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w/o any comments? Because the article is heavy on word count but light on details. The author should provide details on the benefits of posting such an articl

w/o any comments? Because the article is heavy on word count but light on details. The author should provide details on the benefits of posting such an article in the first place (potential front page on HN, SEO, nurture customers), which could yield better results compared to what the author actually recommends in the article (spamming).

tertius 9y ago
> compared to what the author actually recommends in the article (spamming). Did you actually read the article? SEO won't get you customers. Selling will. He's saying, sell manually at first so that you can get to know your customer (and also see if your product is valuable). I.e. put in the time. This is universal sales 101. Spending time getting HN frontpage or months on SEO won't get you any customers. Sell.
- jasonsync 9y ago
  Cold emails derived from addresses collected on Google does not constitute spam? I read the article up until that point. == Edit: I'm just saying ... Google "how to get your first 10 customers" https://www.google.ca/search?q=how+to+get+your+first+10+customers https://www.google.ca/search?q=how+to+get+your+first+10+cust... This article has hit the front page. I'm sure most businesses owners looking to get their first 10 customers research those keywords, and may be looking for a payment solution, to get incorporated etc. So the subtle SEO here helps Stripe / Stripe Atlas get more customers. Furthermore, as a startup, content like this allows you to post and promote your brand on Quora, HN, Reddit etc., which can start conversations that lead to sales. These types of posts particularly work great on popular entrepreneur forums. We got many of our first customers, and continue to get customers, by posting content. Combined with a free option. So far we haven't done any spamming via cold emails. Certainly cold emails can work, but they may also come across as being "spammy".
  - no1youknowz 9y ago
    Yes, but I know of marketers who have employed this tactic and it actually does work very well. Especially if you target those emails with laser focus.
  - tertius 9y ago
    Realize that your success in selling your product without actually cold connecting prospects is rare. Also, marketers ruin everything. That's just a part of the game. And yes getting an email about something that I'm not interested in, i.e. 100k bulk email sucks. Getting a personal email about something that I need is different. I.e. qualifying your leads. Provide value first then take profit.
- Kiro 9y ago
  > SEO won't get you customers. What's with the hyperbole? Of course SEO can get you customers. I got all my customers through SEO.
  - tertius 9y ago
    You mean, after they arrived on your website you sold them something?
    - Kiro 9y ago
      Yes, but I'm pretty sure we're discussing outbound selling here though.
  - sharemywin 9y ago
    just curious how long it took to get your first customer from SEO?
    - Kiro 9y ago
      One or two months from launch. Basically just left it there without thinking much of it and then started to get customers all of a sudden. Now doing 7 digits revenue.

tertius 9y ago

> compared to what the author actually recommends in the article (spamming). Did you actually read the article? SEO won't get you customers. Selling will. He's saying, sell manually at first so that you can get to know your customer (and also see if your product is valuable). I.e. put in the time. This is universal sales 101. Spending time getting HN frontpage or months on SEO won't get you any customers. Sell.

jasonsync 9y ago
Cold emails derived from addresses collected on Google does not constitute spam? I read the article up until that point. == Edit: I'm just saying ... Google "how to get your first 10 customers" https://www.google.ca/search?q=how+to+get+your+first+10+customers https://www.google.ca/search?q=how+to+get+your+first+10+cust... This article has hit the front page. I'm sure most businesses owners looking to get their first 10 customers research those keywords, and may be looking for a payment solution, to get incorporated etc. So the subtle SEO here helps Stripe / Stripe Atlas get more customers. Furthermore, as a startup, content like this allows you to post and promote your brand on Quora, HN, Reddit etc., which can start conversations that lead to sales. These types of posts particularly work great on popular entrepreneur forums. We got many of our first customers, and continue to get customers, by posting content. Combined with a free option. So far we haven't done any spamming via cold emails. Certainly cold emails can work, but they may also come across as being "spammy".
- no1youknowz 9y ago
  Yes, but I know of marketers who have employed this tactic and it actually does work very well. Especially if you target those emails with laser focus.
- tertius 9y ago
  Realize that your success in selling your product without actually cold connecting prospects is rare. Also, marketers ruin everything. That's just a part of the game. And yes getting an email about something that I'm not interested in, i.e. 100k bulk email sucks. Getting a personal email about something that I need is different. I.e. qualifying your leads. Provide value first then take profit.
Kiro 9y ago
> SEO won't get you customers. What's with the hyperbole? Of course SEO can get you customers. I got all my customers through SEO.
- tertius 9y ago
  You mean, after they arrived on your website you sold them something?
  - Kiro 9y ago
    Yes, but I'm pretty sure we're discussing outbound selling here though.
- sharemywin 9y ago
  just curious how long it took to get your first customer from SEO?
  - Kiro 9y ago
    One or two months from launch. Basically just left it there without thinking much of it and then started to get customers all of a sudden. Now doing 7 digits revenue.