Silvio Bompan

Lifecycle marketing lead @iubenda. Maker of @remoteur, a newsletter of remote jobs in Europe.

[Remoteur @remoteur]

New Remoteur is out.

Dash0, Plain, PostHog, Linear, Lago, Vercel, Better Stack and more.

20 remote jobs in Europe. Observability is hiring.

https://t.co/ClqDK9ZJSP

[Remoteur @remoteur]

New Remoteur is out.

n8n, Supabase, Vercel, PostHog, Sourcegraph, Plain and more.20 remote jobs in Europe.

A good week if you've ever been a power user of something you'd now like to work on.

https://t.co/t6Q1BHN72y

[Remoteur @remoteur]

New issue is out with 20 #remote jobs at @coderhq, @deskbirdapp, @stripe and many others.

More #jobs in #Europe on September 16th! https://t.co/Q1ny3gtVRV

[Silvio Bompan @ailith]

Tired of basic short links? 🥱

Switch to @dubdotco for links with superpowers and enjoy 20% off for 3 months! https://t.co/9gzpZKeHY4

[Remoteur @remoteur]

New issue is out with 20 #remote jobs at @cannyHQ, @PaddleHQ, @RebrandlyBuzz and many others.

Thanks to @ariadna_hq for sponsoring this email. More #jobs in #Europe on March 4! https://t.co/rGj34fKlo7

[Silvio Bompan @ailith]

Want to boost your growth and revenue in 2025?

Join @beehiiv for the Creator Growth Summit on February 26! This free event features four experts sharing strategies to help creators build and monetize their audiences. Don't miss it!

https://t.co/dScVwzlssa

[Remoteur @remoteur]

New issue is out with 20 #remote jobs at @HubSpot, @NotionHQ, @stripe and many others.

Thanks to @Join1440 for sponsoring this email (and to @beehiiv for making it so easy). More #jobs in Europe on October 29! https://t.co/U6gGmmA7J4

[Remoteur @remoteur]

New issue is out with 20 #remote jobs at @doist, @eightsleep, @Zendesk and many others.

Thanks to @Clouddevs for sponsoring this email, more #jobs in Europe on July 23! https://t.co/fV2oEQEFvq

[Silvio Bompan @ailith]

@ayewo_ Hey 👋, I guess so. This is what I see on that page

[Remoteur @remoteur]

New issue is out with 20 #remote jobs at @Grammarly, @storyblok, @typefully and many others.

Thanks to @Clouddevs for sponsoring this email, more #jobs in Europe on June 25! https://t.co/DhOAwDpIDF

[Passionfroot @passionfrootme]

Discovery is live on @ProductHunt! 🚀

🔎 Discover quality creators to promote your product

🤝 Book sponsorships directly from your workspace

💬 Streamline collabs from request, creative, to payment

We’re proud to finally launch this ultimate tool for founders and marketers to tap into creator-led growth and so they can continue to shoot for the moon! It all starts with Discovery.

We’d love your support on our launch - link in our bio and next tweet 👇

[Silvio Bompan @ailith]

🎃 Scare away legal nightmares! 👻 Protect your website this #Halloween with a custom #privacy policy and cookie banner from #iubenda 🕷️🦇🕸️ https://t.co/pDOXN3MBcd

[Silvio Bompan @ailith]

Who wants a @bluesky invite?

[Josh Garofalo @swaycopy]

Great copy moves you — even when it's about software.

Most copy isn't great, but the pre-launch copy for @jasonfried and co's Once is.

Every challenger brand (and marketer) can learn from this line-by-line breakdown 👇

---

"Something happened to business software."

Two things:

1. They pick a fight.

In the past it was @basecamp vs. Slack/email, and bloated PM tools.

Then it was @heyhey vs. Gmail and email tools that chose to pass on protecting your privacy.

Now it's Once vs. the way software is purchased and delivered.

Who is your sparring partner?

2. It's an open loop, meaning you must read on to close it.

---

"You used to pay for it once, install it, and run it. Whether on someone's computer, or a server for everyone, it felt like you owned it. And you did."

In 3 sentences, we see:

The origin of the name and thesis.

We also learn they're targeting a sophisticated buyer who has been around long enough to remember the before (SaaS) times (ht @victorpan).

---

"Today, most software is a service. Not owned, but rented. Buying it enters you into a perpetual landlord-tenant agreement. Every month you pay for essentially the same thing you had last month. And if you stop paying, the software stops working. Boom, you're evicted."

They use a familiar analogy (rent vs. own) to get to the heart of a problem they could have used complicated language to explain.

This works because rightly or wrongly, owning > renting in most peoples' minds.

---

"For nearly two decades, the SaaS model benefited landlords handsomely. With routine prayers — and payers — to the Church of Recurring Revenue, valuations shot to the moon on the backs of businesses subscribed at luxury prices for commodity services they had little control over."

Ok, there is a lot to unpack here...

First, the language:

"Routine prayers and payers"
"the Church of Recurring Revenue"

I call this "Moonshot Messaging." This is not the voice of the customer, but it (hopefully) captures the sentiment of the customer. They are taking what the market feels, then using their way with words to make it sticky.

Next, they address the elephant in the room:

We're all using SaaS tools and not complaining. Is this a solution looking for a problem?

Perhaps SaaS valuations are so ridiculous because they're right — we're overpaying month after month for the same pixels.

---

"Add up your SaaS subscriptions last year. You should own that shit by now."

Until this point, the copy's goal was to break down walls to make you receptive to their pitch.

This line is the copywriter reaching out of the screen, grabbing you by the collar, and shaking you.

This was also the right time to use profanity. I see it used poorly all of the time (e.g. in the headline of a hero section). You need to earn it, otherwise, it feels like you're using it as a crutch.

Finally, this could have been made stronger by asking the reader to multiply their annual subscription costs for the last 5 years. SaaS feels like a good deal at first, but gets expensive when you think about paying indefinitely.

---

"SaaS still makes sense for many products, but its grip will slip."

Every word in this sales letter is intentional — "grip will slip" is an example of alliteration. People hate on it because it jumps off of the page, "Great copy is invisible."

Nonsense.

Also, this line is essential because let's not forget — Basecamp and Hey are SaaS products.

---

"Installation and administration used to be hopelessly complicated, but self-hosting tech is simpler now and vastly improved."

It's not enough to identify a problem and propose a solution. You must also show what has changed to make your proposed solution feasible.

Tell people why now is the time to solve this problem in this way.

---

"Plus, IT departments are hungry to run their own IT again, tired of being subservient to Big Tech's reign clouds."

This is juicy...

They name their ICP (IT) and pick at a wound that has been open and salted and lemon juiced for over a decade.

IT wants their power and control back. They are tired of being associated with troubleshooting boomer work computers.

And come on, "Big Tech's reign clouds." Beautiful. Could they have made this more clear by being literal? Yes. Would you feel anything? No.

There is a time and place to sacrifice clear for clever. That time is when you're willing to the roll the dice in exchange for a shot at being memorable.

---

"Once upon a time you owned what you paid for, you controlled what you depended on, and your privacy and security were your own business. We think it's that time again."

Rhythm matters.

Great copy is more than saying the right things. It's more than choosing the right words. It's structuring your sentences in a way that sings. Rhythm.

It makes the reader go from skimming to reading in the voice of Morgan Freeman.

This is also the perfect time to use rhythm, because the next line introduces the product. You're ready for it now.

---

"Introducing ONCE, a new line of software products from 37signals.

- Pay one time, own forever.
- We write the code, you get to see it.
- We give you the software, you get to host it.
- Simple and straightforward, not enterprises and bloated.
- For one fixed price. Once."

First, they use the word "Once" in each of the previous three paragraphs. You can feel the buildup — like a crescendo.

Second, if you doubted their ICP, it's crystal clear now. Only IT considers seeing code and hosting software a benefit.

This is a bet that where IT has sway, Once has a chance of displacing some of their SaaS subscriptions.

---

"We'll be launching the first product late 2023, with more coming in 2024."

At the end of this letter, they let you opt in for notifications.

Here's what else will happen if this is anything like the pre-launch of Hey — they'll start gathering feedback and valuable voice-of-customer data leading up to the launch.

Then, they'll use what they learn to launch with an amazing website everyone will talk about.

Most companies need to be live with paying customers before they can get this kind of voice-of-customer. This team knows how to come out of the gates with it.

---

"In the early 2000s, we were among the early pioneers leading the industry into the SaaS revolution. Now, 20 years later, we intend to help lead the way out. The post-SaaS era is just around the corner."

Closing with credibility.

You can name the problem, propose a solution, and make a case that now is the time, and still not have enough.

You must also prove why YOU are the right person to solve this problem in this way. They do this here.

They also introduce the term "the post-SaaS era" — a term you know marketers and VCs will run with.

---

"P.S. Be notified when we launch the first product. We'll destroy the list after the announcement, and it won't be used for anything else."

Including a P.S. is always smart — it gets read.

The piece about destroying the list is key for their ICP — it shows this team is on their side.

And, like I said previously, this opens the door for email exchanges, the contents of which ensure they launch with a website that nails it.

---

TLDR:

1. Pick a fight. You launched the 23rd product in your category because "they" were doing it wrong. Lean into it. Plant a flag. FIGHT.

2. Hit the major points. What's the problem? Who should care? Pick at their pain. What's the solution? Why are you the right person to solve it? Open lines of communication before you launch.

3. Pay attention to detail. Great copy isn't always invisible. You know they are trying to make you feel something. You know they are trying to sell you an idea today and a product tomorrow. But you read it anyway.

---

If you read this, you are my people.

I've helped 100+ SaaS companies with research, positioning, messaging, and copy over the last decade. I share what I've learned from these reps.

Follow me to follow along.

[Silvio Bompan @ailith]

Google Universal Analytics stops working today, July 1st.

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[Talia Wolf @TaliaGw]

11 Email subject line formulas made to convert:
(Use these once you’ve clearly defined your reader, and know what their goals are)
🧵

[Gia Laudi @ggiiaa]

It's FINALLY book launch day 😅🎊

As of writing the Kindle / e-reader is $1 so it's an easy grab (and read and review 😆)

We are ridiculously grateful + humbled at the idea of this thing being in the world.

If you're new a little backstory + why you might want to grab it👇

[Silvio Bompan @ailith]

@biodotlink https://t.co/xTLAtkkF8x

[Bio Link @biodotlink]

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Just RT & drop your https://t.co/DQfwu3J4ZV in replies to participate 👉👈

Also, follow me so I can DM you 💛

[Silvio Bompan @ailith]

@beehiiv Hey folks, big fan here: are you going to support @usefathom at some point? I definitely don’t want to use GA 😇