pentaclay

Hello fellow hustlers,

I always check the posts in r/SideProject. I'm looking for innovative ideas or interesting projects you guys are working on.

But most of the time I get disappointed reading the title or the post. Not many details, no emphasis on the title, or just posting the link to your website. These won't work if you're trying to get some attention around your project.

​

I understand some of you are just trying to get a backlink from Reddit, but you can use Reddit for more. Last week I posted about how I made XXXX amount of money from my 1st client, that post hit 18.7k views.

I analyzed the post and what I did differently that attracted a bunch of viewers. Here's what I wrote about 👇

​

• The title attracted the viewers to click on the post. In my title, I showed the amount, how I acquired my first client and what are the services that I'm providing. Also, how you can achieve that?

You can see a trailer/teaser from the title and you want to know more. Obviously never lie or trick the users, you'll lose your credibility.

​

• In the post, I started with what I do, and what are my experiences, when I launched my design subscription business.

You're trying to promote your service/software, as a viewer I always want to know who you are, what you do, and what are your experiences, these build credibility.

​

• Then I wrote about what are the methods I tried to acquire clients, what type of content I posted on each social media, which content worked, what did not work, and which social platform worked for me.

These are values I'm sharing with my viewers. They can try what worked for me.

​

• I also shared what are the methods I'll try next.

This shows I'm not stopping here, I'll continue to dig.

​

• In the end, I kept open questions to my viewers, what worked for them or what methods should I try next?

Now they feel eager to reply in a comment. It's building engagement with the post.

​

• In between or at the end of the post I shared my design subscription business Pentaclay.

Why? Because if they read at the end of the post that means they are finding value from the post, they're trusting me somehow, now is the time I can post about my product.

​

Now tell me when was the last time you tried to engage with your viewers like this? Or have you ever tried to write engaging posts? I would love to hear from you guys! 👇

​

Thank you.

​

​

Hey fellows,

I'm Erfan. I started my career in UI/UX and graphic design back in 2013.

DaaS - Design as a Subscription business model has been growing quite fast for a couple of years.

I planned to start my own design subscription business 4-5 months ago. I was in confusion about whether this model actually works. However, the preparation and launching of my website took almost 3 months.

✅ After Launching What Methods I Tried?

I started digging to acquire clients. I started with LinkedIn, X, Facebook Page, and Dribbble.

I regularly share about my design subscription service, UI/UX designs, design tips, business ideas, and stories. Actually, I'm still testing what content works for each platform.

Later on, I started digging Reddit, Indie Hackers, Hackernews, and some other platforms.

I am also trying FB boosting, Dribbble boosting, and X ads. I tried cold emailing too, but this needs another level of expertise. I won't bother about cold emailing now, I'll probably hire someone to do this.

✅ How did I get my First Client?

Well, two months ago a prospect messaged me on LinkedIn. Why LinkedIn? Because I do have good credibility on LinkedIn. I've been actively using LinkedIn for maybe 8-9 years.

I convinced the client to jump into a call, though I hadn't released my design subscription website back then.

After two months of back-and-forth communication, and cold follow-ups, finally he subscribed for a 15-day trial subscription for $1090. That's a clear win for me. 🏅

I also got a couple of responses from email marketing, but none converted.

✅ What Methods I might Try Next?

I'll try influencer marketing and shoutouts. I'll also try to feature my landing page on various websites. But trying these options needs some cash. Maybe after getting 2 more clients, I'll try these steps.

Landing a single client took 2 months, I know taking this long to land a client won't be feasible for this business, but for starting or for maybe the first 5 clients I need to dig this way.

If anyone wondering what the website looks like, here it is 👉 Pentaclay

Let me know your thoughts 👇

Thank you.

Hey everyone,

I started planning to start my design subscription business 4-5 months ago. The preparation and launching took me almost 3 months.

What methods I tried

Then I started digging to acquire clients. I tried posting on Linkedin, X, Facebook Page, Reddit, Indie Hackers, Hackernews and some other platforms.

I am also trying FB boosting, Dribbble boosting, and X ads. I tried cold emailing too, but this needs another level of expertise, I think in the future I might hire people to do cold emailing.

Wait I forgot to share my website, here it is 👉 Pentaclay

What methods I might try next

I'll try influencer marketing, shoutouts, and paid featured on various websites in the near future. Maybe after getting 2 more clients. This will help me gain some cash to run these.

How I got my first client

Two months ago a prospect messaged me on LinkedIn. I convinced him to jump into a call, I hadn't released my design subscription website yet.

After two months of back-and-forth communication, and cold follow-ups, finally he subscribed for a 15-day trial subscription for $1090. That's a clear win for me.

​

I know taking this long to land a client won't be feasible for this business, but for starting or for may be first 5 clients I need to dig this way.

​

Let me know your thoughts 👇 Thanks.