Finding leads online: people who just wrote about your problem

What is actually blocking you

• You write to contact lists that never asked for anything, so almost nobody replies.
• You find good posts, but months old: the person has moved on.
• Your first message is about your product, not about what the person wrote.

Today's plan

1. 01Prepare

   List the words they use (15 min)

   Not your words, theirs: "I can't figure out", "what tool for", "how do you handle". Add two or three places where your customer talks shop.

2. 02Execute

   Reply to 3 posts under 7 days old (40 min)

   Open each post and check the date, the author and the exact sentence. Reply with concrete help that quotes what they wrote, plus an easy question. No link in the first message.

3. 03Measure

   Note who replies (2 min)

   Out of ten messages like this, count the replies. If recent posts clearly reply more than old ones, you've found your method.

Mistakes to avoid

• Quoting a post you haven't opened: a wrong date or a wrong author, and you lose the person.
• Pasting the same message everywhere: it shows, and some forums ban for it.
• Sending more than three messages a day to the same person, or following up more than once.

Frequent questions

Where should I look first?

Where your customer asks work questions: niche forums, Indie Hackers, Hacker News, industry groups. One place followed well beats five skimmed.

Should I link to my product?

Not in the first message. Help first. If the person replies and is curious about what you do, the link comes naturally.