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

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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. 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.