For the SumoBusinessBlueprintLIVE I wrote this particular email (below) as part of a sequence of emails.
What’s funny about this one, is that people literally COPIED AND PASTED the ad I made….and put it on Craigslist themselves (changed contact info obviously).
After that, I’ve got at least FOUR EMAILS that said, “I put this ad up on Craigslist just to see what would happen, and within a few hours I got people calling to schedule!”
I love when people have this “lightbulb” moment that this stuff (despite how simple it seems) ….REALLY works!
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EMAIL STARTS RIGHT HEREEEE:
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..I flip the hell out.
….and kick a trash can.
…….and sometimes even kick a puppy.
It’s because they’re THINKING about their idea too damn much, and doing NO ACTUAL real-world tests.
I can already hear you say,
“OK Neville…..then show us wantrepreneurs what you’re talking about if you’re soooo smart.”
Fine….I will. In the next few minutes this email will show you how to make a basic page to validate your idea.
Let’s pretend we’re trying to sell WordPress design services to people in our area. Before we “design a portfolio” and “try to cold-call clients” …..let’s do some simple tests:
LET’S START:
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If you’re trying to measure if people will pay for your idea or service…..try something like this…..it’ll be a quick ad on Craigslist.
Craigslist is easy & free…..and it gets a shitload of traffic….so it’s perfect for us.
The point of this to see if people call us up and want to PAY $money$ for our services:
So we’d make a simple ad like this:
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I MAKE WORDPRESS SITES IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE.
Do you need a WordPress site put up and customized….but don’t know how to do it?
Let ME do it for you!
I have 2 years of WordPress experience and know how to customize themes.
I can even work with you personally, and we can design your site together. I’ll even train you how to use your brand-new site (WordPress is really easy once setup)!
I charge $25/hour and can meet you anywhere in Austin.
Call Neville at 713-301-1546
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Here’s a mockup of the ad I put up on Craigslist (took me 2 minutes to make in photoshop):
Just put that bad-boy up on Craigslist….in this case we’d place it in the SERVICES → COMPUTER section.
I’ve done this before, and started getting calls within a few hours of people wanting to meetup and PAY me!
Most “wantrepreneurs” will do useless stuff like:
- Make a portfolio (and spend a lot of time).
- Register an LLC company (and waste money).
- Try to set themselves up as a “We-Do-Everything” company and lose a lot of niche-power.
…..instead….just GET THE DAMN BALL ROLLING FIRST!
Within the first few clients you’ll make money PLUS get insanely-great feedback on what clients want and need (not to mention you’re getting PAID this whole time)!
See how easy that was to validate?
If we start getting calls and emails requesting our service….BOOM….we’re in business.
If no one bites….then we may have a service most people don’t need.
Peace,
-Neville – A Fatass Sumo
P.S. Tomorrow I’m showing you my #1 go-to place for validating ideas right away (and fo FREE)! Watch for the email tomorrow morning.
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UPDATE (5-1-2012): I got several MORE people using the same ad, but this was my favorite email from it:
Hey Neville,
Just wanted to let you know I used your Craigslist Ad example to grow my SEO business.
Within 12 hours I had 2 leads. One closed today – $300 for 4 hours of work, not bad. The other one will close later this week.
Before posting your ad it took me 6 months to make my first $300.
If you ever want to grab burritos let me know. I live in Austin. I owe ya one or two or three!
Cheers,
Joel