How to get your first users and make your first sales

Posted on March 10, 2021  (Last modified on February 27, 2024 )

3 minutes  • 459 words

1/ Show your product

The first step of getting users is about showing your product to the world. There is plenty of places where you can post your product to get immediate exposure:

• IndieHackers
• Product Hunt
• Hacker News

All the startup directories like startupbase, betalist, etc.…

If you want a free list of 80 directories, check spreadtheworld .

2/ Leverage existing communities

Once you launch on every directory, it’s time to talk to your customers and bring them to your website. The easiest to do this is by using existing communities to go where your potential customers already are.

• List all the places where your typical customers hang-out online. It could be FaceBook groups, Reddit , forums, etc.…
• Go there and start to help people (genuinely)
• Once you’re part of the community, talk about your product.

I created a very detailed post on how to use Reddit to get early traction. Check it out if you want to tackle it!

3/ Use Twitter

Twitter is super popular in the maker world. And it’s for a reason. It’s super powerful to get exposure and make friends! Here is how to use it:

• Look for influencers in your niche. Start interacting with them by providing value in their comments.
• Browse all their followers, look for people who can benefit from your product.
• Start cold DM them. Don’t spam. Personalized everything and bring value.

Sam Thompson wrote about how you can leverage Twitter to sell your product. His super simple recipe:

→ 50 Outbound DMs.

→ 50 Comments on other’s content.

→ 1 High-Value Post.

You can also check what Arvid Kahl does. He knows how to sell info products.

4/ Cold Emails (B2B products only)

Another powerful medium to get customers is email. We tend to forget it, but cold emailing makes sales. Here is how to do it the right way:

• Get on LinkedIn , scrap emails from your potential customers
• Build a list of emails, check every profile, and craft personalized emails for each of them.
• Start your campaign at a low pace (not more than 50/d and adjust accordingly)

If you want to know more about using cold emailing to get clients, I highly recommend you to check blackhatwizard courses . He’s just the master of it. I tried his method and got more than 85% open rate!

5/ Get on the phone as much as you can!

I can’t stress enough how important this is.

You’ll learn more in a 15min call with a customer (even more if it’s an early adopter) than spending days online. And, you’ll be amazed how easier it is to close a deal when you speak to them!

If you want to read more posts like this, follow me on Twitter: @xavier_coiffard