I get variations of this questions all the time. The latest iteration came from a Youtube comment:

If your goal is to trade your expertise in a no-code tool for money, what tool should you specialize in? Airtable, Parabola, Softr, Zapier, Integromat, Bubble or Webflow? There are so many, how does one pick?

Suggestion #1: Narrow down the list based on your interests

My first piece of advice is to not look at "market rates" for any of these tools but instead to start with what you're interested in.

If you're like me and structured data and automations, then you should gravitate more so towards tools like Zapier, Airtable which require more back-end knowledge.

The reason I recommend to focus on interest over market size growth (present or future) is that we're so early in all of these tools. The no-code category is here to stay. Demand is high across the board! Your ability to monetize won't come from the tool itself but your expertise and ability to generate leads consistently so make sure that it's a tool you enjoy learning and building in!

Suggestion #2: Look at your existing network for interest

Product expertise is not the main blocker when starting to monetize no-code skills (or any other expertise), finding clients is. And guess what any lead you fall on is going to ask you? Reference clients vouching for your work. Therefore, I'd recommend looking at your existing network when picking the tool you'd like to specialize in. If your network is full of marketers, then Webflow is probably a better pick than Bubble. If you, like me, have a network full of tech neophytes, Airtable could make sense.  It's easier to convince someone you already know that they should take a chance on you so make sure you're maximizing your chances by picking a tool that could already serve your network.

Suggestion #3: Create an audience while learning

Continuing on the getting-clients-is-harder-than-learning-the-tool train, it's important that as a consultant you maintain a steady supply of leads. One tried and tested technique for getting eyeballs that eventually turn into leads is to give away advice for free (well, in fact, ideally advice in exchange for their email).

And what advice can you share? The tool you're learning about! You have beginner eyes just like the leads you'll eventually be consulting! Think of one thing you could share on a regular basis with others. Maybe it's the concept you learned that day or a neat trick or workaround that expanded what's possible with the tool. With consistency, you'll see a growing audience in no time.

Note that this is one example of building a steady stream of leads through content but the broader point here is that you should start thinking about how you'll create a steady stream of leads right from day one of consulting.

Those are my suggestions! We're still very very early in the no-code world so go ahead and pick whatever tool you enjoy the most and focus on figuring out how you're going to generate leads. Picking the tool and learning it is the easy part!