How We Gained Our First 100 Users in 25 Days, and You Can Too!
Launching your product idea in the wild and hoping it works is downright scary and a bit naive! When I first launched Alternative AI (https://alternativeai.io/),I was giddy with excitement and nervous as hell. Fast forward 25 days, and I found ourselves celebrating our first paying customer and building a community of 1285 (not all paid of course!) that meant a small celebration with my daughter and hubby at a nearby Starbucks with Iced Frappe, but hey! all wins count right :). Here’s how I did it—all through the power of organic user acquisition.
Posting on Medium
One of my most surprising discoveries was the impact of writing content on Medium. I will confess I’m only 4 articles down and while my articles didn’t receive a flood of ‘claps,’ they did generate a steady stream of users interested in our product. I found out only through ‘Google Analytics!) The key was creating content that offered genuine value and insights, rather than just promotional material.I just trudged along sharing my experiences, winning and losing both as authentically as possible. It made me vulnerable, but have you heard of a founder who is not!?
Engaging with Indie Hacker Communities
Indie Hackers was like a homecoming. Whenever I post my detailed articles or stories on Medium, I sometimes repost them here as well, again keeping them genuine and sharing my step-by-step approach. One of my ‘first’ articles generated a huge number of responses— inviting an opportunity for an interview and the privilege of being there on the first page of the Indie Hacker website!! This one step boosted the number of site visits and user registrations overnight !!
Lead Magnet that worked!
Creating a lead magnet was a game-changer. I had been marketing most of my life so lead magnets weren't new to me - but creating something that appealed to my target audience was! So I designed an exciting offer and strategically placed it on various platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, gating it to capture leads. This approach not only drove traffic but also helped me build a list of interested users who were more likely to convert. I’m still praying for a lot of them to convert or even stay long enough to read my newsletter - but just seeing the numbers go north kept me motivated.
Engaging Reddit Communities
Reddit can be a goldmine for organic user acquisition when approached correctly. I participated in discussions related to “AI SaaS” strategies, offering my own 2 cents without spamming. By contributing meaningfully to these conversations, I established myself as knowledgeable and helpful, which naturally drew interest to my website and product!
Leveraging Existing Newsletters
I also leveraged our first product newsletter to promote alternativeai.io. Although this tactic didn’t yield the massive success I hoped for, it provided valuable lessons. I learned the importance of understanding our audience’s interests and tailoring my message accordingly. It’s a reminder that every strategy has something to teach, even if the results aren’t immediately spectacular.I know it sounds mostly preachy but if you have any existing channel - then leverage that before exploring new waters.
Engaging Friends and Social Circles
Sometimes, the most valuable feedback comes from those closest to us. I reached out to my friends for nothing but some feedback (big fan of Alex Hormozi and he recommends this one) , and their input was both encouraging and helpful. This approach helped us refine our product but also showed me that vulnerability is not always bad - so drop the inhibitions and go for it !
Looking Ahead: The Next Steps in Our Journey
Building on our successful strategies, I’m now eyeing TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn for further user acquisition. I’m particularly excited (and a little nervous) about experimenting with video content, despite not being very skilled at it yet. I plan to explore a few faceless video channels to see how I fare in this new medium.
My journey to acquiring our first 100 users in 25 days was driven mostly to keep it new and organic- while saving precious $$$ on the build if needed and validating the idea the most scrappy way. this may not be for you if
a) you are already successful or
b) have deeper pockets and don't mind spending
c) have a large team to execute,
so go for it if you are a fan of lean startups and see if it yields any results for you.
Here’s to the journey ahead!
Thank you for the very insightful post. How are you able to drive traffic from Reddit without seeming spammy? I created a Reddit account last year and immediately I did I was unable to post or comment on posts, it was very frustrating for me and still is because I still I’m unable to create posts there. How do you think I can solve this problem?
Thank you for your kind words. Reddit was a test and learn for me as well. Since I have a Directory for AI tools I would find the tool/product that has the max search (from SEM Rush /GA data) eg one product 'songs like X ' drew visitors like magnets - so I searched relevant subreddits for music producers and aficionados discuss the functionality that the tool offered in this case curating a playlist and drop the tool name and mention a few AI tools that solved their problem - all listed on our website.
This worked for me by driving traffic and increasing the reach. while also actively marketing the tools listed n my website - thereby creating some credibility with developers trusting my website to list their products . I have noticed that Reddit is all about relevancy and you need to be mindful of the Rules of each and every Sub Reddit group as ts different.
Hope it works out :)
Hey Folks!
I am thankful for your nice article! I am currently going through that awkward phase where I have to collect beta testers for our MVP.
Your article checks all the right boxes, but I would just add a section about scraping highly targeted leads (by using LinkedIn searches or Reddit filters, for instance).
Here is my method to generate high-quality leads:
1- Search for very specific job descriptions on LinkedIn or very specific users on Reddit that have an issue your tool can solve.
2- Scrape the profile details (I use my own product to scrape profile links, posts, and contact information).
3- Drop all data into a spreadsheet (Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable, etc.).
4- Group the collected prospect leads by problem and customize the messages you send to each prospect segment (by creating custom messages for each segment with Textblaze).
I have tried this method for a few weeks now, and it’s given me surprisingly good results. I believe later on this can also be applied when looking for high-quality B2B leads.
P.S. Not meaning to self-promote here, but if you need a free, no-code scraping tool that actually does what it says, please contact me and I will let you in the early access program. Indiehacker feedback will always be welcome :)
Cheers!
Nice approach!
Thanks for sharing
Thanks . am also going through this phase and I didn't know how to get started apart from asking chatgpt for blogs and platforms where I can find potential users for my app . but this new approach you mention seems to have a lot of potential
Great article! Super helpful, as I was reading I wanted to be able to click on each item to dive deeper.
Could you please share a link to the community you are building? It would be nice to find other places with fellow founders specialized in AI to support each other.
Btw, I’m also building a directory, and I’m developing technology that provides users more information when browsing lists. The idea is to summarize, and quantify content into “dimensions” to highlight the differences between list elements.
Thank you for your kind words. I love the idea of your directory, and this sounds like a much-needed feature for the directories. Please share a link too, if you are ready.
I've just started with Community - so far it was via which I think has a shelf life. The Channel link is -https://discord.gg/mENjYKcP
Thank you, for sharing the channel. Looking forward.
I appreciate your interest on the directory idea. Yes, is a bit early to share all the details on the idea. But you can see a demo on my website: amvizion.org.
As I build the feature to enable other directories to use it, I would appreciate listening from you about what to prioritize, and how to make the integration to your website.
Hi @amVision thanks a lot for sharing your early product !and- massive congratulations for getting it out there :) I definitely want to learn more about it - we can discuss more on Discord if you like . Will be happy to be your test user/customer and bounce ideas as we progress !!
Awesome! See you there.
Thanks for sharing！
thanks @Sudhana
Out of curiosity, how big were those existing channels, @Teamgrowthhacker? It'd be interesting to get an image to see how the pre-existing growth fed new!
@TheLIFECorp The existing channels were community/newsletter based with around 5k members.Hope its answers your question. Unable to share any images on this platform.
Out of curiosity, what was your lead magnet?
It was a Growth-hacking cheat sheet with a downloadable template with 30-day plan.
Great results so far, @Teamgrowthhacker. It goes to show that experimenting with a load of different channels is the only way to see what actually works.
Also important to celebrate those wins!
Thank you for your kind words @henrylatham
Would love to have you on my podcast, Free Founders, where I interview world-class solopreneurs and small business founders, @Teamgrowthhacker. Would you be interested?
Hi @henrylatham sounds like a great opportunity! Would love to know more about this.
Awesome, @Teamgrowthhacker. Can you email me at [email protected] & I can then send through next steps?
Great article! Your journey with Alternative AI is truly inspiring. As someone facing challenges with AdSense approval on my site, drdrivngapk , your insights on organic user acquisition resonate with me.
I appreciate your focus on genuine content and community engagement, particularly through Medium and Indie Hackers. Your success with lead magnets and leveraging existing newsletters offers valuable lessons. Your strategies have given me new ideas for driving traffic and building a community around my site.
Thank you for sharing your journey. It’s encouraging to see that persistence and a well-thought-out strategy can yield results. Here’s to more milestones and successes ahead!
Hi @farii107 thank you for your kind words and congratulations on Google AdSense approval , it is a big milestone!! Feel free to connect with me on Discord to bounce ideas on any specific strategies - should you like https://discord.gg/x5RSWHWW. upwards and onwards !
Great post! Good luck with the video content, it would be great to see what results you get from this!
Amazing insights thanks for sharing!
I'm not too up to date with Medium, is it similar to Reddit in that you put a post up and people see it in the main feed? Thanks in advance!
Hi @tled88 Wow! That makes me feel very old :D and thanks for your kind words.
Medium is a pure content platform - you can look at one of my posts here to get a feel https://storyteller2020.medium.com/top-three-game-changing-marketing-tips-inspired-by-mr-beast-e5995934d6f8?sk=34d9bf8b1d7340d2def0ed3cbde0427d
Thanks for sharing! Can you link in some of your best Medium articles for reference ?
Here's one of the latest ones -https://storyteller2020.medium.com/top-three-game-changing-marketing-tips-inspired-by-mr-beast-e5995934d6f8?sk=34d9bf8b1d7340d2def0ed3cbde0427d
Wow incredible
thanks, I have a question, where can I find the target customer
Hi @damotiansheng if you are looking for a target customer for your product then you can use some simple techniques eg
Demographics -> Do you know what age group, gender, income level, household size, etc. will your sutomer be - These factors can all influence the audience’s needs, habits, and preferences. so first you may create that . Next up is behaviour ->Find out where your audience spends time online so you can reach them there. And consider how lifestyle habits affect their buying decisions. also Interests -? eg understanding your target audiences’ interests can help you create marketing campaigns/funnel or channels that resonate with their passions and motivations.
Lastly -> competitors .
Hope it helps
Great read and congrats on your success so far! I’m curious about your Reddit strategy. Did you engage with it intermittently? Like just whenever you thought about it? Did you have more of a formal strategy, like posting every x number of days x feature? Hope this question makes sense, I’m just wondering how strategic you were with Reddit specifically. Congrats again!
Thank you for your kind words @joshuawhite389. Reddit was a learning experience for me as well. I run a directory for AI tools, so I look for products with high search volume using SEMrush or Google Analytics. For example, a tool like 'songs like X' attracted many visitors. I would then find relevant subreddits for music producers and fans, discuss the tool's functionality (like curating playlists), mention the tool, and list other AI tools that solve similar problems, all of which are on our website.
This strategy drove traffic and increased our reach, while also promoting the tools listed on my site. This helped build credibility with developers who trust my site to list their products. I've found that success on Reddit relies on relevance and adhering to each subreddit's rules.
Since I'm testing and learning phase - I use twice a week posting mandate on Reddit as organic content posting is time consuming approach.
Hope it helps
Thanks for sharing such an insightful post and congrats on your traction! I'm curious, do you have numbers showing how much traffic or emails were driven by each of these methods? Wondering what are the top 1-3 sources that are the most impactful for this kind of product/audience.
hey @Hangjoni thanks for your kind words.
Top three would be 1-3 in the post itself and 90% target audience came from these channels .
The strategy that I worked on was identifying my user personas and going after them.
hope it helps
Congratulations, and thank you for sharing this detailed insight into how you gained your first 100 users in 25 days, I'm looking forward to doing the same with our travel planning product launching in a few days. Like you, I used the friends and family strategy to onboard most of the users we have in our beta, and their feedback has not just helped streamline the features we go to market with, but our message as well.
Congratulations on your first 100 users again.
thanks heaps and all the best @Modupe for your platform success!!
Thank you for your kind words. Reddit was a learning experience for me as well. I run a directory for AI tools, so I look for products with high search volume using SEMrush or Google Analytics. For example, a tool like 'songs like X' attracted many visitors. I would then find relevant subreddits for music producers and fans, discuss the tool's functionality (like curating playlists), mention the tool, and list other AI tools that solve similar problems, all of which are on our website.
This strategy drove traffic and increased our reach, while also promoting the tools listed on my site. This helped build credibility with developers who trust my site to list their products. I've found that success on Reddit relies on relevance and adhering to each subreddit's rules.
How didn't you get downvotes or zero interaction? Was your Karma already in good numbers? Cos this is what I struggle with the most on Reddit...downvoted or zero interaction with even genuine questions
I think hypertargetting is the trick !! i agree it is very very time-consuming with no guarantees of return
Define Your Target Audience
Before you start any marketing efforts, it’s crucial to know who you’re targeting. We spent time understanding our ideal user’s demographics, interests, and pain points. This helped us create tailored marketing messages that resonated with them.
Create a Compelling Value Proposition
Your value proposition is the primary reason users should choose your product over others. We crafted a clear and compelling value proposition that highlighted our unique benefits and addressed the specific needs of our target audience.
Your approach to gaining the first 100 users is truly inspiring! Thank you for the detailed breakdown of strategies, especially the emphasis on direct user interaction and feedback collection. Could you share more about how you identified and contacted potential users on social media? Any specific tips on crafting messages that resonate with them? Additionally, what was the biggest challenge you faced during this process and how did you overcome it? Looking forward to your response, thanks!
Hello @dongd thanks a lot for your kind words.
I used a very simple approach by creating personas (top 3) and going after the channels the TA may hang out also taking into account my skills and time at hand eg video sells but I'm not skilled and neither have the time - so I left it at the beginning.
rest I also went by search data from SEM rush and went after those channels .
For crafting messages - well I have been in marketing space and that is something I consider my superpower , but you have plenty of tools that can assist . I highly recommend Jasper and Appolo.io
Hope it helps .
thanks , the tools you mentioned were very helpful to me.
Great insights, these channels are spot-on. I'm curious though, how do you see adding Organic and Paid Search in the mix?
hello @thyengineer I haven't used the paid search at all (so far ) and working with organic - my strategy is to put money on those channels that shows promise than doing everything in the start
Thank you so much you shared an idea, It is very informative post.
thanks a lot for your kind words !
Awesome! Easier said than done, amazing to see it yielding results for you!
I am always a bit hesitant as I always think I am spamming.
I skimmed through the website and I do find it relevant for the general audience, but whats the main difference between alternativeai.io and theresanaiforthat ?
Hi @Dordio thank you for your kind words and great question. it's early days for us - but AlternativeAI.io aims to be the marketplace (think-Etsy) for AI tools and products, offering a hub that connects AI developers, businesses, and enthusiasts. Our vision goes beyond being massive aggregator like TheresaNaiforThat;. However, currently, we are similar and much smaller in scale but we strive to create a dynamic ecosystem where users can discover, buy, and sell innovative AI solutions, changing the way AI products are accessed and utilized.
Good luck!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing
thank you @Germerlo
Really Helpful. Driving organic traffic initially always helps to validate the product before burning $$$ on Paid ads. Really interested to explore your Lead Magnet Strategy....
thank you @Hasaan_Shakir09. I wrote an article on IH a while back - maybe it will help https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-we-gained-our-first-100-users-in-25-days-and-you-can-too-17d5e8fbad?commentId=-NzVANYF_QkHPGoVC7uc&utm_campaign=forum-notification&utm_medium=email&utm_source=indie-hackers-emails
for more in-depth discussions feel free to connect with me at https://discord.gg/mENjYKcP
Interesting insight about Medium! You encouraged me to start writing articles there again. Thanks!
hi @lukeskyward absolutely - go for it !
Great work, man! Congratulations on your first paid customer.
I visited your website and saw that you are selling featured listings and newsletter mentions on a subscription model instead of a one-time payment model, which most platforms and directories use.
What are your thoughts on this? I think switching to a one-time payment model could increase your conversions since you already have traffic on your platform.
Hello @GamifyKaran Great observation and your comment is a lifesaver! our payments are one-time but due to some rookie oversight left it as a subscription on the listing (whoops!)
Thanks heaps !
okay, no worries. I have analyzed 400+ directories as we provide submission service (boringlaunch) to both AI and SaaS startups.
Your platform looks good.
thanks again @GamifyKaran ! means a lot - coming from an expert like you .
I'm curious about what sort of posts on Reddit helped your karma and didn't make you seem like a spammer. I really admire the Reddit community and would love to engage with them more. Thanks!
hello @FIREman23 great question - Reddit was a test and learn for me as well. Since I have a Directory for AI tools I would find the tool/product that has the max search (from SEM Rush /GA data) eg one product 'songs like X ' drew visitors like magnets - so I searched relevant subreddits for music producers and aficionados discuss the functionality that the tool offered in this case curating a playlist and drop the tool name and mention a few AI tools that solved their problem - all listed on our website.
Hoping this strategy might work for your product as well.
Great, I'll try it out!
Helpful points, many thanks for sharing!
Thanks a lot @hosseinyazdi!