AI-gen.meme

The Challenge

Memes are an engaging form of communication, but creating memes requires a mix of creativity, image editing skills, and the right tools. There may be an opportunity to simplify this process using AI by automating the entire workflow: from generating meme ideas with text prompts to creating images and editing text directly on the platform.

The challenge was tapping into what could be a niche audience of meme enthusiasts, social media managers, and content creators looking to save time and effort. Riding the wave of AI innovation, the goal was to position this tool as a solution for creative efficiency and capitalize on the curiosity around new AI applications.

The Solution

To solve the problem, I developed an intuitive platform where users could simply write a context prompt, and the system would generate a complete meme. Users could edit the text content or resize it before downloading or sharing their creation on social media.

The platform was built using Next.js for its flexibility and performance. OpenAI’s APIs powered text and image generation, while Firebase Auth and Firestore managed user authentication and database functionality. Images were stored and processed with Cloudinary. Subscriptions and payments management were handled by Stripe.

The payment plans included a free trial of 30 credits (enough for three memes) and a paid plan at $7.99/month for 1,000 monthly credits.

The marketing strategy centered around posting consistently on social media, with a focus on niche groups and communities interested in AI, memes and creative image generation tools. The goal was to spark conversations, generate traffic, and convert interested users into paying subscribers.

Results

The platform functioned as planned, but the results revealed a gap between idea and execution:

• Low Social Media Engagement: Posts on social media and niche forums didn’t generate the buzz I had hoped for, resulting in limited traffic.
• Few Sign-Ups, Minimal Usage: While a handful of users signed up for the free trial, actual engagement with the platform was low.

On reflection, it became clear that the interest in AI-powered meme generation wasn’t as strong as anticipated. I also lacked a personal connection to the target audience. I’m not passionate about memes, and I found myself questioning the utility of the solution I had built. Without a clear market demand or my own enthusiasm, the project lost momentum.

Read more about my lessons from this project here.