My strategy to survive the generative AI era as an indie developer

It's amazing to have a small business, such a small business, running over seven years. Then you can't ignore the recent generative AI emergencies. How come should you still use apps written by humans? The answer, I think, could be emotions. That's the AI can't do, at least at the moment. I don't know any other indie developers doing this strategy. I'd rather lose them than regretting not doing what I love. Hey, what's up? It's Takuya here. Welcome back to my channel. It's been a while. Let me talk about my app Inkdrop, which is a Markdown note-taking app I've been building over seven years. Recently, I decided to change its pricing from $5 per month to $10 per month. I doubled the pricing. I'd like to talk about why I decided to proceed with it. For those who are interested in the reasons behind this change, I explained them on the user forum here. Please check it out if you're interested. In this video, I'd like to delve into more details about the third reason. That is my journey as a content creator and indie developer. Let's get right into it. As you may know, I started this YouTube channel for marketing my app. This is I'm so thrilled that it got about 200,000 subscribers, which is so nice and cool. I've noticed that people watch my videos not just for the content, but because they find motivation and inspiration in them. Their feedback indicates that they appreciate the vibe I bring. It was an eye-opening experience for me. Learning, coding, and creating can often be solitary pursuits. We all need something to motivate and encourage us through the loneliness and lethargy to start and continue working. I hope my content serves that purpose for some. As an indie developer of a tech note-taking app, I see this as an opportunity to add value to my product. While it may seem vague, I want to infuse my app with the same vibes that inspire my content. It means that I'm going to build a brand for my app. Sound strange? Why do I need building a brand for Inkdrop? I would like to keep my business sustainable. Then you can't ignore the recent generative AI emergencies such as ChatGPT and Midjourney in the next 5 years. They will surely replace large parts of our work and our apps as well. I already can't live without ChatGPT for my work. Then how come should you still use apps written by humans? For instance, fashion is a strange business, despite all items essentially serving basic functions like protecting from cold, facilitating walking. There is an incredible number of brands, and the market is vast. For example, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton has a market of capitalization surpassing that of Toyota, which is amazing. The demand in this sector is driven by emotional elements. High-end brands excel in handling aspects of human sociability and self-esteem beyond just external functionality. If clothing was sold merely for functional aspects like comfort, the market wouldn't be this large. While AI is becoming increasingly proficient

in handling functional aspects, dealing with emotional aspects is still a long way off. Given their complexity, which even humans struggle to manage, the approach of high-end brands adept in handling both functional and emotional aspects can be very informative for app developers moving forward. So, I've been studying fashion brands to clarify my idea. In my videos, you may have noticed that I often wear clothes by Yoji Yamamoto. His style combines traditional Japanese elements without being overly traditional. Wearing his designs, I feel motivated and encouraged. Yamamoto's philosophy includes messages like, Be yourself. You are okay. Let's do something bad together. Let's step a little outside the morals of society. He incorporates the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi into his fashion. This is amazing. I'm deeply inspired by his philosophy and beliefs. Wearing his clothing feels like adopting his ideology, which motivates me. This concept of brand is what I want to emulate in software. In an era where AI can infinitely generate content, the importance of conveying human touch and appealing to emotions becomes crucial. This is the challenge I would like to tackle this year. So, how can I implement these emotions into my app? I've been successful to deal with emotions by sharing my story on my indie development journey on my blog. That's one of the key reasons why my app could keep going over the past seven years. Because people like to join someone else's story. I think I can take it a step further by using video content. I believe that my videos will motivate you while Inkdrop will help you take action. By posting content where I learn and create things using Inkdrop, I hope to inspire and ignite your creativity. This synergy of inspiration and action would be the core value I could offer through both my app and content. The emotion that my app wants to deal with is motivations. In other words, I'd like to make you feel motivated when using my app. So, let me say again, coding, learning coding and creating can often be solitary pursuits. So, you feel lonely. Yeah, I feel it, too. By incorporating my productive vibes into my app, it should be able to help you navigate and overcome these challenges. That's the AI can't do, at least at the moment. So, yes, this is going to be hard. Because I don't know any other indie developers doing this strategy. Do you know anyone doing this? But at the same time, it's gonna be an exciting journey. So, that's one of the reasons I decided to increase the pricing of Inkdrop. Since I have to focus on the narrow niche for my fans. I understand some people might stop subscribing, but I'd rather lose them than regretting not doing what I love. Yes, let me try it. Now, what exactly am I planning to do for branding my app? That's gonna be fun. Well, currently, Inkdrop doesn't have any onboarding video tutorials. So

I'm planning to make some videos for new users, but in a slightly different way. Have you heard of the term, edutainment? I recently came across it. It means educational entertainment, which helps to make learning fun. This is exactly the style of video content that I've been publishing here. You can learn how to code while enjoying the vibes. And learning how to use apps is basically boring, right? But by making edutainment videos, you can enjoy learning how to use my app. To accomplish that, I've been seeking a new video style for making tutorials. And here's a sneak peek of the style. Please note that it is a prototype. So, that's what I'm trying to do for branding. Can't wait to share the new content this year. Would you like to join me on this journey? So, that's the new challenge for me. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section down below. Yeah, thank you for watching. See you in the next one. Peace.