a possibility!

5. Digital Dojo’s Advanced Course in Digital Marketing

What It Does:

The Advanced Course in Digital Marketing by Digital Dojo is a three-month course designed to train entrepreneurs and business owners on the practical aspects of digital marketing, from plan to execution. I’ve consolidated my 8+ years of hands-on experience in digital marketing to not only curate the content, but more importantly, the sequence of topics delivered.

Meet Sachin:

I am Sachin Sadare, Founder & Director at Digital Dojo OÜ. Digital Dojo OÜ is a leading digital marketing training & consulting company based in Tallinn (Estonia) with offshore offices in India (Mumbai & Goa).

But more than the money, the value we received was the feedback and questions we got from those who enrolled into our course.

Digital Dojo started as a digital marketing training company in June 2016. Our objective was to empower entrepreneurs, business owners, students, and working professionals with various digital marketing skills. In August 2018, we launched DDLP (Digital Dojo Learning Platform): our online learning platform.

DDLP provides a complete learning ecosystem—rich multi-media courses, live sessions, interactive quizzes, assignments, proctored online exams, project evaluation, block-chained certificates, and job/project listings—to help our audience achieve their learning objectives. We’re a 10+ member team constantly striving to improve the outcomes we can bring to our learners.

How did you find out about the AppSumo Marketplace?

I have been a Sumo-ling for a long time now. It was through emails that the concept of the AppSumo Marketplace was communicated to everyone. I thought it was a great opportunity for me to present my course as a deal through the AppSumo marketplace. It helps to read all the emails sent.

Tell us about your launch! Any challenges?

The process of launching on the Marketplace was super smooth. The process has been so clearly defined and implemented that there are very few questions or concerns during the entire launch. Seann was amazing at answering emails and clarifying any doubts I had during the entire process. He made it seem like a cakewalk. The rest of the team at AppSumo made it super easy to launch our deal on the Marketplace.

What value did you receive from your promotion?

One definitely makes a good amount of money through the marketplace listing. But more than the money, the value we received was the feedback and questions we got from those who enrolled into our course. Having feedback from such a diverse audience helped us tweak some aspects of our offering and provide more value. Not to mention that the search rankings for the site and the learning platform also saw a huge increase—initially during the launch, and later once learners had enrolled in the course. So apart from the money involved, there are many more tangible and intangible advantages to my business because of our Marketplace launch.

What advice would you give to anyone interested in the Marketplace, so they can get the most of their launch?

I have three pieces of advice:

1. Make sure you have a deal with value for the AppSumo community and communicate that value well through the listing description. The AppSumo team offers enough guidelines to succeed in this regard.
2. Once launched, ensure that you create enough excitement and sufficient traction through some marketing efforts. Make use of the marketing milestones offered by AppSumo—they really help.
3. Look out for what people say about your product once they buy it. If you hear a lot of similar feedback, that’s where you should take action. Incorporating the feedback I received has helped me make more sales and have fewer refunds.

What’s been your favorite thing about launching with us?

There are two things I really liked about launching with AppSumo marketplace. The first is the transparency with which the entire process was communicated and implemented—it was amazing. Everything seemed so clear from the onset.

The second was the ease with which things moved right from when I submitted my product to when the product was launched and beyond (which included marketing campaigns and payments, too). It seemed the AppSumo team was more concerned about my product doing well than I was!

What’s your company vision? Tell us what’s next for you!

Our goal today is to educate, endow, and equip people and organizations with digital marketing skills, strategies, and new business models in the age of digital disruption. In this journey, we aim to become the one-stop company for any digital marketing training needs. We have a ton of plans—more courses and more value through the DDLP platform, focusing on delivering individual learning needs through a standardized approach, and even more. Stay tuned!

Conclusion

Thank you to all the awesome creators and founders who took the time to talk to us! We’re so excited to watch your businesses grow into empires.

Feeling inspired? Ready to take action and be a part of a growing community of up-and-coming hustlers?

Our driven and hungry audience is waiting to meet your business.

Start selling on AppSumo

But you can’t get your best work done on your creaky dining room chair. Plus, you’re facing new challenges, like communicating with team members, file-sharing, and managing schedules.

You’re gonna want to sit down for this. Or stand up. We’re bringing you a value-packed, deal-filled Remote Work Giveaway loaded with all the things you need – both digital and physical – to make your home hustle extraordinary.

Enter this Giveaway Now

Enter this Giveaway Now

Alright, Sumo-lings, it’s no surprise that we’re all stuck at home. So we wanted to check in on your sanity. How are we doing?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve been affected by the COVID-19 novel coronavirus in some way. (And if you do live under a rock, stay put – we’re doing something called “social distancing” right now.)

By now, we know how to wash our hands the proper way (TL;DR: at least 20 seconds, under your nails, and get your thumbs, too). We know we should stop touching our faces as much. We’ve read the latest headline featuring the latest horrifying statistic.

It’s a time of uncertainty and your head may be racing with a million thoughts, especially as a business owner: What do I do to keep my business on track? How can I make remote work, well, work for me? How can I survive as a freelancer?

We hear you, and we’ve got some awesome resources for you on our blog. But it’s also important to take a moment in these stressful months to come, and focus on #1: you. 

Let’s take a look at the positives. In a fast-paced age where you’ve been too busy to work on your novel idea or catch up with your old friend from high school, you’ve now got the gift of time. No excuses now. If you’re reading this, you’ve also got the gift of high-speed Internet. Imagine being quarantined on dial-up…or gasp, no Internet? 

Lastly, you’ve got solidarity. It may seem lonely (self-quarantine kind of does that to you), but the whole world is here with you, including our awesome team. Need ideas for what to do while you’re cooped up at home? Here’s a look at what the AppSumo team has been up to, along with helpful tips, suggestions, and recommendations.

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The Ultimate Guide for Things to Do While Stuck at Home

1. Health and Fitness
2. Food
3. Hobbies/Activities (Skills)
4. Language (Skills)
5. Books (Media)
6. Movies (Media)
7. TV (Media)
8. Music (Media)
9. Other (Media)
10. Social Interaction and Mental Health

Health and Fitness

Cartoon by Jason Polan

Independent, athletic
I been sweating, doing calisthenics
– Lizzo, “Fitness”

Now more than ever, it’s essential to keep your body moving, especially with gyms and fitness classes closing down. Before you go all in on a prison workout, here’s some fitspo for you:

• Peloton isn’t just for stationary bikes (Peloton bike lady, are you okay?). Our President Ayman recommends the Peloton app, which is currently offering a 90-day free trial subscription to its home workout app. You’ll get access to thousands of live classes for running, strength, toning, cycling, yoga, meditation and outdoor workouts. After 90 days, it’s $13/month.
• Fun fact: the AppSumo team worked right out of a rock climbing gym at one point! If you’re a climber missing your indoor wall, our Partner Success climber Dusty recommends “utilizing every type of at home training tool such as this Tension Block to keep [your] fingers strong and this Beastmaker hangboard.”
• Many of our team members have turned to YouTube for workouts. Check out Yoga with Adriene for centering yoga sessions. Looking to maintain your strength with limited or no equipment? ATHLEAN-X and Jeff Nippard have got your back (and your quads and arms, etc.).
• As part of AppSumo’s free Remote Work Academy, we had personal trainer Eric Rakovsky show us how to stay fit right at home. You don’t need a fancy gym for this one – just stuff you’ve got at home and yourself.

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Food

Chief/Chef Sumo Noah proves it’s never too late to level up your cooking game.

With restaurants closing or limited to takeout/delivery, now is a great time to learn how to cook your favorite foods (as you know, we’re taco people here at AppSumo). After all, you don’t want your culinary legacy to be “Grandma’s Famous Open-the-Seamless-App Recipe.”

• Our software engineer Chelsea is ready for the long haul: “I’m trying to focus on cooking with more pantry staples, like canned garbanzo beans, canned tomatoes, and dry pasta. Anything that doesn’t require fresh ingredients from a grocery store run.”
• Candice, our customer support manager, has also been doing her best to avoid the grocery store as much as possible. She’s been looking for inventive ways to use her everyday leftovers and recommends this recipe search engine.
• Chris, our Senior Director of Partnership Marketing, recommends getting an Instant Pot to maximize your cooking needs. It’s space-efficient and great for meal prepping.
• The folks over at Reddit have started an entire subreddit dedicated to cooking in quarantine. The aptly titled /r/covidcookery, features some real MacGuyver-y culinary feats, including a lot of homemade bread.

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Skills

If you’ve ever wanted to learn Japanese or how to play a ukelele, now’s your chance. Being inside with Internet access is a great opportunity for self-improvement. Who knows? Maybe you’ll emerge from self-quarantine a lock-pickin’, cross-stitchin’, knot-tyin’ jack of all trades.

Hobbies/Activities

• Noah, our Chief Sumo, has been sharpening up his chess game while social distancing. Add him on Chess.com: okdork.
• In other Noah news, he recently re-released his Monthly1K course for $7 (previously, he sold it for $600. Yup, you read that right.) Now’s a perfect time to start your business and that price point, it’s a no-brainer.
• Meanwhile, Ashley, our Account Executive, and Seann, our Growth Lead, have taken up massive jigsaw puzzles. (So had Ellen Degeneres, but it didn’t go so well.)
• Our Full Stack Developer, Collin, has a bunch of ways to fill the time: “Recreating fave restaurant meals, board game date nights, DIY projects, blankie forts.” Maybe you don’t have enough people for a board game right now – luckily, you can play classics like Scrabble, Catan, and more online.
• Songwriter’s block? Not for our Content Producer, Brandon, who’s finding his inner muse in quarantine and writing some new tunes. RhymeZone is an excellent resource for your songwriting needs.
• Vanessa, our Head of Operations, is busting out her knitting kit: “Watch out for my new line of scarves in the fall.” Here are some free knitting patterns, courtesy of Yarn.com. (♪The best time to wear a striped sweater…is all the tiiime.♫)
• If you’re stuck at home, why not renovate your home? Cece, our software engineer, has undertaken some awesome home improvement projects, like “installing sliding barn doors instead of swing doors, yard project planning, and trying to figure out something cool to build with leftover shiplap pieces.”
• So…how you uh, how you comin’ on that book you’re working on? The hardest thing when it comes to writing your book is getting started. This is the year you complete it. Scribe Book School is a full suite of resources to help you finally write your book, with live workshops and Q&A’s, a copy of Wall Street Journal Bestseller The Scribe Method, and so much more. Oh, and it’s 100% free.

Language

• Our Head of Business Development, Olo, is getting back into Italian: “I reconnected with my Italian teacher (classes on iTalki via Skype) and have set up a series of classes over the next few weeks. Not only do I have more time for this but I get to help an Italian family with income during a time of need.”
• In other Romance language news, Mel, our Launch Operations Manager, is using her extra time to give her 5-year-old Spanish lessons: “For parents looking for at-home-learning resources for their kids, I recommend teacherspayteachers.com. It’s a marketplace where teachers sell their original educational materials, but they have a ton of free downloads too.” ¿Cómo se dice “awesome”?
• What better time to get back into Duolingo than now? You don’t want to anger that owl after all.

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Media

This one’s a big one. Now more than ever, we’re looking to various sources of entertainment to get our minds off (or weirdly, on) this pandemic. We’re not going to tell you to rewatch The Office for the 14th time or go through the entire Netflix oeuvre (but if not now, when?). But it’s definitely the time to check out all the media your friends have been recommending you – including your friends here at AppSumo. Here are a handful of suggestions:

Books

• Severance by Ling Ma, is a 2018 satirical science-fiction novel about an aimless Bible product coordinator traversing a landscape ravaged by Shen Fever, a fictional infection with origins in China. Sound familiar? It also won the 2018 Kirkus Prize for Fiction.
• Book clubs aren’t just for Oprah anymore. As part of an e-book club she’s started with friends, our Head of Content Ilona has been reading Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman, a psychological thriller about a honeymoon gone awry.
• Ayoade On Top by Richard Ayoade of IT Crowd fame, is a laugh-out-loud scene-by-scene guide to 2003’s Gwyneth Paltrow romcom dud, View from the Top. It’s an academic analysis no one asked for of a film that no one needs to see. Here’s Ayoade talking about his book.
• Looking for more non-fiction? The New Yorker has compiled their favorites of 2019 here.
• If you’ve been looking to improve your business skills, look no further than readitfor.me, which gives you 12-minute summaries of top business and personal development books. It’s like taking the limitless pill, only without the side effects.
• Need even more of the written word? AppSumo’s Freebies collection is chock full of awesome content written by some of the best in the biz, fo’ free. We recommend Unstoppable & What We Learned: Facebook Advertising, along with everything else (no bias here, of course).

Movies

• If you can’t look away from virus-related films, you can join the millions of people watching Contagion (currently #3 on iTunes) or streaming Pandemic on Netflix. If you want to get a little more creative in your virus-movie endeavors, look no further than 2008’s Pontypool, which follows a virus that transmits through the English language (an editor’s worst nightmare).
• Want to escape the pandemic pandemonium? We get it. Asked about her quarantine activities, our customer support rep Amy had this to say: “Frozen 2 600 times in a row.” That’s right. Disney has released Frozen II ahead of schedule on Disney+ as well as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker for purchase in digital formats.
• Universal Pictures has also released their movies currently playing in theaters on demand (Prime Video, iTunes, etc.) early. These include The Invisible Man, The Hunt, and Emma.
• Spencer on our Business Development team is set if Netflix ever goes down: “I own over 400 films on blu-ray, with over a hundred of those being movies I’ve never seen. During Corona, I’ll be trying to pick through them, one a night.”

TV

• Pushing Daisies is a whimsical comedy-drama mystery about a piemaker named Ned who can bring the dead back to life by touch  – but only for a minute. (Any longer and another person takes their place.) When Ned brings his childhood crush, Chuck, back to life, there’s one major catch: touch her again, and she’s back to being dead, permanently. Follow this love story of social distancing at its finest on CW Seed. Otherwise, you can guilt-watch Love is Blind on Netflix, the popular dating show that matches contestants before they can see each other face-to-face.
• The Leftovers may just be the hauntingly close-to-home supernatural mystery drama we need right now. When 140 million people disappear from the world without a trace, the remaining population is left to wonder why. From creator Damon Lindelof (behind Lost and the Watchmen TV series), it’s a slow-burn, philosophical character study about grief, hope, and picking up the pieces in the face of chaos, tragedy, and confusion. Catch it on HBO Now or HBO Go.
• Overwhelmed by the streaming options out there? Luckily, the folks over at Digital Trends have compiled a list of the best shows on Netflix right now.
• Even more recommendations from the author in order from comedic to serious: Community (Hulu), The Good Place (Netflix), Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Netflix), Fleabag (Amazon Prime Video), Bojack Horseman (Netflix), Fargo (Hulu), Killing Eve (Hulu), Legion (Hulu), Succession (HBO), Westworld (HBO), Chernobyl (HBO).

Music

• Our Head of Marketing Jake has subscribed to jrocc on MixCloud “because hand picked music > algorithms.”
• Meanwhile, Senior DevOps Engineer/cat herder Ogg is taking a break from the news by listening to electronic music act Above and Beyond.
• Need to unwind amidst all the stressful news? Try this peaceful and inspiring Spotify playlist.

Other

• The cute and relaxing life simulation video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons has arrived just in time for the Nintendo Switch. Time for a good ol’ fashioned virtual vacay. You can fish, talk to your animal neighbors, build furniture, decorate your home, and so much more. Producer Hisashi Nogami told The Verge, “Considering the timing, we hope that a lot of the Animal Crossing fans will use this as an escape, so they can enjoy themselves during this difficult time.”
• The shutdown of Broadway has devastated the theatre community, but the show must go on. Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has released a never-before-heard demo track from his hit musical on Soundcloud. Meanwhile, every night, Broadway performers are streaming live mini-shows right to your living room as part of a series called “Stars In The House.”
• If you’re a fan of podcasts, you’ve absolutely got to check out Reply All, the podcast that tells human stories featuring technology. We recommend their latest episode “The Case of the Missing Hit,” which follows a man’s journey to find a hit pop song from his youth stuck in his head…except the song has vanished, with zero traces on the Internet.
• Art is beautiful, and so is technology. Both of these have joined forces to bring you the full cultural experience of going to an art museum right from your couch.

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Social Interaction and Mental Health

Self-quarantine hasn’t stopped our weekly team happy hour.

It’s essential to be proactive about safeguarding your business during this precarious time. We’ve got you covered on that front.

But remember that your relationships and your mental health are just as important. Turn off the news. FaceTime a loved one or text a meme to an old friend. Take some time to meditate and practice mindfulness. No matter how isolated you may feel, you’re still a part of the world, whether you’re singing from a balcony in Italy or joining a virtual happy hour. Here are some ways you can relax, and stay connected to yourself and to others:

• Take a deep breath. No, really.
• As social creatures, face-to-face connection is important. Check in with your friends and family, and take some time to hear how they’re doing. MakeUseOf has compiled the six best apps for group video calls.
• Keep your viewing parties going, even in self-quarantine. Thanks to the Chrome extension Netflix Party, you and your friends can have long-distance movie nights remotely. Props to our writer Sarabeth for the tip!
• Read this guide on managing stress and anxiety by the CDC.
• Look at these baby animals. And these penguins exploring a closed aquarium.
• Being grateful isn’t just for the Thanksgiving dinner table. Try starting a gratitude journal. Here’s the science behind how gratitude changes your brain for the better.
• Need someone anonymous to talk to during this stressful time? Text HOME to 741741 to connect to a Crisis Counselor at Crisis Text Line. They’re here to help.

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Final Thoughts

If there’s anything we know about our Sumo-lings, it’s that they’re resourceful, great at banding together as a community, and socially responsible. By staying home, you’re doing your part to stop the spread of coronavirus and protecting others.

We hope this guide can help you make it through your self-quarantine and remind you that you’re not alone.

If you can run your own business and keep the hustle going, you can definitely weather this storm.

In the meantime, take care of yourselves and stay healthy. We’ll see you on the other side.

Have suggestions for what fellow Quarantine-lings can do? Let us know how you’re spending your time during this pandemic in the comments below!