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Get your first Customers

4 min readJust now

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1. The “Reddit Intercept” (Social Listening)

The Problem: You are shouting into the void on Twitter/X, hoping someone notices your launch. Meanwhile, potential users are actively asking for your solution elsewhere, but you aren’t hearing them.

The Solution: Stop broadcasting and start intercepting.

Reddit is the largest database of unsolved problems on the internet. At any given moment, someone is likely posting “Is there an alternative to X?” or “How do I solve [Problem your app solves]?”

The Play:

• Identify Keywords: Don’t just search for your product category. Search for the pain phrases (e.g., “slow website,” “Stripe API error,” “alternative to Mailchimp”).
• Set Up Alerts: Use tools like F5Bot or Syften (or even Google Alerts with site:reddit.com) to get notified instantly when these keywords are mentioned.
• The “Help-First” Reply: Do not just drop a link and leave. That gets you banned. Write a helpful comment that actually answers their question or solves part of their problem. Only then, add a footer: “Full disclosure: I ran into this too, so I built [Project Name] to fix it.”

This targets “high-intent” users — people who are actively feeling the pain right now.

2. The “Directory” Launch

The Problem: You have a live URL, but zero traffic. Google hasn’t indexed you yet, and nobody knows you exist.

The Solution: Piggyback on the traffic of established directories.

Launching on directories isn’t just about the initial spike in traffic; it’s about building “domain authority” and getting in front of early adopters who are willing to test buggy MVPs.

The Play:

• Launch on ProofStories[Shameless Plug]: Unlike generic directories, ProofStories is focused on founder journeys and validation. Submitting here puts your product in front of other founders and builders — the exact demographic most likely to try a new tool and give constructive feedback.
• The SEO Bonus: Being listed on high-quality directories like ProofStories creates authoritative backlinks to your site. This tells Google your site is legitimate, helping you rank for your own keywords faster.
• Leverage the “Featured” Flag: Most directories have a mechanism to highlight quality launches. Ensure your submission has a clear value prop and good visuals to get flagged as “Featured,” which can 10x your traffic overnight.

3. The “Founder Concierge” Strategy (High-Touch Engagement)

The Problem: You hide behind your code and automated email sequences. Users sign up, get confused, and churn silently. You have no idea why they left.

The Solution: Do things that don’t scale. Replace automation with conversation.

In the early days, you are not a CEO; you are customer support.

The Play:

• The Personal DM: If you see a signup come from Twitter or LinkedIn, DM them immediately. “Hey, saw you just signed up. I’m the founder — let me know if you get stuck.”
• Concierge Onboarding: Don’t just send them a documentation link. Offer to set up their account for them. If it’s a dev tool, offer to write their first config file.
• The “Why” Question: Send a plain-text email (no HTML, no logos) to every new signup: “I’m trying to make this product better — what is the one thing you are hoping this tool solves for you today?”

This direct engagement creates “superfans” who will forgive your bugs and evangelize your product to others.

4. “Engineering as Marketing” (The Free Tool Trap)

The Problem: You hate writing sales copy, you dread cold emails, and you just want to stay in your IDE.

The Solution: Stop trying to be a marketer. Use your coding skills to build a marketing engine.

Instead of writing blog posts or tweets, build a tiny, free, single-purpose tool that solves a specific sub-problem for your customers.

The Play:

• Identify a Micro-Pain: What is a small, annoying task your potential customers do? (e.g., generating a robots.txt file, checking DNS propagation, formatting JSON).
• Build the “Toy”: Create a simple, free web tool to solve that one thing. No login required. No paywall.
• The Upsell: On the results page of that free tool, place a subtle Call to Action (CTA) for your main product.
• Example: If you built an Email Marketing SaaS, build a free “Email Subject Line Tester.” When users check their subject line, show them: “Want to send this email to 1,000 people? Try [Main Product].”

Want more tactical deep dives? This story was originally published on ProofStories, a platform dedicated to the unfiltered truth of building startups. We curate case studies, validation experiments, and growth tactics from founders who are actually doing the work.

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