New domain who dis?
IntroCave is now Intro Maker (and https://intromaker.com)
I started negotiating for https://intromaker.com before closing on IntroCave back in 2018. My thinking at the time was pretty simple: if this website can rank okay and make pretty good money on a pretty average name and brand, a better domain and brand should be able to make even more money.
Though the traffic is currently taking a big hit (down around 60% since making the switch), I'm confident that this is the right long-term decision.
Why not make the move sooner?
Buying a business in 2018 felt insanely risky, and I felt like I needed to earn back most of the starting capital before I could start taking bigger risks. I'm still not 100% recouped yet, but it's getting pretty close. Selling a business has also gotten a lot easier since 2018, mostly thanks to MicroAcquire. Even taking a big risk, the business is unlikely to go to $0. If moving domains turns out to be a permanent 60% decrease in revenue, the remaining business is still strong enough to take to market and get more cash back if I ever get tired of running it. I can take more risks because the asset is more liquid.
I actually did start down this path last fall, commissioning the excellent @Larkef (Jord Riekwel) to do a new logo for Intro Maker.
And then I sat on it for about a year.
I wasn't completely sure at the time whether I was going to build a new product for Intro Maker or migrate IntroCave to the new domain. I have some strong feelings about how to build a downloadable intro maker that I'd still like to explore, but ultimately I think that product can live together with the intro-maker-formerly-known-as-IntroCave. IntroCave's backend was still a huge mess (I hadn't finished my render pipeline rebuild), and I just wasn't sure I wanted to go "all in" on the online intro maker.
Even though it doesn't change much for most users of the site, getting those render upgrades finished turned out to be a pretty big deal. The old system could be temperamental with logos, which was like... its one job. Day-to-day maintenance tasks and customer support have gotten tremendously easier. Creating and modifying content has gotten tremendously easier.
That has freed up a bunch of time to focus on content and new features (like subscription plans, 4k renders, domain migration!).
I made a list of everything I needed to do to migrate the domain, and it was a pretty daunting list. After realizing it would take months to finish all those tasks, I decided a perfect launch wasn't worth the delay.
I spent about a day updating colors and logos and pushed it live about three weeks ago.
My list of stuff I should do was only about 30% of the stuff I actually need to do. It will take months to clear the current task list, and I'm constantly adding new tasks to that list.
It's worth it, though! It has been such a relief to not have that decision hanging over my head, and I'm excited to see what happens with the new domain!
New Videos for October 2021
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Bar Graph Logo
Financial projections look good for you logo and subtitle.
Bar Graph Square Logo
Financial projections look good for your 1:1 logo.
Bar Graph Text
Financial projections look good for your title and subtitle.
Spinning Broadcast Logo
Corporate logo reveal with a sense of drama (rectangle + subtitle).
Spinning Broadcast Circle Logo
Corporate logo reveal with a sense of drama (square/circle).
Spinning Broadcast Text
Corporate text reveal with a sense of drama (title + subtitle).
Digital Squares Logo
Versatile digital logo reveal — news, technology, business.
Digital Squares Text
Versatile digital title reveal — news, technology, business.
Draft Sketch Logo
Your logo and subtitle appear against a sketched drawing of buildings.
Draft Sketch Circle Logo
Your large round logo and subtitle appear against a sketched drawing of buildings.
Draft Sketch Text
Your title and subtitle appear against a sketched drawing of buildings.
Teleport - Logo
Now with a square logo and a subtitle.