How to get users for your startup when no one knows you exist

Good morning!

The start of the year was quite intense for us as we juggled multiple projects, including launching some new services (more on that later). But we’re excited to be back with our latest newsletter!

A huge shoutout to everyone who’s been sharing topic ideas your feedback helps shape what we cover, and I love hearing what’s on your mind.

This time, I’m sharing seven powerful tactics to help you land your first users. Getting early traction is tough, but every successful startup figures it out!

If there’s anything specific you’d like to see more of, just hit reply and let me know. Your feedback means a lot.

Thanks,
Pippa

This month’s recap includes:

• 5 proven ways to get your first users

• Lucky links and unique free resources you won't find anywhere else.

5 proven ways to get your first users

[1] Test your idea before launching.
​Don’t build in a vacuum. In 2021, Zac from our team at Social Start-up Labs was admitted into an incubator program in Sydney. The first step of the program? Interview 100 people to see if your business/service/solution actually matters to them. Your first users/customers/clients should feel like your solution was built just for them and solve a burning need.​
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[2] Define your ideal customer.
​Not everyone needs your product, so it's important to define your ideal customer profiles so you can figure out where to find them!​
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[3] Tap into your existing network.​
Your first users might be closer than you think. Most startups actually begin by launching to the founding team’s community. We recently read about a fitness startup in Australia that offered free trials to the founder’s gym buddies. The first few who joined then recommended it to their friends, and this eventually led to its first 50 paying customers.

[4] Find where your audience hangs out.​
A simple way to test your startup or MVP is to find online communities like Facebook or Reddit groups and engage in productive, meaningful conversations. Instead of opening with 'My business does X, come and sign up', try to better understand consistent pain points from the group, and pitch the idea to solve their problem.
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​[5] Do targeted cold outreach
​Something we've been trialling lately is B2B outreach via LinkedIn, and other cold outreach techniques (let me know if you'd be interested in learning more about this, and we can share it in our next release). Cold email, call, and message founders and business owners to offer a test demo. A B2B startup landed its first client by emailing 30 potential users with a short, personalised message. One reply turned into a demo, then a paying customer.

Lucky links and unique free resources you won't find anywhere else.

• ​20+ Pitch Decks Behind $1 Billion in 2024 Fundraising​
  ICYMI. We’ve spent weeks collating the pitch decks. I’m sharing an exclusive swipe file with 20+ pitch decks from startups that raised over $1 billion in 2024.
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• ​99+ Email Ideas for Startups
  ​I'm sharing a go-to list of high-converting email strategies to engage your audience and drive results.
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• ​99+ TikTok Hooks
  ​Our team collated our go-to list of high-converting hooks to grab attention and boost engagement.

I appreciate you being here! If you found this helpful, feel free to pass it along to someone who’d love it too.

Thanks again for reading.

If you found this helpful, pass it on to someone who loves marketing as much as we do. ​They can sign up using the link here:

Best,
Pippa Smith

Email: ​[email protected]​​
Web: ​https://socialstartuplabs.com