Where do you get your first 100 users outside of PH?
Filippo Pietrantonio
41 replies
Other than on Product Hunt, where do you or did you get your first 100 users for you SaaS product? Was it through cold messaging, paid ads, organic reach, social media, offline events...
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Filippo Pietrantonio@filippo_pietrantonio
Curious to see which tactics you have in mind :)
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@filippo_pietrantonio
Haha! We are here for it together.
From reddit rather than PH - at least for now. But I guess we all go where the customers are, not the other way around
@claudiu_cogalniceanu very true! What are you working on? Were there any specific subreddits that worked best for you?
@filippo_pietrantonio I’m working on a program that helps Gmail users get rid of spam and useless promotions, so I am pretty active on the Gmail subreddit talking with people that have this problem
From X, because I had over 10k followers on X
Organic SEO and Social Media is helping us.
@neha_banta How long does it take to generate your first customer through SEO?
@neha_banta any specific tactics that you recommend? Are you focusing on creating a lot of blog posts targeting relevant keywords and posting regularly on social media?
A little bit of everything, but the most relevant is paid advertising.
user/beta testing sites, depending on the product
social media
forums
trade shows
word of mouth
@sandymakesplans what was your latest product?
@filippo_pietrantonio i have not made anything publicly yet. i'm collaborating to help with market research and product development for glowy social and have some personal projects also.
Most of my customers come from an old Reddit post I made. I've gotten way more than 500 customers from Reddit.
@suman_saurabh2 I get most of my customers from Reddit. I have never actually spoken about my products on Product Hunt before.
@suman_saurabh2 Reddit idea? Are you trying to ask what the product is?
Affiliate marketing
Conversion-based Google Ads
@artyom_ananov for affiliate marketing, did you build your own or did you use a specific software? And what did you offer to users as part of the affiliation? Very curious :)
@filippo_pietrantonio Hey, Filippo! We use a third-party app to track target actions and manage payments to affiliates. And then we find people who are ready to work on a commission-based basis (influencers/sales managers). We offer x% from the purchase.
Hi @filippo_pietrantonio getting the first 100 users for your SaaS product is a very important milestone, especially if you're working with a limited budget. Based on my experience and what has worked well for a tech client that I work for, I would highly recommend focusing on outreach strategies, particularly cold emailing, especially if you don't have a big marketing budget.
I see that one of your suggestions is organic reach but here's why outreach, especially through targeted emails or even LinkedIn, can be effective, instead of solely relying on organic marketing. Organic marketing, while valuable, relies on attraction – drawing in potential customers over time. This approach can be frustrating for startups aiming for quick traction, as it takes time to build trust and convert leads into clients.
However, with outreach, you're taking a proactive stance. What we do is identify our ideal customers and create a list of prospects. Our ideal customers are based on decision-making job titles, company size, industry and geography. We then create very personalised emails that introduce our SaaS offers. Of course in the email you have to highlight how your offer addresses specific pain points of the prospect and we always, always ask for a meeting. So the goal of the outreach is to meet with the prospect.
I like outreach for startups because it allows you to directly engage with potential users, making your pitch more targeted and personal. I have to add at the same time that outreach is more ideal if your product is of a high value (so if your client is a business). If it's of a lower value outreach could still work but you may want to explore some other conversion funnels like ads or subject matter experts (influencers).
With my tech client, we've found that combining cold email outreach with other strategies like hosting events and content marketing has significantly boosted our brand presence and client base. In fact last month they did their highest month in revenue because of these strategies, especially cold email.
Again depending on the value of your product, events provide an excellent platform for direct interaction, allowing potential clients to experience your product firsthand and ask questions. Similarly, content marketing, when executed thoughtfully, showcases your expertise and builds credibility, making your outreach efforts even more impactful.
If you do have a marketing budget, paid ads can also be effective. However, if you're just starting and funds are limited, outreach is a cost-efficient way. It might require effort and persistence, but the personal touch often yields higher conversion rates than generic advertising, from my experience.
Remember, every successful SaaS product begins with understanding your audience, reaching out to them directly, and showcasing the unique value you offer. So if you want to try cold email, make sure that your emails are targeted and personalised - very important. I hope that these insights help you come up with ideas to get your first 100 users. Share what type of product you have and who is your ideal client - B2B or B2C?
@dawn_marie_n thanks so much for sharing your recommendations, very useful! I'm working on a project management tool for creatives and it's initially targeted for small agencies and freelancers.
@filippo_pietrantonio Hi Filippo, you're welcome. For freelancers the key is to understand the specific pain points of freelancers and position your tool as the solution. Building a community around your product and nurturing relationships with them can create a strong, loyal customer base. You might be wondering where can you start to get in front of freelancers?
Here are some things you can consider:
Freelancer Facebook, LinkedIn or Reddit Communities: Engage in these communities by participating in discussions, offer helpful tips, and then slowly introduce your tool when it’s relevant. Avoid sounding salesy; focus on providing value first. This is a long term strategy.
Content Marketing: Create blog posts or videos, related to project management tips specifically tailored for freelancers and small agencies. Share these on social media and relevant forums. Another long-term strategy.
Partnerships: Collaborate with platforms that freelancers commonly use, such as freelance job boards or portfolio websites. Think Malt, That Works For Me. I would suggest targeting smaller platforms as opposed to the bigger ones like Upwork or Fiverr, since it's a lower barrier to entry. You can offer their users exclusive discounts or features on your tool. In return, they can promote your tool to their user base. I would say this is a short to medium-term strategy.
Influencer Marketing: Identify influencers within the freelance and creative community. Reach out to them and offer them free access to your tool. If they find it valuable, they might promote it to their followers, giving your product wider exposure. Another short to medium term strategy.
For the small agencies I would definitely recommend cold email marketing. Think about who would be the decision maker in these agencies, then build a list of prospects. For project management, depending on your use case I could see decision makers in several different departments. So you might want to select 3 departments (maybe marketing, HR or IT) and build a list of these personas only. As it's a small agency, it's unlikely that they will have departments as such, but they may have one or two people dealing with a certain project. You could even reach out to the CEO or COO. Then send a personalised email, clearly highlighting the value of your product and aim for a meeting where you can share a demo. Also when you're sending out your emails tailor your pitch to each stakeholder group since this can significantly enhance the chances of successful implementation.
Hope this all helps and all the best.
@dawn_marie_n again, thanks so much for the valuable information and suggestions! Will definitely work on those :)
We did it through LinkedIn outreach with our software. We joined a couple of communities and found profiles of people who were part of them and reached them and offered a beta discount, and we got 50 users like that.
We continued using cold outreach as one of our main channels.
We just launched a new version of our outreach tool. Check us out we're 2nd :D
Building a personal brand on social media works best for me 😊
@fabianfrankwerner I agree that it really helps to be your own "key person of influence". How did you go about doing that? Did you use twitter, linkedin, ig or something else?
I remember using Polywork for getting Beta testers! It worked well for us
@chaimae_sakhi1 never heard of it and couldn't find it on google. Could you send me the website?