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Most startups die because they don't know how to get users
Here are 4 customer acquisition flywheels that I've used to build 10 startups
Get your first 500 customers in 90 days using these
Here are 4 customer acquisition flywheels that I've used to build 10 startups
Get your first 500 customers in 90 days using these
We'll discuss:
a) How to go from 0 to 100 in 30 days
b) How to go from 100 to 250 in 60 days
c) How to go from 250 to 500 in 90 days
a) How to go from 0 to 100 in 30 days
b) How to go from 100 to 250 in 60 days
c) How to go from 250 to 500 in 90 days
a) How to go from 0 to 100 in 30 days?
Zapier ACTUALLY got its first 500 users using the strategy I'm sharing below
They found people who had requested features from competitors that Zapier was solving for and wrote replies directing them to Zapier.
Zapier ACTUALLY got its first 500 users using the strategy I'm sharing below
They found people who had requested features from competitors that Zapier was solving for and wrote replies directing them to Zapier.
How to copy this strategy:
1. THE SOCIAL FLYWHEEL
Let's say you're building a Zapier Alternative.
Check which social platforms similar products are using.
Make a database of competing products and the social channels where they are most popular.
1. THE SOCIAL FLYWHEEL
Let's say you're building a Zapier Alternative.
Check which social platforms similar products are using.
Make a database of competing products and the social channels where they are most popular.
Each good competitive product will have a 10,000+ follower base across 5 different platforms.
50% of their followers are either already customers or future customers.
These people have a problem you're solving and might become your customers tomorrow.
50% of their followers are either already customers or future customers.
These people have a problem you're solving and might become your customers tomorrow.
Now go to their product and teams' social handles
• Follow their followers and DM them
• Reply to every reply from their followers
- Don't sell, give away a free trial
- Ask them for advice, not money
• Follow their followers and DM them
• Reply to every reply from their followers
- Don't sell, give away a free trial
- Ask them for advice, not money
back of envelope math:
Say Zapier has 20K unique followers on twitter.
And it has 10K unique comments on its content.
Assuming 20% of them are customers.
That's 2,000 RELEVANT people you can give a free trial to.
Maybe 3% of those will sign up.
That's 60 users.
BOOM.
Say Zapier has 20K unique followers on twitter.
And it has 10K unique comments on its content.
Assuming 20% of them are customers.
That's 2,000 RELEVANT people you can give a free trial to.
Maybe 3% of those will sign up.
That's 60 users.
BOOM.
Make your team (or you) do this all day, every day, for 30 days
Now roughly speaking,
If you have 10 competitors, you'll have at least
10 x 2,000 = 20,000 people to reach out to with 3% of them signing up, or 600 new users.
It's a slog, but it works.
Now roughly speaking,
If you have 10 competitors, you'll have at least
10 x 2,000 = 20,000 people to reach out to with 3% of them signing up, or 600 new users.
It's a slog, but it works.
Social Flywheel -
- Keep adding similar competitors to your database
- Keep engaging with relevant customers
- Keep giving away trials
The Social Flywheel alone WILL get you 500 customers
- Keep adding similar competitors to your database
- Keep engaging with relevant customers
- Keep giving away trials
The Social Flywheel alone WILL get you 500 customers
b) How to go from 100 to 250 in 30 days
2. THE EMAIL FLYWHEEL
This may sound like a pain, but you need to get your hands dirty here.
Step 1: Find or build a list of potential clients
Step 2: Use an email finder and drip sequence like @MeetApollo (my fav)
2. THE EMAIL FLYWHEEL
This may sound like a pain, but you need to get your hands dirty here.
Step 1: Find or build a list of potential clients
Step 2: Use an email finder and drip sequence like @MeetApollo (my fav)
Step 3:
Take a picture holding their product or a whiteboard with their name
Take a picture holding their product or a whiteboard with their name
This level of hyper-personalization will increase your reply rates from 5% to 90%!
Kinds of responses you'll get
Kinds of responses you'll get
Mention them by name, and their product in the pic, and be specific on how you can save them TIME or MONEY
Nothing else matters.
NEVER tout your software’s features, they don’t care.
Step 4: Schedule 4 emails in your drip sequence
Nothing else matters.
NEVER tout your software’s features, they don’t care.
Step 4: Schedule 4 emails in your drip sequence
Email 1 - the custom picture intro & why your software will make them $ or save them time
Email 2 - A reminder
Email 3 - Case study highlighting your killer results
Email 4 - Last chance - Is there anyone I should be talking to on your team instead? I don’t mind if you fwd me
Email 2 - A reminder
Email 3 - Case study highlighting your killer results
Email 4 - Last chance - Is there anyone I should be talking to on your team instead? I don’t mind if you fwd me
Email Flywheel
1. Keep Finding Relevant Emails
2. Keep Sending hyper-personalized emails
3. Keep booking calls and converting
The Email Flywheel can get you 100's of customers
1. Keep Finding Relevant Emails
2. Keep Sending hyper-personalized emails
3. Keep booking calls and converting
The Email Flywheel can get you 100's of customers
c) How to go from 250 to 500 in 30 days
3. THE REFERRAL FLYWHEEL
Your users know other people like them
Make your users get you more users
Spotify has nailed this.
3. THE REFERRAL FLYWHEEL
Your users know other people like them
Make your users get you more users
Spotify has nailed this.
• Build a "Invite your friends" feature
• Provide credits/discounts to BOTH: users who invite and people who join
• Give your existing users a free month, cool upgrades, and outright cash
• Provide credits/discounts to BOTH: users who invite and people who join
• Give your existing users a free month, cool upgrades, and outright cash
Make the reward so valuable that it's stupid for them to not invite their friends
If your product is good, you will turn 250 users into 500 in no time.
If your product is good, you will turn 250 users into 500 in no time.
4. THE LAUNCH FLYWHEEL
Launches make a BIG SPLASH, get a lot of attention, and can get a lot of users quickly
When you're small, nobody remembers that you exist.
So you should make a big splash every 6 months.
Airbnb launched 4 times and nobody noticed
Launches make a BIG SPLASH, get a lot of attention, and can get a lot of users quickly
When you're small, nobody remembers that you exist.
So you should make a big splash every 6 months.
Airbnb launched 4 times and nobody noticed
Launch on Product Hunt 3 times in 1 year when you hit these milestones
1) 100 users
2) 250 users
3) 500 users
1) 100 users
2) 250 users
3) 500 users
Things to do before each launch:
- Tell all your users/friends to upvote before you launch
- Post on your socials, gain traction
- Launch when you know that you will get 500 upvotes on the worst day
- Tell all your users/friends to upvote before you launch
- Post on your socials, gain traction
- Launch when you know that you will get 500 upvotes on the worst day
What it may look like for you
Launch 1
Rank #1 on Product Hunt and you'll typically get between 400-500 sign-ups!
Launch 2
200 users make it easier to Rank #1 again. 500+ sign-ups again
Launch 3
With 500 users AND a referral system, you can BREAK Product Hunt
Launch 1
Rank #1 on Product Hunt and you'll typically get between 400-500 sign-ups!
Launch 2
200 users make it easier to Rank #1 again. 500+ sign-ups again
Launch 3
With 500 users AND a referral system, you can BREAK Product Hunt
Combine all your firepower at every stage to do the BIGGEST LAUNCH YOU POSSIBLY CAN
Each launch is a reason to blatantly promote and a way to give discounts without people thinking the product is cheap.
(It's a special occasion discount)
Each launch is a reason to blatantly promote and a way to give discounts without people thinking the product is cheap.
(It's a special occasion discount)
You can get an extra 100 users every time you do a launch and get thousands of eyeballs
The above strategies combined with repeated launches will get you to 500 users in 3 months or less
The above strategies combined with repeated launches will get you to 500 users in 3 months or less
TLDR;
1) Social Flywheel
2) Email Flywheel
4) Referral Flywheel
5) Launch Flywheel
You can easily get 500 users in 90 days if you execute these right.
1) Social Flywheel
2) Email Flywheel
4) Referral Flywheel
5) Launch Flywheel
You can easily get 500 users in 90 days if you execute these right.
Liked the thread? Go retweet the first tweet. https://twitter.com/jspeiser/status/1534612976132571143
Follow @jspeiser for more, I share SaaS, startup and investing strategies.
Follow @jspeiser for more, I share SaaS, startup and investing strategies.
