Spam or awesome? An idea for cold outreach.
I have a project that I really believe in. But my network is virtually nonexistent. Time for cold outreach. I like things that don't scale, because that means others won't be doing them and therefore I may stand out.
Here's my idea:
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Write a robot to find as many solo entrepreneur Twitter accounts as possible. Only ones who have websites with email lists.
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Go through entire list manually and check yes or no for whether I think this person would be a good fit for my community.
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Sign up for each remaining person's email list.
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Get the mailing address (even if it's only a P.O. Box) from each person's email footer.
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Write a personalized pitch on pen and paper and send via mail.
Spammy? Awesome? Something else?
Two things:
FIrst, do it! Set a goal (how many books of stamps do you have?) and a deadline to send them out by. How's next Friday? Figure out your pitch and a single call to action you want them to take. I'm assuming making the Twitter bot is easy for you. Don't want to make the process harder than it has to be. The goal is connecting with people not building bots.
Second, there are simple ways to start a conversation with people who might be a fit for Showuply. Where do they already hang out now? Places like WIP.chat or FB Groups? There's lots of activity in Boulder. Plus Denver startup week is right around the corner.
@ness how do people find out about places like wip.chat? Never heard of it and I feel very out of the loop because of it. What else am I missing?
You know I thought your site was a cool version of @levelsio GoF*cknDoIt site but with positive accountability.
Thanks so much Vanessa! Sadly (well not really, but in this specific instance) I've been traveling for the past few months and won't be back in Denver/Boulder until well after startup week.
Yeah, it's about connecting with people not building bots. Just trying to figure out the best way to FIND those people. Twitter is just one idea. Maybe places like here or WIP are better places. I'll try a combo approach.
Hey @PatGriffith, good to see you on here. I owe you an email! I like where your head is at. I don't have a strong opinion about the method, but one thing that feels missing is a clear thesis on why this approach will work for you and your business. I'd love to see this or another strategy couched in "how I'll build the kind of relationship with someone that will translate to a sale."
Do it, and use some products from here to grab their attention: https://3dmailresults.com/
I like the idea.
I'd add:
Whether something is spam ultimately depends on the response rate, which depends on how relevant and valuable the pitch is to the demographic. There isn't really any way to know in advance just based on the content or the tactics.
I like it! Taking those extra steps shows someone that you value their business enough to make sure your offer meets their needs.