Side Project Making 10k a Month

About

Textbelt is a simple API for sending SMS programmatically.

The Team

Ian Webster started the first version of Textbelt in 2012 as an open-source project. Textbelt was initially a side project and continues to be one for Ian Webster.

Reference:

• https://textbelt.com/about/
• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21389776

Business Model & Revenue

Textbelt charges users based on the number of SMS messages they send. The pricing is flat and does not vary based on the mobile carrier or the country to which they are sending messages.

The highest recorded revenue month for Textbelt was over $10,000 in May 2023.

Reference:

• https://www.indiehackers.com/product/textbelt/revenue

Traffic

The top inbound traffic channels are Direct, Google, and Github. Let's delve into each of these channels.

Direct

Direct traffic indicates that Textbelt has established a strong brand and has likely gained a good reputation within the developers' community.

Google

Initially, one might think that SEO played a significant role in generating traffic. However, when we examine the keywords, we find that the major keywords driving traffic are "textbelt," "text belt," and "textbelt.com." These keywords are not necessarily indicative of useful search terms bringing in traffic. Instead, they suggest that people already know about Textbelt and are trying to find its website link on Google.

Github

Textbelt started as an open-source project on Github and later transitioned to offer both free and paid versions. This approach has become increasingly popular in the developer market, where tools begin as free/open-source projects and, once they gain traction, the creators release premium versions.

Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js
• Frontend: Vanilla JavaScript