{"id":76023,"date":"2017-07-18T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-18T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/?p=76023"},"modified":"2022-04-29T05:28:05","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T12:28:05","slug":"how-to-get-your-first-1000-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/how-to-get-your-first-1000-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Your First 1,000 Customers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PR<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

This post by Backblaze’s CEO and Co-founder, Gleb Budman, is the fourth in a series about entrepreneurship. You can choose posts in the series from the list below:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. How Backblaze Got Started: The Problem, the Solution, and the Stuff in Between<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Building a Competitive Moat: Turning Challenges Into Advantages<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. From Idea to Launch: Getting Your First Customers<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. How to Get Your First 1,000 Customers<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Surviving Your First Year<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. How to Compete With Giants<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. The Decision on Transparency<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Early Challenges: Managing Cash Flow<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. Early Challenges: Making Critical Hires<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    If you launch your startup and no one knows, did you actually launch? As mentioned in my last post<\/a>, our initial launch target was to get a 1,000 people to use our service. But how do you get even 1,000 people to sign up for your service when no one knows who you are?<\/p>\n

    There are a variety of methods to attract your first 1,000 customers, but launching with the press is my favorite. I\u2019ll explain why and how to do it below.<\/p>\n

    Paths to Attract Your First 1,000 Customers<\/h2>\n

    Social Following:<\/b> If you have a massive social following, those people are a reasonable target for what you\u2019re offering. In particular, if your relationship with them is one where they would buy something you recommend, this can be one of the easiest ways to get your initial customers. However, building this type of following is non-trivial and often is done over several years.<\/p>\n

    Press not only provides awareness and customers, but credibility and SEO benefits as well.<\/div>\n

    Paid Advertising:<\/b> The advantage of paid ads is you have control over when they are presented and what they say. The primary disadvantage is they tend to be expensive, especially before you have your positioning, messaging, and funnel nailed.<\/p>\n

    Viral:<\/b> There are certainly examples of companies that launched with a hugely viral video, blog post, or promotion. While fantastic if it happens, even if you do everything right, the likelihood of going viral is minuscule and the conversion rate is often low.<\/p>\n

    Press:<\/b> As I said, this is my favorite. You don\u2019t need to pay a PR agency and can go from nothing to launched in a couple weeks. Press not only provides awareness and customers, but credibility and SEO benefits as well.<\/p>\n

    How to Pitch the Press<\/h2>\n

    It\u2019s easy: Have a compelling story, find the right journalists, make their life easy, pitch, and follow up. Of course, each one of those has some nuance, so let\u2019s dig in.<\/p>\n

    Have a Compelling Story<\/h3>\n
    \n\n\n\n
    \"How<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nWhen you\u2019ve been working for months on your startup, it\u2019s easy to get lost in the minutiae when talking to others. Stories that a journalist will write about need to be something their readers will care about. Knowing what story to tell and how to tell it is part science and part art. Here\u2019s how you can get there:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

    The Basics of Your Story<\/h3>\n

    Ask yourself the following questions, and write down the answers.<\/p>\n