The most valuable marketing skill in 2022:

Cold outreach.

Master it and you'll 10x your income.

These 6 frameworks will get you started:

Messaging people you don't know (yet) can change your life. 

I used cold outreach to grow my business to $3M ARR in 2 years.

You can use these frameworks to:

➡️ Launch a business
➡️ Find a co-founder
➡️ Get your dream job
➡️ Meet famous people

Let’s dive in.

1/ Launch a business

Jason Cohen built WP-Engine into a $500M+ company.

He used one cold outreach email to get his first 30 customers—before he had a website or a product.

Here’s the framework:

1. Context
2. Small Commitment
3. Add Value
4. Trigger Reciprocity

2/ Find a co-founder

I had a no-code startup that was doing $150,000 in monthly revenue.

I needed a technical cofounder to scale and used this framework to land a CTO/technical co-founder:

1. Context
2. Authority
3. Social Proof
4. Risk Reversal
5. Small Ask

3/ Land your dream job

A college senior landed a job interview at the Morning Brew—even though they weren’t hiring—using this powerful framework:

1.  Irresistible Offer
2.  Scarcity
3.  Free Trial
4.  Risk Reversal

4/ Meet famous people

Here’s the framework entrepreneur Arjun Ohri used to land a meeting with AppSumo CEO Noah Kagan :

1.  Relatability
2.  Authority
3.  Compliment
4.  Pitch
5.  Social Proof

5/ Meet famous people

Real estate investor Rohun Jauhar wanted to land a meeting with tech billionaire @chamath.

He got creative (more on that in a moment) & used this framework:

1. Add value with no instruction 
2. Have no expectations 
3. Wait for them to come to you

Rohun heard Chamath was thinking of running for California Governor.

So he worked with a designer to make a website for the campaign.

He emailed it to Chamath with no pitch and woke up to 2 emails & a meeting request from one of the most influential people in tech.

6/ Get important people to help you

Cold outreach isn’t just for people starting their careers.

Here’s the framework the richest man in the world used to convince rocket expert Jim Cantrell to help him colonize Mars.

1. Authority
2. Context
3. Call to Action

BONUS: Get an answer

Derek Sivers sold CD Baby for $22M in 2008.

He has been cold-emailed 90k+ times.

Here are his 4 tips for getting a response from important people:

1.  Ask no more than one question
2.  Don’t be too brief
3.  Show your worth
4.  Never ask to be mentored

Thanks to Liam Curley for making the visuals on this thread. 

If you're interested in using visuals to grow your Twitter audience, DM @liammotivado.

6 proven cold outreach frameworks

I've optimized 1,000+ gym websites.

On average, 10-mins of work results in 30+% more conversions.

Here's how I do it:

1/ Optimize the hero section 

This is the part of a site users see before they scroll. 

A great hero section can convert 100x better than a good one.

So how do you know if yours is any good?

Do a 5-second test. 

Show a user your site for 5 seconds & ask:
1.  What your biz does
2.  Who you serve
3.  If your biz looks trustworthy
4.  Where your biz is located (for local bizes only)

If they can't answer these ?s, you're leaving money on the table.

Real-life example: 

Spend 5 seconds looking at each site. 

Now ask yourself:
• Which gym has better service?
• Which gym costs more?
• Where is each gym located?
• How do you buy from each gym?

We haven't scrolled yet, but we've already judged each business. 

If your hero section fails the 5-second test: 

1. Make small adjustments 
2. Retest 
3. Repeat until your site passes 3 tests in a row 

2/ Showcase what they do best

Look at the pics. Which restaurant do you think has better pizza?

Probably "Best Pizza" 

Why is that? 

You may be skeptical of a place that claims to be the best in the world at pizza AND cheesesteaks. 

The same is true w/ service businesses. 

Which agency do you think is better at SEO? 

Probably the "Top SEO Agency." 

By specializing, they stand out from the crowd. 

3/ Use great social proof

Convey that you're the place to go when you need results. 

The better your social proof is, the more you can charge. 

Here's an example: 

Which personal training company do you think is more expensive? 

"Maximum results, minimum time" charges 4x more. 

Why? 

Their social proof makes their claims more credible.

4/ Tell prospects how to buy

70% of small business websites don't have a clear call to action. 

Want to make more sales? 
Show people how to buy. 

Ex. Look at these two barber shops

Which one are you booking an appointment at?

Probably the one that actually lets you book.

TLDR

If you want your site to do more selling: 

💰Pass the 5-second test
💰Showcase your core service
💰Have great social proof 
💰Tell prospects how to buy

How to increase site conversion by 30+%

17 mistakes to avoid when you’re starting a business:

1/ Only caring about revenue

Profit > Revenue

2/ Being the cheapest

Compete on value, not on price.

3/ Serving everyone

Niche down as much as possible.

4/ Thinking that selling is slimy

Don't assume people know why your service is excellent.

5/ Keeping systems & processes in your head

You'll be trapped in your business.

6/ Thinking your work is done after you close the sale

Give customers a reason to keep buying from you. 

7/ Treating your customers like they’re your friends

Keep your politics & personal problems out of your business. 

8/ Doing spray & pray marketing

Focus all your efforts on one marketing strategy.  

9/ Overspending on branding

You don't need a $10,000 website to build a business.

10/ Giving discounts

Every client should pay the same price for the same service. 

11/ Selling as many services as possible

Offer one service & deliver it well every time. 

12/ Avoiding expensive mentors & consultants

Find someone who has done exactly what you’re trying to do & pay for their expertise. 

13/ Being hard to coach

The fundamentals apply to you. If a strategy is proven, don't try to change it. 

14/ Holding off on setting expectations with staff members

Clearly define the roles, tasks, and behaviors you want your employees to do.  

15/ Being unclear about why people should do business with you

Solve a specific problem for a specific client.

16/ Obsessing over tools

Don't stress out about picking the perfect software. Just get started. 

17/ Hustling hard

Optimize for impact, not action. 

17 mistakes to avoid when you're starting a business

Here's how Chick-Fil-A generates the highest sales per store of any fast food restaurant, despite being closed every Sunday:

In 1946, Truett Cathy opened a diner called Dwarf Grill, where he invented the original Chick-Fil-A sandwich.

Today there are over 2,800 locations. 

Each location averages $4.5mm in sales vs. $2.9mm for the avg. McDonald's. 

Why is this? 

Their

1. Marketing
2. Franchise model 
3. Customer service
4. Drive-thru
5. Quality

separates them from the competition. 

Let's break down each one down. 

MARKETING 

In 1995, Chick-Fil-A was a scrappy regional chain competing against established nationals like KFC & Popeyes.

They couldn't outspend 'em, so they had to outsmart 'em. 

That yr, they launched the “EAT MOR CHIKIN” campaign, which helped 2x company sales in 5 yrs.

The EAT MOR CHIKIN campaign is still running today & by my back-of-the-envelop math, has racked up more than 50b impressions. 

FRANCHISE MODEL

• Starting a Chick-Fil-A franchise is 99.95% less expensive than other major chains

• They are super selective about who they choose

• Franchisees act as operators, not investors

• Each franchisee can only operate 1 unit & have no other biz ventures

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Chick-fil-A has ranked #1 in the ASCI's customer satisfaction poll for 7 straight years.

The service is so good it’s memeable, & that creates millions in free advertising. 

This TikTok vid, “How Chick-Fil-A would be if they had delivery 🤣,” has 4.7mm likes. 

Fun Fact:

Chick-Fil-A stole the idea of saying "my pleasure" instead of "you're welcome" from The Ritz-Carlton. 

DRIVE-THRU

Chick-Fil-A’s drive-thru strategy is built around speed & accuracy.

They use
• double drive-thrus
• dedicated drive-thru teams
• a face-to-face ordering strategy that moves the line faster
• a conveyor belt to move food from the kitchen faster

QUALITY

The A in Chick-Fil-A stands for the "Grade-A" quality of the chicken.

They
• fry in peanut oil
• use small birds which yield more juicy meat
• pre-butter the buns, which creates an umami flavor
• invented a hydraulic system that makes their grilled chicken juicier

Writing this thread has been my pleasure.

If you liked it, follow me @JohnIsBuilding, where I tweet about all things growth.

SOURCES

• https://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-a-best-customer-service-in-fast-food-2019-6
• https://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-a-third-largest-fast-food-chain-us-sales-2020-5
• https://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-a-third-largest-fast-food-chain-us-sales-2020-5?utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_medium=referral
• https://www.thecoldwire.com/why-is-chick-fil-a-so-popular/
• https://www.businessinsider.com/the-unlikely-stars-of-chick-fil-as-most-successful-campaign-2015-7
• https://www.chick-fil-a.com/stories/inside-chick-fil-a/behind-the-scenes-of-the-chick-fil-a-drive-thru
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUdqlbQfWyg

INSPIRATION
@realEstateTrent 🤣

Here's how Chick-Fil-A generates the highest sales per store of any fast food restaurant

Tiny improvements in your sales process can lead to big changes in revenue.

Here are 6 you can make today: 

Let’s say Company A sells software,

has a customer lifetime value of $10,000,

& a sales funnel looks like this:

• 100 Leads
• 50 Sets
• 35 Shows
• 25 Closes

They make $250,000 (25 closes x $10,000) every 100 leads.

Let’s say Company B sells the same software,

but each step in their sales process is 10% more efficient.

Their numbers look like this:

• 100 Leads
• 60 Sets
• 48 Shows
• 39 Closes

Company B makes $390,000 (39 x $10,000) every 100 leads. 

Company B can spend more on marketing because 100 leads are worth $140,000 more to them. 

The result?

Company B grows faster.

A tight funnel is a competitive advantage.

Let's break the funnel down into three sections:  

1. SET
2. SHOW
3. CLOSE

A set is a lead that books a sales appointment. 

There are 2 things you should focus on if you want to maximize sets: 

1. Respond quickly

- You’re 21x more likely to qualify a lead when you call them within 5 minutes vs. 30 minutes

-35% - 50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first.

2. Be persistent

Most reps call a lead 1-2x. 👎

The chance of connecting with a lead is 90% if you call 6 times. 


SHOWs are leads that attend their sales appointment.

I've found two easy ways to boost show rates: 

1. Shorten your booking window  

We found that people were 6x more likely to no show if they booked an appointment > 5 days out. 

The sooner the appointment, the higher the show rate. 

2. Send personalized appointment reminders

• One study found that text message appointment reminders reduce no-shows by 38%

CLOSEs are the number of people that buy from you. 

There are a million things you can do to improve your close rate. 

Here are 2 unconventional ones: 

1. Use a notecard

• Outline the critical parts of your sales process
• Put them onto a notecard
• Print that notecard out & use it on every call

Here’s mine:

2. Pay a pro to audit your pitch

Chances are you’re overcomplicating your offer & it's costing you money. 

Work with a pro to craft a seamless offer & a smooth pitch. 

I bet you'll get an excellent ROI. 👌

TLDR

Make these tiny changes to your sales funnel if you want to see big changes in revenue.

SET
• Respond in < 5m
• Be persistent

SHOW
• Shorten your booking window
• Send personalized appointment reminders

CLOSE
• Use a notecard
• Pay a pro to audit your pitch

If you got value from this thread, follow me @JohnIsBuilding, where I talk about all things growth. 

Tiny improvements in your sales process can lead to big changes in revenue.  Here are 6 you can make today:

If you make less than $10k/mo from your business, read this:

You’re working hard.

But… your bank account doesn’t reflect the effort.

So you try a million things.

& what's the result?

Overwhelm, burnout, & a heaping side of anxiety.

I've been there.

Learn from my mistakes. 

Do these 3 things instead:

1.  Offer one product or service

Bad biz advice is easy to find on Twitter.

The most common:

"When you start your biz, offer a lot of services so you'll become indispensable to your clients." 

The idea is that more services = more value = more revenue. 

🙅🙅🙅

Do the opposite.

Focus on one hyper-specific service & be 10x better than every generalist.

Think about restaurants.

Do you want to eat at a restaurant that claims to serve the world’s best burgers, sushi, & subs?

No.

Why?

Bc you know they’re full of shit.

Now think of your favorite pizza place.

Do they focus 99% of their effort on making pizza?

Probably.

Doing one thing well helps you stand out in a competitive industry. 

2. Be hyper-specific about who you serve

If you’re starting an agency, don’t serve “business owners.”

You'll be competing against companies with millions in revenue & hundreds of employees.

They'll destroy you. 

Instead, get hyper-specific:

🛑
Gym owners
Restaurants
Creators 
Agencies

✅
Boxing gym owners
Take-out restaurants
Youtube creators
SEO agencies


I know a people that make:

• $37k/mo making websites for therapists
• $44k/mo finding guests for podcast hosts
• $73k/mo writing blogs for PPC agency owners

(That's profit, not revenue.)

Warren Buffett says a company needs a moat to be successful.

A moat is a competitive advantage that gives the co. pricing power & above-average profit margins.

By narrowing down your service & targeting specific customers, you’re building a tiny moat.

Tiny niche + super-specific service = moat

You'll have less competition, so you'll quickly become the go-to expert in your field.

&

Having one service makes it easier to deliver consistently.

Consistency keeps churn low. Just ask McDonald's.

3.  Scratch & claw your way to 50 customers

When you start, fight the urge to

• Set up a fancy website
• Run ads
• Post on 10 social media sites
• Write 5 blog posts a wk

There is a time & place for all that, but that time is not now.

🙅🙅🙅

To stand out, do less.

Here's how you get customers: 

1. Make a hyper-targeted list of prospects
2. Send them a 10/10 outreach email w/ a soft pitch
3. Get on the phone w/ as many of them as possible
4. Ask them to buy something from you

If you do this right, you can get to $10k/mo before you have a product or a service.

Jason Cohen used this strategy to build WP-Engine (they're now doing $200mm ARR.)

https://twitter.com/JohnIsBuilding/status/1535326837907173377

Jason called this unscalable, hyper-focused outreach the “scratching & clawing" technique.

Scratch & claw until you have 50 customers (or are consistently making over $10k/mo.)

Once that’s done, think about other marketing techniques. 

TLDR

How to make $10k/mo from your business:

1. Be hyper-specific about who you serve
2. Offer one product or service
3. Scratch & claw your way to 50 customers

If you got value from this thread, follow me @JohnIsBuilding for more tweets on all things growth. 

If you're making < $10k mo from you biz, read this:

7 lessons entrepreneurs can steal from Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) 👇

Austin Kleon wrote

• Steal Like An Artist
• Show Your Work
• Keep Going

His books have sold over 1mm copies.

The Atlantic called him “one of the most interesting people on the Internet.”

I reread all 3 books over the weekend. 

Here are 7 bite-sized lessons: 

/Have a routine

You can control:

• What you work on
• How hard you work on it

A routine allows you to focus on the boring work that gets results.

/Sisyphus, not Odysseus

Business, like art, is an infinite game.

• You never win
• There is no final boss

The best learn to love playing & simply outlast everyone else.

/Copy to reverse engineer success

When starting, copy your heroes. 

• Bezos copied Walton
• Buffett copied Graham
• Gates copied Kildall

Your unique style will appear over time.

/Build something that you want to exist

• Writers should make the book they want to read
• Musicians should make the album they want to listen to

“Complain about the way other people make software by making software.” -@torrez

/Show how the sausage gets made

You can form a unique connection with your audience by sharing your day-to-day process.

Sharing costs little & comes with infinite upside

The asymmetric upside is why “build in public” is popular.

/Publish every day

90% of what we make is crap.

“We don’t always know what’s good & what sucks.”

Constant feedback helps you ship better work.

/Be consistent

Most people quit too early.

Want to hit your goals?

Show up every day for a long time.

TLDR

• Have a routine
• Sisyphus, not Odysseus
• Copy to reverse engineer success
• Build something that you want to exist
• Show how the sausage gets made
• Publish every day
• Be consistent

If you enjoyed this thread, follow me @JohnIsBuilding for more content on all things growth.

For more on @austinkleon:

• Sign up for his newsletter: https://austinkleon.substack.com
• Buy his books: https://austinkleon.com/books/

7 lessons entrepreneurs can steal from Austin Kleon

These 6 founders bootstrapped 3 boring web design businesses into $1.25 BILLION in ARR.

They proved that you could turn a sleepy agency business into a SaaS empire.

Let's break down this underrated strategy: 

There are 2 popular SaaS-building strategies: 

1. Bootstrap - eat ramen & build software. Hope that one day you get a customer.

2. Raise VC $$$ - hire a team & build software. Hope that one day you get acquired. 

But there may be a better way. 

The hybrid model is using an agency biz to bootstrap a software service. 

It works. Here's your proof: 

@jasonfried & @dhh - 37signals, 100k+ customers

@benchestnut & Dan Kurzius - Mailchimp, sold for $12B

@davegreiner & Ben Richardson - Campaign Monitor, $154mm rev in 2019

To start:  

-buy an existing agency that serves your target customers 
-build from scratch

Buying saves time. Building comes with more flexibility.

The agency becomes your platform business.

Here are the advantages of having a platform business: 

-No VC required

-Product/market fit is almost guaranteed

-Acquiring the skills you need to run a successful agency will give you an edge in the SaaS world

/No VC required

• A successful agency has steady profits
• Those profits can be reinvested into developing software
• This lets you build at your own pace & control your destiny

The SaaS products in all 3 examples started as side projects & took time to develop. 

/All 3 companies were scratching their own itch:

•MailChimp → customers didn’t have a good way to send emails

•Basecamp → had trouble managing multiple projects by email

•Campaign Monitor → didn't like existing email marketing tools

Building something your company or customers need guarantees a product/market fit.

/Acquiring the skills you need to run a successful agency will give you an edge in the SaaS world

Most successful agency founders are good at:
1. sales & marketing
2. managing people
3. capital allocation

Here's why that matters:

Sales & marketing:

Most agencies sell a commoditized service. To stand out they:

• position themselves well
• charge a premium price
• find good customers

VC-backed startups spend 30-50% of their funds on marketing. It takes resourcefulness to compete against that.

Manage people:

• Agency salaries are low
• Fighting turnover is hard
• Need to use incentives other than money to keep talent

Software dev salaries are high. If you’re competing against FB & Google for top talent, you will probably not outspend them.

Capital allocation

• Agency cashflows can be lumpy
• Need to get the most out of every $1 to survive

This skill is helpful when your VC-backed competitor has $10 in the bank for every $1 you have.


These companies inspired us when we started Kilo. 

We acquired a website co. that served gym owners. 

Once we hit $100k MRR, we started making software to help our customers more.

Things took off from there.

It was way less risky & stressful than building from scratch. 

TLDR

Buy or build a profitable agency, then build SaaS. 

Why?

-Agency profits can be reinvested
-You're guaranteed product/market fit 
-Your skills will give you an edge in the SaaS world

This model has been proven by some of the most successful SaaS founders. 

I hope you've found this thread helpful. 

Follow me @JohnIsBuilding for more tweets on all things growth.

Buy an agency, build a SaaS empire

Jason Cohen (@asmartbear) bootstrapped his WordPress hosting company, WP-Engine, to an estimated $200mm ARR. 

Let me show you: 
-Why he thinks 1,000 true fans is BS
-The email that got him his first 30 customers 
-How to use it to grow your biz & meet interesting people

BACKSTORY: 

-Kevin Kelly writes 1,000 True Fans & says to make a living as a creator, you need 1,000 people who will buy anything you put out.

-Seth Godin shares the idea & makes it internet dogma.

-Kevin Kelly gets a bunch of emails from creators saying that you need way less than 1,000 true fans to make a living

-Kevin Kelly redacts the initial idea

-No one listens

Jason says the real target is 150 customers, not 1,000 fans.

"1k people at any price point is really hard." -@asmartbear

Getting 150 customers is easier. 

Here's how to do it:
 
0-50: scratching & clawing
51-75: social media - guest posts, podcasts, etc. 
76-100: 101 marketing

The first 50 customers are the hardest. 

Jason found a cheat code. 

He went on LinkedIn & found 40 target customers. 

He then sent them this email: 

Here are the results: 

40 emails sent
40 responses 
38 appointments
30 sales

& FYI, 0 people charged him for their time.

🤯

A typical hosting company would be happy converting 3.3% of their qualified leads into customers. 

Jason converted at 75%... BEFORE he had a product.

Why was the email so effective?

1.

Offering to pay for the prospect's time showed respect. 

It was also genius. 

B2B companies pay $200+ for semi-qualified leads all the time. 

Rather than offering that money to Zuck, Jason offered it to the prospect & built massive rapport. 

2. 

The email positions the prospect as an expert.

By offering to pay for their time, he's conveying that the prospect's expertise is valuable. 

People love feeling important.

3.

He didn't pitch a sales call. 

Instead, he asked for feedback. This shows humility & makes him likable.

This strategy is still effective today. 

Low-effort outreach is commonplace. 

Spending 2x the time making your outreach about the other person can produce 100x the result. 

Look at @dickiebush's & @thejustinwelsh's responses on @dankoe's thread on writing effective DMs.

So if you want to stand out in a sea of shitty outreach: 

1. Explain what is in it for your prospect
2. Respect the prospect's time & expertise
3. Be likable

@noahkagan offers another good example. 

https://twitter.com/noahkagan/status/1504824406568275975 

TLDR: 

-You need 150 customers, not 1,000 raving fans
-The first 50 customers are the hardest to get
-Good outreach is effective when you're first starting

Good outreach:
-Explains what is in it for the prospect
-Respects the prospect's time & makes them feel important

I hope you've found this thread helpful.

Follow me @JohnIsBuilding for more tweets on all things growth.

The email Jason Cohen used to bootstrap WP-Engine to $200mm A

These 6 creators built a Twitter audience of 4,588,184 people. 

Here's what they'd do if they were starting from 0: 

After spending 11 hours,

· Listening to interviews
· Watching videos
· Searching tweets

I learned that you only need three things to grow a massive audience:

1. Credibility
2. Connection
3. Consistency

Let's break down each one: 

/Credibility

When you're starting, no one has a reason to listen to you. 

To get traction either: 

1. Be unbelievably specific
2. Borrow credibility

Let's explore each one:

1. Be unbelievably specific

From @mkobach: 

"The black circle represents everything that makes you, you. That little white circle... that's what you should be tweeting about."

By niching down, you attract a small group of people who're passionate about your content. 

"After about [6-18] months, you can expand the circle & get a little broader."

You have to earn trust & attention before you talk about topics with many established, credible experts. 

2. Borrowing credibility

When @chrishlad started tweeting, no one engaged with his threads.

So he started summarizing podcasts & tagging the guests. 

"It didn't do very well, maybe 10-15 likes, but that's better than the 0-1 likes I was getting before."

15x improvement!

@dickiebush said you need to avoid giving "commodity advice" until you're credible. 

By curating other experts, you earn trust by presenting popular ideas through a different lens. 

@aaditsh says borrow credibility but add perspective. 

If you don't, you'll be known for your research, not your ideas.

/Connection

Followers are a vanity metric. 

Connections matter more. 

When starting, form connections by responding to posts & comments in your niche. 


@garyvee is a prolific tweeter w/ 3mm followers. 

He recommends his $1.80 strategy to new users: 

· Search for 10 phrases your audience talks about
· Comment your 2 cents on 9 posts for each phrase

10 phrases x 9 posts x 2 cents = $1.80

Repeat every day.

Testimonials:

@chrishlad recommends focusing your early efforts on adding value in the comment section. 

His first few hundred followers came from a response he made to an Elon Musk tweet. 

/Consistency

Creating every day is hard. 

When starting, focus on inputs instead of outcomes.

Post helpful comments.
Tweet useful content. 
Repeat over & over.

Good inputs + time = big audience

@jameclear recommends posting 1 tweet per day that provides insane value.

FYI: He published his weekly newsletter for 5 years before writing his first book. 

It went on to sell 5mm copies.

https://twitter.com/JamesClear/status/1295770247602077699

@dickiebush recommends 1 tweet per day and 1 thread per week for a year.

He used a similar rhythm to grow from 2k to 209k followers in 18 months.

https://twitter.com/dickiebush/status/1531267367082381312

To get traction, @mkobach posted twice a day for over a year.

https://twitter.com/mkobach/status/1336727035213828096

@garyvee's Twitter account is 5,508 days old. 

He has tweeted 205,313 times. 

That is 37 tweets a day for 15 years 🤯. 

TLDR

To grow on Twitter, focus on three things: 

1. Credibility
2. Connection
3. Consistency 