2 builders who never spoke to each other
Ask the audience you already have, one at a time
The people who bought your book, downloaded your guide or use your free tool are pre-qualified, and contacting them individually converts where a public post does not. Stop protecting them from being asked to pay: the ones who want to buy outnumber the few who object.
The method
- 01
Stop protecting an audience from being asked to pay; once you have earned their trust, the fans who want to buy vastly outnumber the few who complain about the price.
- 02
Pitch the offer directly to people you already know are customers of yours; a warm ask converts where a public post does not.
- 03
Sell the tool to the readers of your own book, who are pre-qualified by having bought the method it implements.
- 04
Blogging and hoping readers convert is too passive to hit a deadline: switch to contacting the specific people who sell products your tool serves.
- 05
Look inside your existing consumer product for a professional segment that uses it repeatedly, and sell that segment a recurring plan through direct outreach.
What it returned
- $117.86
Justin went from streaming Iron Maiden free, to buying albums, to t-shirts, and gladly paid $117.86 for a concert ticket when the band emailed him.
- $1,000
He asked the Frontend Masters founder, a service he had long paid for, and got $1,000 because a sale was running.
- 366
366 Authority buyers to contact individually, with a target of converting at least 30
Ryan Delk brought hundreds of sellers onto Gumroad by direct outreach, and it was his emails that recruited Nathan
Sources
- My simple silly idea made $2000 in 2 daysFlorin Pop · florin-pop.com · The miracle happened · 2024-09-16
- How to make money from your tiny podcastJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · "Asking listeners for money feels yucky." · undated
- Web App Challenge Update: The Final StretchNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Authority readers · 2013-06-04
- Getting my First Subscription Revenue - in Five DaysCory Zue · coryzue.com · The Idea: A Series of Fortunate Events · 2020-01-16
the second source
Three plays a week, for the phase you are in
No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.
More in sales
- Charge for it before it exists6 unconnected
- Book the buyer calls before you write any code6 unconnected
- Package more of what you own into sellable slots6 unconnected
- Interview customers when sales stall, not buy traffic5 unconnected
- Borrow credibility from the customers you have5 unconnected
- Keep a named list of dream accounts and work it5 unconnected