When Should You Build Your Own Platform?
A while back I asked podcasters on Twitter if they have a mailing list. I got the usual smattering of answers, but one stood out: “I’m working on it.”
What stood out about this? Creating a mailing list should take an hour, tops. You pick your platform (I recommend ConvertKit), create a sign up form or landing page, and tweet it out.
But this intrepid individual wasn’t doing that. They were using a combination of WordPress and four (4!!!) plugins to create their own mailing list system…all so they could save a few bucks a month.
Now…I’m not totally against building your own platform when you need to. I’ve done it. I happen to have the skills and the knowhow to understand that what I want isn’t included with an out of the box SaaS, and if I’m going to spend time customizing a solution, I might as well make it my own.
But this did get me thinking: when should you building your own platform — especially as a creator? That’s what we’re going to explore today.
For a long time, I talked about why most creators should rent…especially at first.
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When it’s the Wrong Time (an Example)
I would argue that your own custom ESP is the wrong time to build your own platform. There are a few reasons why, but the biggest aspect is deliverability and compliance.
If you’re using a cheap server to send your emails without properly connecting it to a trusted email address, you’re going to have deliverability issues. I see it all the time with people using WordPress to send email; a lot of that email ends up in spam unless you configure your email correctly.
Now contrast that with a service like ConvertKit, which understands, implements, and educates users on deliverability. In fact, if you’re just starting out, you can use ConvertKit’s “trustworthiness” to send emails, improving your deliverability.
The other aspect I mentioned is compliance. You need to make sure you’re not accidentally spamming people, and that you’re giving them an opportunity to opt out of all emails.
Again, an ESP that specializes in this sort of thing knows what they need to do, and you can lean on them for it.
And if you don’t know about any of this stuff, you have no business rolling your own platform.
“Because of the Money” is another bad reason
In the story from the top of this piece, the reason this person on Twitter gave me was cost. This was always a toxic thought when I was in the WordPress community: “Why should I pay for something when I can just do it myself.” It implies that money is the only criterion on which something should be judged.
But if you know the issues of deliverability and compliance, you probably recognize it’s not something you should be spending your time managing.
Managing your platform takes time away from managing your business — no matter what your skill level is.
If You’re Just Starting, You Should Pay for a Solution
I remember when I first started building websites, I told my friend Steve Mekosh I wanted to “build a search engine.”
He was puzzled by this statement for two reasons — Google had dominated this space in a matter of just a few years, and it was clear I had no idea what I was talking about.
I didn’t want to build a search engine. I wanted to build a page with some info that sent search to Google (back then we called that a “portal”).
If I had set out building my own search engine, I would have learned quickly that I was wasting a ton of time and energy because I lacked experience, and didn’t understand the scope of what I was doing.
In other words, there were a lot of unknowns. It takes a lot of hubris to come in and think you can build a solution better than companies who for years have been focused on a singular mission, testing their code, and applying their lessons for all of their customers.
But paying for a solution and learning how it works allows you to gain some domain knowledge (that is, knowledge of the space), truly understand the scope of the project, and then determine if you can actually build something better.
“All I need to do is send emails” is a very naive take on ESPs.
When to Roll Your Own (an Example)
Now, that doesn’t mean you should never roll your own solution. In-face, I’ve rolled my own several times.
One example is how I’m managing my membership — admittedly a Rube Goldberg machine, but one that works for me given the constraints I had.
But most crucially: I have a ton of experience with membership sites and LMSs.
I understand the risks and pitfalls. I’ve looked at SaaS solutions. And when I made the change, I was already running an LMS that I was outgrowing.
So I used my know-how to combine the tools I was using, and roll my own solution for a membership site that allows me to share videos, articles, and podcast episodes for members in the most flexible way possible.
You Need Skills, Knowledge, and Time
So what’s your ultimate takeaway here? You probably don’t need to build your own solution — at least at first.
When people launch their first website, I rarely send them to WordPress. I tell them to start on Squarespace or Wix to easily get something out there.
Once they know what they really need from their website, it might be worth investing time and money into WordPress.
But when you do build your own solution, you’ll need a few things:
- Knowledge. You need to know what you need from a custom platform…not just what you perceive you need.
- Skills. You’ll need some skills — even if you’re not doing the building. You might need to manage the person doing the work, or have domain knowledge on the tool you’re building.
- Time or Money. Either one. You will either doing it yourself, or pay someone.
So the next time you think about taking a “shortcut” to save some money — it’s worth thinking about if you’re actually saving anything.
…especially since most tools are free to start.
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