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Methods I've used to grow my new online business from $0 to $4K MRR in 4 months.

I have been sharing my experiences about growing my online-based business a few times, but to answer many requests, I wanted to summarise the methods I've used so far to drive the customers!

The stats for this month are:
💲 $4,059 in revenue (✅ + $1,112)
📈 369 visitors (✅ + 191)
🙌 9 new customers (➖)
🤝 2.4% conversion rate (❌ - 2.6%)
🤷‍♂️ 10% churn (✅ - 5%)
💥 37% net growth (✅ + 7%)

It's a healthy growth (I hope to maintain it for the next 2-3 months), but my conversions are dropping. For me, it's a sign that I need to work on my landing page.
I'll try to achieve $5,500MRR next month, fingers crossed!
If you want to check out the service - go to https://differentleads.com and use coupon "best" for a lifetime of 80% off on all packages! (available for the next 5 customers only!)
I get asked about the methods to generate the revenue quite often, so here is a summary:

Facebook Groups:
It's my primary source of leads. I'm active on some Facebook Groups, where SMB owners hang. I post updates and discount coupons for Different Leads, which result in new leads. I also try to invest at least 1 hour a day to socializing/helping others. Nothing groundbreaking, but few things to remember:
-groups should be moderated and with few new posts a day at most! This way, your message will have a higher chance of going through!
-you need to give first - don't just spam your link
-be civil and helpful - don't just expect to harvest the leads without investing yourself into the group first
-learn the "vibe" of the group - every community has its own identity
-don't just copy-paste between the groups - write unique content so Facebook algorithms will like you more (and show your content to more people)!
There is a ton of business on Facebook (especially early-stage/small businesses). By using it to generate leads, you are putting your face and personal account in front of hundreds of people - this increases the trust factor of your shares.

Reddit:
It's my second source of leads. My goal here is to post updates with coupons attached occasionally. I provide value (insight on sales and mechanics of business), help others through PM's (happens a lot!), and then sometimes drop a link with a coupon code. If someone wants to buy it - it's his choice. Obviously, some people will get mad even at the idea that someone might add a link to a Reddit post. As long as the content provided is not a clickbait or some fairytale meant to drive the clicks to your site, it's fair to the community. Providing real data, being helpful in comments (not just posting and completely disappearing forever) will significantly increase visibility.

Hangin Around:
I've got a few conversions with the oldest method in the book - hanging around and observing.
I've hanged around Quora, Facebook threads, chat rooms, communities. I've used them like a normal human being. Still, once I've spotted an opening, I've used it - the person complaining about the lack of potential customers, owner looking for ways to promote his business, founder trying to figure out user acquisition.
Quick message/response/expertise will create a connection and build trust. It's a great starting point for trying to showcase your offer. But do it in a non-invasive way. Don't be a salesman; be a friend instead. No one likes to feel forced to use a business they don't need.
It's a simple and effective method, and once you can go through the initial fear of refusal, it will result in an occasional lead here and there.

Different Leads:
I'm not going into details with this one, as I assume some of you might say it's a blatant advertisement. So I'll just say that I am getting steady leads using my own service and that I plan to move 100% by December to this lead gen method. By automating it with a tool called Woodpecker, I'll save time. I'll focus more on running a business instead of doing sales.
I predict that in November, it'll become the #1 lead gen method for me.

The most important - don't be afraid to put your business out there. You'll get some hate (it's normal when promoting business online), but mostly positive responses and many new happy customers.

If you want to check out the service - go to https://differentleads.com and use coupon "best" for a lifetime of 80% off on all packages! (available for the next 5 customers only!)

So this is it - if you have any questions or need some help/more explanation, I'll be happy to provide it!

Also, check Productize.community for more posts like this from an agency owners!

Thank you!

  1. 3

    Great post! Is the coupon still available? I am super interested! I can see how Different Leads can help my business to grow!

    1. 1

      Thanks! Yes, the coupon is still available - let's go! :)

  2. 2

    100% agréée with you about reddit, it's super powerful. I did not play that much with FB yet, but I will for my new product!

    1. 1

      Yeah, it's well worth it, you just need to be careful!

  3. 1

    Great post! Check your e-mail when you can, I´ve sent you a message :)

  4. 1

    hi i wanted to ask you how did you get your first 20 users ??? can you share your launch process ??? I just started wannahireme.com and am having trouble getting users to sign up...

  5. 1

    Thanks for sharing, some really good tips! I also noticed that the best way to get leads is to get involved in the communities where your target audience hangs around.

    I have one question about your service, more about sharing leads in general. Is it legal to share personal details of other people (name, email, phone), especially with the new GDPR/privacy laws?

    1. 1

      It is under certain circumstances. I would not advise any "newbies" to do it, but there is a lot of documentation online to learn the rules fast.

  6. 1

    Great post, Bart. (first post I checked out since joining IH)

    A classic case of good karma, and proving yourself an expert as opposed to just calling yourself an expert. I've always found an upside in helping and supporting others no strings attached.

    Giving advice and providing value are net-positive lead streams, but should be coupled with a more aggressive sales approach. There's nothing wrong with selling — there's just a time and place!

    1. 1

      Thanks a lot! I really appreciate it! And some good pointers you made!
      I hope you will stick for longer on IH!

  7. 1

    What specific communities have you been posting on Reddit?

    1. 1

      r/entrepreneurs, r/entrepreneursridealong, r/webdev

      Those are good enough!

  8. 1

    Good post. For improving landing page, I guess you need to improve the loading speed, it's a bit slow currently. https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/?hl=es&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdifferentleads.com%2F

    1. 1

      Yeah, the template is bloated. I'll switch to something lighter. Thanks!

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