2 builders who never spoke to each other

Mine the contacts you already have for the first hundred

Nobody starts at zero: old clients, lost deals, colleagues and the people you already talk to in the market are a launch list you have not written down yet. Four builders here began by listing names in a spreadsheet and writing to each one individually, and each rates that above any acquisition channel at this size.

The method

1. 01

   Find the first hundred readers inside contacts you already hold: go through your LinkedIn and Twitter connections and scan your email contacts for colleagues, clients and industry peers before assuming you start at zero.

2. 02

   While doing client work, keep a running spreadsheet of the email address of every prospect you talk to, including the deals you lose, so you have a warm list on the day you launch.

3. 03

   Before you spend anything on ads, SEO or social posting for a new product, build a list of everyone in your network who might plausibly care and email or DM each one personally.

4. 04

   Start the outreach list small: four or five names of people you already know inside your market, tracked in a spreadsheet, is enough to begin sending.

5. 05

   Under a hundred subscribers, write to ten named people instead of to nobody: list ten people you actually know who would benefit, and email each of them personally

What it returned

• 100

  Jon Elder had 100 subscribers on the day he launched, drawn from other Amazon sellers he knew and people he had worked with.

• 30

  Nine months of e-commerce freelancing produced a list of about 30-40 targeted contacts

• Transistor's first ten customers came from personal emails like these.

• Done properly it ends with ten subscribers, a map of where your audience already reads, and material for the first five to ten posts

Sources

• First, write 100 emails to people you knowJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Write 100 emails to people you know · undated
• 9 email marketing wins that take less than an hourNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · 1. Use the 10 person rule to kickstart your blog · 2015-04-08
• How a music teacher used Authority to make $34,500Nathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · What did you do to promote the book leading up to launch? · 2015-06-02
• Friday Feature: Amazon InsidersJon Elder · sparkloop.app · ✏️ Steal this for your newsletter · undated
• Chapter 5: Getting Your First Customers - Tyler TringasTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · Become a consultant · 2017-01-19