A quick flashback before we dive in: I am on a journey to secure 100 paid customers for my startup. However, before achieving that, I need to find the product-market fit and acquire my first 5 paid customers, aiming for $100 in monthly revenue.
To earn my initial $100 in revenue, I opted for email marketing and LinkedIn marketing to directly approach potential clients and introduce them to my product. Initially, I used Apollo and AWS WorkMail for sending emails. The first week went smoothly, but then things took a turn.
Apollo + AWS WorkMail Combination Failed
In the first week using this combination, the opening rate was disappointingly low. Despite reaching out to 3,000 individuals, the response was underwhelming, with only 10 replies and 2 meetings set up within that week.
By the second week, the opening rate plummeted further. Most of the emails ended up in spam folders. We managed to schedule just one meeting, and that was through LinkedIn, not our email marketing efforts.
Switching to GMass
A member of my marketing team suggested using GMass, highlighting its potential for a better opening rate since it utilizes Google accounts and IPs. The rationale was that no one blocks Google IPs. So, we decided to give GMass a shot the following week. However, the opening rate remained low at around 20%, and we didn’t schedule any meetings.
Email Marketing Consultancy
Given the challenges, I sought expertise from an email marketing consultant on Upwork. After an hour-long discussion, I learned several valuable insights:
- On average, it takes 2 to 4 months to secure the first 5 customers solely through email marketing.
- A faster approach to acquiring the first 5 customers would be a combination of paid ads and email marketing. However, this would cost around $2,000, primarily because we haven’t yet identified our product-market fit. Experimentation, in this phase, either consumes more time or more money. On average, it would still take about a month.
- Our copywriting skills need significant enhancement. Our current email subject lines and introductory paragraphs are not effective.
- Before sending out bulk emails, it’s crucial to warm up the email addresses. There are tools available that can automate this process, reducing the chances of our emails being marked as spam.
Next Steps
I plan to purchase a few more domains and email addresses from GoDaddy. This is because GMass and Google require POP3 support, which AWS WorkMail doesn’t offer; AWS WorkMail only supports IMAP. Consequently, I’ll acquire the domain and email services from GoDaddy and upgrade to GMass Premium for email dispatch. While this approach is costlier, I believe it will be worth the investment.
My team and I have also enrolled in a copywriting course to improve our email content. Additionally, we’ve started using an automated tool for email warming, trulyinbox.com, which is currently free.
I’m optimistic about sharing some positive updates next week. Stay tuned for more!