In June 2023, I launched SwiftCover, an AI tool that generates personalized cover letters. It’s now got thousands of users and is profitable. Here’s the no-nonsense version of how I did it.
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<li>Start Simple, Build Resilient
I could’ve overcomplicated things from the start—adding features like saving, sharing, or refining cover letters. But none of that matters if users aren’t creating cover letters in the first place. I zeroed in on a specific problem: people who’ve already written a solid cover letter but are stuck tweaking it for each job. The solution? Three steps: paste your old cover letter, paste the job description, paste the company description. Done. That’s it.</li>
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The tool has to work perfectly every time—no bugs, no issues. It’s simple, but it has to be bulletproof. Resilience is non-negotiable.
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<li>
Remove Barriers to Entry and Use Intelligent Paywalls
I made it dead simple for users to see results without jumping through hoops. No sign-ups, no credit cards—just straight to the point. The steps I highlighted in step 1 are accessible as soon as you land on the page. Once created, they see the first 25% of their cover letter for free. If they want the rest, they sign up. They get one more free cover letter to prove the quality isn’t a fluke. After that, they pay. By then, they know what they’re paying for and have invested enough time to convert at a high rate. Zero barriers to entry is a testament to why my conversion rates are so high and why I’ve had zero disputes or refunds.
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<li>
Leverage Communities for Organic Growth
I didn’t spend a dime on marketing. Instead, I tapped into communities like Reddit, Product Hunt, and AI tool scrapers. People trust recommendations from real users, so I initiated the conversations and discussions and let them do the talking. All my traction is organic—no ads, just word of mouth and user-generated buzz.
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Bottom Line
SwiftCover’s success boils down to three things: start simple yet make it work flawlessly, remove barriers to entry, and let communities drive your growth. If you try the tool and have feedback, let me know.
P.S: Yes I did create the cover letter image with AI :)
<a href="https://swiftcover.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">https://swiftcover.ai/</a>

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SwiftCover is an AI tool for generating personalized cover letters that has gained thousands of users and become profitable. Key to its success: keeping the tool simple and resilient, eliminating barriers to entry, and leveraging online communities for organic growth. Users can try the tool without sign-ups or credit cards and see part of their cover letter for free before deciding to pay.

How I Built an AI Tool That Has Thousands of Users and Generates Passive Income

“The tool has to work perfectly every time—no bugs, no issues. It’s simple, but it has to be bulletproof. Resilience is non-negotiable.”
How did you approach this? Prompt outputs are non-deterministic so it’s very hard to error free results every time. Even the best LLM providers have thresholds for toxicity, factual accuracy, etc.
What was your approach to getting your tool to work perfectly every time? How did you handle sub-par responses from the LLM or nonsensical outputs?

Awesome, thanks for the insights. I am currently working on my first AI tool as well which will be tree to use. I first want to see if users will even be interested in it :)

Thanks for sharing this. It’s the simple apps that solve 1 problem (or a limited set of problems) that people like and are willing to pay for it.