Writing on software, product, and building things.
Once you’ve picked a freelance niche, you need to land your first client. If you’re like I was when I started, you’re probably pretty nervous. This whole sales thing can be really intimidating! And yo
Read article →The Best-Kept Secret for Generating Freelance Leads Today we’re going to talk about the best-kept secret for generating freelance leads. No, I’m not talking about going to networking events and workin
Read article →Once you’ve met some potential clients, you need to close the deal. If you’re like I was when I started, you probably have a pretty loose process. For the first several months, my process looked like
Read article →This simple method got me 46 client intros last year. The #1 question I hear from new freelancers is this: How do I find clients? This makes complete sense. You didn’t start freelancing because you lo
Read article →Choosing a freelance niche is the most important decision of your freelancing business. Here's how to pick a profitable freelance niche step-by-step.
Read article →How to Sell a Retainer Agreement — Increase your freelance profitability with a retainer agreement that sells a subscription to a productized service.
Read article →HTMLs case sensitivity means CSS fuzzy selectors just aren't that fuzzy.
Read article →I’ve you’ve ever had to store some data for a simple, mostly-static website, the JavaScript filter function is extremely helpful.
Read article →Product Analytics can help you acquire more users, keep them longer, and increase revenue. This Ultimate Guide to Product Analytics shows you how.
Read article →Stack Overflow recently released its 2019 Survey Results. The results are a treasure trove of insights about the the developer community, but I was particularly amused by this: We asked respondents to
Read article →Readsmart takes your Kindle highlights and turns them into a knowledge base. Here's what I think about it...
Read article →These are the common types of software tests and what they're used for.
Read article →In startups, resistance to change is one of the worst possible character flaws.
Read article →While people think they want lots of choices, the reality is that we function best with a limited set of clear options.
Read article →Today, I thought I’d experiment with a new (potentially semi-regular) post format. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the latest and greatest (and occasionally not-so-great) from ProductHunt. Here’s what
Read article →Here are a few impressions from writing my first WordPress Gutenberg block.
Read article →Your first hundred users are ar more important than the next 999,900. Here's how to get them, and what to do with them.
Read article →Grit is a paradoxical mix of hubris and humility. To disrupt an industry and change the world, you need both.
Read article →Projects that seem quick and easy rarely are. Startups should focus on hitting meaningful milestones rather than trying to meet arbitrary deadlines.
Read article →When setting benchmarks for your business, beware of averages. The top companies do far, far better than "average".
Read article →ID Numbers are a perfect example of those tiny little design elements that can make or break a user's experience.
Read article →Here's a quick trick for vertically centering logos with ascenders or descenders that cause the text to become asymmetrical.
Read article →Speaking of the pitfalls of outsourcing important work, have you ever noticed how many so-called experts there are who’ve succeeded at virtually nothing? Today I got an email from the CEO of a promine
Read article →Too often startups rely on agencies for their most important work.
Read article →Failures of Circumstance occur when something unexpected and unpreventable and temporary gets in your way. Here's how to deal with them.
Read article →From a UX perspective, there are at least two kinds of nitpicking.
Read article →Simply telling customers that you'll make it right and then doing so makes all the difference when fixing mistakes.
Read article →If you're creating a (mostly) static website, here's a quick boilerplate to get you started.
Read article →If you care about delivering long-term value, make sure your marketing message is filled with hooks, not gimmicks.
Read article →Most shortcuts are more trouble than they're worth.
Read article →Resilience takes a willingness to fail and try again. It takes comfort in our own skin. And, above all, it takes practice.
Read article →These are the conditions necessary for teams to have breakthroughs.
Read article →If you're slowing down when you should be speeding up, don't be afraid to rethink.
Read article →Here are 4 proven strategies for recovering quickly from setbacks.
Read article →Teams with too many priorities have no priorities at all. Don't underestimate the value of focus.
Read article →Knowing what your priorities are, and whether you're actually spending the majority of your time on them, is priceless.
Read article →Imagine what organizations would be like if they were only filled with people with practical skills.
Read article →If you want to learn efficiently it can be helpful to start with context.
Read article →Adoption is the process by which new users become acclimated to a product or service and decide to keep using it. Here's how you measure it.
Read article →If you're not serious about making the user the center of your product—if the user is just a "voice" and not the imperative—you're not serious about design.
Read article →After a decade of working in startups, I've learned that the best leaders know that authority isn't something you have, it's something you practice.
Read article →The best goal dashboards track both inputs and outputs.
Read article →Nobody can accomplish on their own as much as you can accomplish with a strong, aligned team.
Read article →Success is about persistence.
Read article →When you're building something new, sometimes embracing friction is the key to success.
Read article →There's a hidden root cause of Facebook's anemic user engagement. Here's why the Facebook decline is only going to get worse.
Read article →The criticism of the new WordPress Gutenberg editor is extremely shortsighted.
Read article →Tech companies have the opportunity to lead where politicians and religious leaders have failed. It’s time to seize this opportunity.
Read article →You'll never catch up. And that's okay.
Read article →Prototyping Tools: A detailed comparison of the top prototyping tools based on ease-of-use, features, cost, and speed of creation.
Read article →Sketch Prototyping: Here's a quick guide to building (and sharing) your first Sketch prototype in just 5 minutes, complete with a few tips and tricks.
Read article →When I’m not sure about if I should try something new or stick with what I know, I err on the side of what’s new.
Read article →Changing bad habits is harder than building new ones. One trick? Habit replacement.
Read article →Is it easy to make key decisions in your app? Or do users really have to think about it?
Read article →UX Engineer Portfolio: Learn exactly how to create a portfolio that will impress employers so you can land that dream job at a top tech company.
Read article →Prioritizing a specific demographic group is rarely as effective as prioritizing a specific psychographic one.
Read article →Looking for a good Growth Hacking Course? Here are 3 fantastic options (both free and paid) to help jumpstart your career in growth hacking.
Read article →Looking for a good JavaScript Class? These are 3 fantastic options (both free and paid) to help you get started coding in no time!
Read article →UX Engineer Jobs: If you're wondering where to find a great job in UX Engineering, here are 3 fantastic sources that feature jobs from top tech companies.
Read article →A quick look at a problematic interaction design in most messaging apps.
Read article →How to Become a UX Engineer: Master front-end development, UX design, and growth hacking and take your career to the next level with these free resources.
Read article →UX Engineer Salary: UX engineering is one of the hottest jobs in tech. But what do UX engineers actually get paid? Look at salaries across top U.S. metros.
Read article →Product Playbooks: Introducing free resources for product designers, engineers, and growth hackers.
Read article →Looking for a good UX design course? Here are 3 fantastic options (both free and paid) to help jumpstart your UX design career.
Read article →Once you’re done celebrating, it’s time to use your momentum to reach the next goal.
Read article →A quick summary of how I ditched Twitter Bootstrap...
Read article →Sometimes, customer service is the most important part of a user’s experience.
Read article →What is a UX engineer? UX Engineers are part programmer, part designer, part growth hacker. Here are the skills you need to land this top-paying tech job.
Read article →If your product isn't gaining the traction you need, it may be time to test your product entry points. The Glance Test and the Activation test will help you fix your product's entry points.
Read article →If you’re working on a new product, there’s a good chance that you’re far more obsessed with your product than your customers are.
Read article →Not everybody can or should become a manager.
Read article →How do you quantify the value of UX? One designer claims to have a formula.
Read article →How to design reports people actually use.
Read article →The best products strive to be fantastic for a limited set of use cases, and don’t worry about the rest.
Read article →We need a better algorithm for measuring content value. Here's why.
Read article →Today, my team and I launched Hipmatic, a website that makes this research easier by crowdsourcing recommendations from people who've bought the same types of products you're looking for.
Read article →Your experience with the products you use drives your decision to keep using them, modify them, or replace them with something that works better.
Read article →A brief look at the culture of America's Christian schools.
Read article →When everything is a big deal, nothing is a big deal. A quick look at how the media is signing its own death certificate.
Read article →Some prominent designers have criticized the Jobs-to-be-Done Framework is too simplistic. But is it really?
Read article →The uncertain nature of startups means that, no matter how experienced you might be, you almost always have to invent new tactics to solve problems.
Read article →Most startup leaders pay lip service to transparency, but few truly get it right. Here's the difference.
Read article →At Hipmatic, we keep our MVPs on track by doing a daily Product Standup. Here's how Daily Product Standups work, and why we do them.
Read article →If your job is focused on squeezing that last iota of value out of existing customers, maybe it's time to leave and tackle something bigger.
Read article →A few tips for deciding when to say "yes" and when to say "no" to new opportunities.
Read article →What do the best designers do differently? This post examines answers from top UX and product designers.
Read article →Forcing Functions: How to ensure an outcome, even when things get challenging.
Read article →User research is about giving the entire team enough information to make informed decisions about a solution as if they were solving the problem for themselves.
Read article →Today's AI is bad at navigating the line between novelty and your current interests. It's time for a new approach.
Read article →Every industry is disruptible. Here's how.
Read article →Here are 10 Tips for a Prosperous Life, based on Nick Offerman's comedy special, American Ham.
Read article →Knowing what's good enough is critical to running smart, efficient projects.
Read article →We need more data-driven pattern libraries. The folks at GoodUI have made some great strides in this direction. The web needs more projects like that.
Read article →Most teams misuse user stories. Here's a quick guide to writing good ones.
Read article →A quick look at a few technologies that actually deliver on the promise of making us more connected.
Read article →Dwell time—the amount of time a user spends on your page—is the key to unlocking this information and increasing your conversion rates. This article will show you how to measure and analyze dwell time using Google Analytics.
Read article →How to Stay Motivated: 5 practical tips for keep your motivation even when things get tough.
Read article →A quick look at 3 practical tips for increasing user acquisition in any business.
Read article →Marketing is getting harder, not easier. Here are 5 reasons why growth hacking is even more important in 2018.
Read article →Bootstraping and Venture Capital aren't the only ways to fund a startup. Here's a look at a middle ground.
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