How did you acquire your first 100 paying customers?
Sandy Kong
63 replies
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AndrĂŠ J@sentry_co
By making an awesome product đ¸
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@sentry_co The growth potential of a product is fundamentally determined by its awesomeness. However, the challenge lies in how to initially create awareness among people about the product.
@sandy_kong For meehhh products. that's a challenge. For awesome products it is not. Just share it and people will like it so much that they will tell their friends. Organic marketing.
By engaging with relevant communities where my target audience hangs out both offline and online. On the web , such as online forums, social media groups, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, etc. Offline would be networking events.
Quite a few from Product Hunt because Product Hunt is a platform where tech lovers gather and support the newcomers in the industry. Being featured on it can boost your traffic and attract some new clients
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@dsarkar Thanks for the sharing. I completely agree. Product Hunt is the ultimate traffic channel for new products to attract their first wave of users.
How you have been prioritizing your efforts when it comes to utilizing online channels?online forums, social media groups, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, etc.
@sandy_kong I track the key metrics that indicate how well each channel is performing for my SaaS business, such as traffic, leads, conversions, cost per acquisition, customer lifetime value, retention rate, churn rate, etc. I also compare the results across channels and identify the ones that have the highest return on investment (ROI) and the lowest customer acquisition cost (CAC). Based on my analysis, I adjust my strategy and allocate more resources to the most effective channels. Right now the mix is something like this:
content marketing (25-35%), SEO (15-25%), social media marketing (10-20%), PPC (15-25%), influencer marketing (5-15%), and email marketing (10-20%)
DesignEminence
@abdu_agial You'll do great!
DesignEminence
Skylead
We used our software for LinkedIn outreach and offered the first 50 people a beta lifetime price so they could test it out and see how it works. We gathered feedback for about a month from them and implemented features that they though were essential for them, and we then continued using LinkedIn to get new clients with the normal price.
@relja_denic I would be interested in that LinkedIn sortware. I'm at the early stages of growign my business and I believe it could really help to leverage LinkedIn. Woud you please tell me, is this a proprietary inhouse product or can anyone buy/use it?
@relja_denic great stuff!
What is the price of your product? I thought cold outreach efforts are worth efforts when selling some high-ticket products. What do you think of it?
Skylead
@evgeny_kotelevskiy It's $100 per month. In the beginning of the business, it's not true, cold outreach is the most cheap way to get first customers and get the word out for your product.
Afterward, it depends on the cost of the sales team and the revenue they generate. Yeah for lower-ticket products it's probably not going to be the best way to get clients but it doesn't mean it can't work.
Skylead
@glenfish https://skylead.io/ we're launching 3.0 on 12th of October with new features :D
@relja_denic awesome ill be watching for the release - i hope you offer a lifetime deal for the 3.0 release to PH peeps
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If you read $100M from Alex Hormozi, you'll know how to acquire the first one hundred being customers
Most of it is contacting your close friends, colleagues and family members and not ask them to buy directly but ask them if they know somebody who might be interested in your product
So you're not directly pitching them but asking them if they know somebody
MindPal
Launching soon!
Product Hunt and after-launch effects thanks to free features in AI newsletters and directories
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@sylviangth Thanks for the sharing! Are there any AI newsletters that you can recommend, which they can promote my product WorkGPT for free? I have listed my website on an AI Directories website and it has been consistently driving traffic to my site.
ProductAI
Through SEO and niche forums.
We identified or target group and targeted them on Linkedin groups, through Reddit and also Producthunt.
Scade.pro
Basically, our first clients are coming through UGC platforms and influencer marketing. It's been quite effective so far
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@nikogermish What was the UGC platforms you were using? Did you spend money on influencer marketing and how did you manage the budget?
Happy customers can be your best salespeople. We encouraged referrals through a referral program that rewarded both the referrer and the new customer.
By SEO and kol marketing
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@sylvia_sheng Thanks for the sharing! Which influencers on which platform did you collaborate with?
@sandy_kong Influencers on Tiktok
I summoned them using a magic spell that combined SEO, social media sorcery, and a sprinkle of viral charm. đđŽâ¨
SEO + Influencers
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@sandy_kong yes, I can do it) i have my own agency)
Troubled by this question. I've followed you and hoped to engage in further communication.
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@derrick_law Sure:) Let's get connected on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sand...
@sandy_kong Thanks. Requested.
Incentive at first and invite as many as possible users to come. As long as the product can help, it will have some paid customer. The amount then depends on product itself, include some extra service.
Out of curiosity, I too had a similar questions. Does anybody use tools such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo.io, or ContactBird (for twitter)?
Any guidance would be much appreciated.
When I initially embarked on my journey with a one-time fee product, I had no budget available for marketing, not even a single cent! Consequently, I approached a friend and asked to borrow $100 so that I could utilize it for promoting my product on YouTube. Remarkably, I managed to secure the top 1st to 3rd positions on YouTube for several keywords related to my product. This achievement proved to be a turning point, as I consistently chose YouTube as my primary marketing platform and successfully acquired over 20,000 customers for my product.
I developed my application entirely on my own, without hiring anyone or seeking the services of a designer. It was a simple software theme that I used to kickstart my sales efforts.
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@sandy_kong I use that money to create promotional videos and bought some views to push it on recommendation.
Arbonum
DesignEminence
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Certainly, acquiring the first 100 paying customers is a crucial milestone for any business. For us, the journey was built on a multi-pronged approach:
Leveraging Existing Networks: Initially, we reached out to our existing professional and personal networks to introduce our AI-driven health recommendation API. Word-of-mouth within these circles generated our first set of customers.
Targeted Outreach: We identified key businesses that would benefit from our service and conducted direct outreach to decision-makers. We used LinkedIn and industry events for these efforts.
Partnerships: Forming strategic alliances with businesses in adjacent industries helped us extend our reach. Our partners, in turn, introduced our services to their customer base.
Content Marketing: We invested in producing high-quality, scientifically-backed content that not only provided value but also showcased our expertise. This attracted businesses looking for a credible solution.
Free Trials: Offering a limited-time free trial gave potential clients a risk-free way to experience our capabilities. A significant percentage of these trials converted into paying customers.
Customer Success Stories: Early adopters who achieved significant results with our platform were turned into case studies. These stories provided social proof and attracted more customers.
Referral Program: A referral incentive program was introduced, encouraging existing customers to refer new businesses to us, further accelerating customer acquisition.
By harmonizing these strategies, we were able to build a strong initial customer base, setting the stage for scalable growth.
@timo_spring I like this answer a lot. We've been calling it the "many spinning discs" but this is effectively the list we're working with right now to gain our first 100 paying customers.
DesignEminence
@timo_spring thanks for sharing
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@brianhurst happy to hear and support when needed! Cheers
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@abdu_agial you are welcome!
watermark phd
After the MVP version of the app went live, I got my first hundred paying users through google ads and Apple asa.
SEO and paid ads
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@sandy_kong yea true SEO is a long term and hard slog - there are ways you can speed it up though - for example using expired domains or buy small "supporting" sites. That being said I have used paid ads (around $20 per day) in the beginning to test if the idea can attract paying customers.
This is a million dollar question for sure.
My opinion:
- subreddits
- product hunt
- newsletter
- influencer marketing for reach
- google ads with seo
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@abidur_ai I am constantly amazed by the incredible value that Reddit brings as a traffic channel. It is often overlooked and underrated, but in my opinion, it is truly worth to spend time and effort with.
Are there any newsletters that you can recommend, which they can promote my product WorkGPT for free?
DesignEminence
@abidur_ai very interesting