Finally, in my local paper

Page ten. Full page, in both the Eastern Daily Press and the Norwich Evening News.

It took three pitches. The first two went nowhere. No reply, no explanation. Nothing about the story improved between attempt one and attempt three. I just kept sending it.

I bought a few copies.

Other people telling it

For nine months I was the only person telling this story. The blog was me. The videos were me. Every post explaining what I'd built was me too.

Last month, other people started picking it up.

After the paper, I rang Future Radio. I'd barely got my name out before they said, are you the bus driver? They'd seen the piece. That was the easiest pitch I've ever made, and I didn't really make it.

They put me on air. Norwich Today, in their studio, with Mike Stevens. It was booked for half an hour and ran for forty minutes.

And I nearly got my first paying client. A friend wanted a custom football kit builder, where you pick your colours, see it on the shirt and order it. I'd have put it together with Shopify and Kickflip. We shook on it.

Then he worked out what he could actually afford, and it wasn't that. No hard feelings, and I'd rather find that out before the work than after. But it's the first time I've had to put a price on what I do and watch someone decide it was too much.

Getting in front of the camera

When I started posting on TikTok it was all text on screen. No face, no voice. Last month I switched to face-to-camera.

It's a small thing that took a while. Text on screen was me hiding behind the app.

The honest bit

None of that has put many users on SniffCheck or Toolwise. Being written about isn't the same as being downloaded. It's closer to someone taking a photo of you standing at the bottom of the mountain, looking up.

The unglamorous half is where the actual work is. SEO, which means making sure my site comes up when someone searches for what I do, got me five clicks last month. Five. Not nothing, but not much either. That's the bit nobody films.

I'm also still looking for testers for Salon. Google Play makes you run a closed test before you're allowed to launch, and I need real people on real phones to do it. If you've got an Android and you're willing to take part, get in touch. It's not much work, and it's the thing standing between the app and the shop.

Page ten is a long way from where I started, even if it's not the finish.