I Can't Afford Ads for My SaaS, So I'm Trying This Instead.
The Product
I built and launched my own SaaS product, PostPulsar: https://post-pulsar.com.
It uses AI to help content creators repurpose blog posts into social‑media content, saving hours of work. I’m genuinely proud of it.
The Hard Part: Marketing
As a developer, my first instinct is to solve problems with code, not with marketing campaigns.
Being based in Brazil added another layer of difficulty.
Wall #1 – The Time Sink
- I’d rather spend time improving the product than juggling five different social‑media platforms.
- PostPulsar was created to solve my own lack of time for social media, yet getting the word out requires a different kind of effort.
Wall #2 – The “Currency Wall”
- A modest ad budget of, say, $200/month sounds reasonable in USD.
- Converting that to Brazilian Real (BRL) makes the cost astronomical—like racing with fuel that costs 5× more than everyone else’s.
- Paid advertising, the default growth engine for most SaaS, becomes unaffordable.
The Pivot: From “Buying” Customers to “Partnering” with Creators
Instead of paying giant ad platforms, I decided to pay the people who actually believe in the product and bring in customers.
- Affiliate program: a performance‑based model where everyone wins.
- No upfront cost for me; affiliates earn only when they generate paying customers.
Invitation to Join the Affiliate Program
I’m sharing this story on Dev.to because this community of builders, creators, and marketers understands the grind. If you have an audience of developers, consider becoming an affiliate.
- Commission: 30 % recurring on every customer you refer.
- Platform: PromoteKit
Sign up here: https://postpulsar.promotekit.com
It’s an experiment in community‑powered growth. Let’s see what we can build together!