Thread by @matsugfx

How I made over $33,000 on the @figmadesign plugin without writing a single line of code 👈

Read in the thread below 🧵

I'm a product designer and I specialize in creating design systems and component libraries in @figmadesign. Design Systems are becoming so popular because they make products more consistent, accessible, improve their usability, and reduce design decision-making.

After a great success of my previous products antforfigma.com and systemflow.co I decided to create an educational resource to teach people how to design such systems. I wanted to show my way of doing this step-by-step.

I had this idea of a plugin for Figma, a workbook that will teach people how to build their own modern design system from scratch.

"But why not a video course? Video courses are so popular in education!" You may say.

I often find that when I watch a lesson I forget most of the things the author mentioned in the long video. Another problem is jumping between the video player and the software I'm learning.

It distracts me a lot. That's why in Figmaster everything happens in Figma - without jumping between 3rd party apps/websites, without pausing the video, etc.

OK, cool! I have an idea that I think is great.

But how do I know if people will like this form of learning? How do I know if my audience wants to learn how to build their own design system? 🤔

I had to validate it somehow because I didn't want to write all lessons without knowing that!

👉 I wanted to have at least 500 people on the email list to launch the pre-order.

👉 I wanted to have at least 100 pre-orders to start working on a full course.

Since I'm not a JS developer and I don't know how to code plugins I decided I'll create two demo lessons in Figma (as a design file) just to see if people will like this 'reading and doing' approach.

I've set up a simple landing page in @webflow and added a @ConvertKit form to collect emails of students who got the demo lesson.

I sent out the email about the first demo lesson to my audience on @gumroad . On the first day, over 350 people signed up. In the meantime, I was preparing the second demo lesson and also sent out a survey to students who got the first lesson to collect feedback.

After the release of the second lesson, I had over 650 students on my list. At this point, I started preparing:

👉 pre-order marketing

👉 the design system preview that my students will build during the cour

👉 full course curriculum

👉 landing page

👉 pricing plan

Three weeks after launching the second lesson, I've announced the pre-order and started selling on @gumroad.

👉 the price for the solo license was $49 (now it's $99)

👉 the price for the team license was $99 (now it's $299)

👉 the sale window was 2 weeks

👉 I informed my audience that if we won't reach 100 pre-orders I will refund them and the project won't happen

The pre-order has ended with 191 sales and I started working on the full course.

👉 I designed the plugin

👉 I hired a developer to code it

👉 I wrote the content for the first module of the course

👉 I redesigned the landing page and recorded a hero video

After two weeks of hard work, I launched the plugin, the first module of the course, and the new website. Today, five modules of the course are finished. Up until now, I sold over 390 copies. 🔥

What is more, the project was the #1 Product of the Day with over 700 upvotes on @ProductHunt on May 11th. I will prepare a separate thread on how I achieved that too.

I want to thank @greg_rog and @gregdlubacz for their continuous support during the project.

Also, I want to say thanks to @thalion_pb @FigmaPlugins @FigmaHunt for all the retweets, likes, and kind words.

Costs:
🔻 Plugin development: 1150 USD
🔻 ConvertKit: 49 USD (monthly), 250 USD (so far)
🔻 Webflow hosting: 288 USD (year)

If you have questions about the project feel free to comment! If you enjoyed this thread, please retweet, like, and give me a follow 🙏 I'm planning to share more soon! 🔥