How did you land your first paying customer?

Question

I’ll go first. My first paid user came from a Twitter DM. When the product was first launched, I reached out to users of a competitor for a trial to validate if there was a market for the product, and they provided very helpful feedback.

I think it's important to directly connect with users in the early stage, but that’s not always the case. I’d love to hear your stories!

Cici Yu · Accepted Answer

@mkotsollaris Most of our traffic comes from content marketing. We create product tutorials and share them on social media and our website.

Congrats! Looks like your organic growth is going well. We're also working on that!

Yaokai Jiang · Answer

DMs can be a double-edged sword though. Too much energy spent on each, you run yourself into the ground. Too little, then it's equivalent to spamming. Delicate balance, very difficult to get right.

muhammad ali · Answer

Great to hear that Cici. I got my first vintage ring store client through Upwork

Yaokai Jiang · Answer

@new_user___2572024fdcc788320d3892d how do you get that through Upwork? isn't that a outsourcing platform?

Answer

I reached out to potential users in relevant communities and offered them a trial to test the product. One of them found it valuable and became the first paying customer.

Menelaos Kotsollaris · Answer

Thanks for sharing @ciciyu_momen . Out of curiosity, how did your customer find you out? Was it SEO or a different funnel?

My first customer was purely organic!

Alex Prompt · Answer

My first paying customer came through a personal connection. I shared my idea casually in a conversation, and they showed genuine interest. That turned into a follow-up where I demoed the product, and they signed on. It reminded me how powerful word-of-mouth and authentic relationships can be, especially early on. How about everyone else—what worked for you?

Natalia Toth · Answer

Hey, thanks for sharing! if you don't mind asking, how did you find the users of your competitor?

muhammad ali · Answer

@jiangyaokai I simple applied on their project with some to the point clarity. I am personally involved in some businesses so can I feel what the owner is demanding. Their is further rocket science in it except understanding the psychology of the owner.

Beck Silver · Answer

Cold emailing + using my existing network!

Evelyn Chan · Answer

Reddit :D

Nurudeen Abdulazeez · Answer

Thanks for sharing Cici it’s very insightful

Sergey Koshevoy · Answer

The path of Planyway was easier thanks to publishing on the Trello marketplace among other apps.

Yaokai Jiang · Answer

@alex_prompt FFF definitely works. If FFF turn into evangelists/references, all the better!

Answer

I reached out to potential users in relevant communities and offered them a trial to test the product. One of them found it valuable and became the first paying customer.

How did you land your first paying customer?

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