StudentHub+

How use-case marketing I did generated 2000+ downloads on a Notion template

Background

I met Dan, the co-founder and CEO of Plus, at the Notion Seattle meetup hosted in November 2023.

At the time, Plus offered a software solution called ‘Snapshots’ that enabled users to monitor various websites in real-time using widgets that could embed into online documents in Google Docs and Notion.

The idea was that you could pull information from many disparate sources of information into one place by using any number of Snapshots.

After the event, Dan asked me to create a template in the popular note-taking tool Notion that would show students how they could leverage this ‘Snapshot’ feature to stay on top of their work.

Strategy

I’d been in the Notion community for a few years now and had organized my own schoolwork using various systems and templates.

I realized that if a system is too complex, no one (including myself) would use it– so I had to strike a balance of showing off Plus’ Snapshot feature while keeping everything functional.

The template is mainly powered by Snapshots of learning management software Canvas.

In addition to a comprehensive place to track all class assignments, I also added a course planner, a group project survival guide, and a Google Calendar Snapshot.

Finally, to tie everything together, I recorded a video tutorial explaining how to set up the template for the first time and use it effectively.

Reflection

This template has 2038 downloads on Gumroad at the time of viewing and 2537 page views, implying that this template was shared by people who downloaded it to people who hadn’t.

As a project, it was relatively simple but it was my first foray into freelancing and the first money I made on the internet that wasn’t official employment with a company.

I still sometimes remind myself that I wouldn’t have landed this opportunity if I hadn’t gone out of my way to go to the Seattle Notion meetup!

If you’re curious about the template, you can download it for free at https://danatplus.gumroad.com/l/studenthub.