The Situation
Live Gallery is a Windows 11 app for managing big photo libraries offline. It's built by Jonathan McNamee, a solo developer, to fill the gap Google left when it shut down Picasa in 2016.
We first spoke in March 2026, as Live Gallery was moving from early validation into a launch. A handful of Reddit posts had brought in 200+ waitlist signups without a penny spent on ads, so people clearly wanted it. Jonathan also had a second product in mind and a consultancy of his own to run.
The Problem
Jonathan is a developer, and by his own description a non-marketer. Marketing was landing on top of building the product, and the waitlist hadn't heard from him in months.
With two products on the go, there was also a real risk of spreading his focus too thin. The beta date was set, and nothing was in place to turn a list of interested strangers into users.
What I Did
I started with a plan instead of a list of tactics. It put Live Gallery first and the next product after it, so every hour went where it would count most.
Then I went through the market data and the waitlist survey answers with Jonathan to test his assumptions. The research confirmed the core problem: people with huge, unmanaged photo libraries have no modern replacement for Picasa or Windows Live Photo Gallery. It also showed strong resistance to subscriptions, which shaped the push towards a lifetime offer. And it turned up search demand for those replacement terms that almost nobody was answering well.
That gave me the positioning: the modern, offline-first Picasa replacement for Windows. I updated the website around it ahead of the beta and wrote SEO metadata for the searches Picasa users had been making for years.
Next, I built the waitlist nurture sequence that turned signups into beta downloads, written in Jonathan's voice. I timed SEO blog posts and social content to the launch, including build-in-public posts for developer and indie founder communities.
As the work went on, I took over his email campaigns and day-to-day marketing direction. I started feeding back on the app's interface too, with wireframes and renders to work ideas through. I also helped shape the offer, positioning and pricing for his consultancy, Digital Strategy and Insights.
The Outcome
The free beta launched in June 2026. Live Gallery is pre-revenue, so the useful numbers are the leading ones. Site traffic peaked at a 154% increase over May to August, and the mailing list averaged a 35 to 40% open rate. The Picasa replacement blog post hit a 42% open rate and an 18.5% click rate when it went to the list, and the site now ranks for Picasa and Windows Live Gallery searches.
Handing the marketing over saved Jonathan around 10 hours a week to spend on the product and partnerships. He now has a clear playbook to make decisions from.
In Jonathan's words: "Jamie operates like a true partner: senior strategic thinking, reliable execution, and no hand-holding required."