Optimize for usage, not just sales

Do any of these sound familiar?

“I ordered the book, but never read it.” “I bought this app, but I never logged in.” “I backed it on Kickstarter, but it just sat in its box.” “I got the upgrade, but I kept using the old version.”

As product people, we make things so people will use them.

And yet, we optimize a lot of our marketing around merely getting the sale.

But “getting the sale” isn’t enough.

You can’t build a sustainable business on one sale. You need customers to come back; otherwis...