That\u2019s going from $0 to $60,000 per year in only 180 days or so. How would that change your life?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not going to sugarcoat it: it won\u2019t be easy, it\u2019s not a get-rich-quick scheme, and it\u2019s not something everyone can do. But before you dismiss the whole thing as a pipe dream, let me introduce you to someone.<\/p>\n
Meet Nathan Barry<\/a>. He\u2019s an author, software designer, and entrepreneur.<\/p>\n But he\u2019s also someone who gave himself the challenge described above a few years back. The result? ConvertKit<\/a>. Maybe you\u2019ve heard of it, maybe you haven\u2019t, but his \u201clittle\u201d project has evolved into a thriving business with 30 employees across 22 cities and over $10 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR)<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an email marketing platform designed for professional bloggers and podcasters. The tagline describes it as \u201cThe power of Infusionsoft, but easier to use than MailChimp,\u201d and with clients that include Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income<\/a> and Copy Hackers<\/a>, it\u2019s definitely struck a chord with that crowd.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s slow it down. I recently spoke to Nathan about how he went from nothing – no idea, no clients, no service – to millions in ARR in just four short years.<\/p>\n In December of 2012, Nathan was fresh off two very successful books that netted him over $80,000 in about 3 months. That said, he was acutely aware of the fact that each book he sold through promotion and lead nurturing was a one-time sale. People bought the book, and went on with their lives.<\/p>\n If he stopped hustling and driving traffic, the sales would dry up.<\/p>\n So, he decided to focus his next project on recurring<\/i> revenue in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry, something he describes as the best model to do that.<\/p>\n The Web App Challenge<\/a> was born. He had to come up with an idea, create the software, and find people willing to pay for it. And he had to hit $5000 in MRR within 6 months.<\/p>\n Simple? Heck no. Not one to make it easy for himself, though, Nathan placed even further restrictions on the task: he could only invest up to $5000 of his own money, and he could spend no more than 20 hours per week on it.<\/p>\n The deadline was set for July 1, 2013. Challenge accepted.<\/p>\n Before we look closer at what and how he pulled it off, I want to highlight a few things about the challenge itself that set Nathan up for success right from the get-go:<\/p>\n “No matter how good a plan is, or how sincere our intentions, humans are horrible at self-discipline. Instructions and info aren\u2019t enough\u2014you need incentives and consequences<\/i>.” ~Tim Ferriss<\/a>, Author, Speaker, Podcast Host, and Innovator<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Starting with nothing, Nathan turned to the concept of idea extraction. Rather than brainstorming a list of products and then trying to find a target group for it, idea extraction<\/a> works in reverse: talk to people in a particular field or industry about their pain points, zero in on a common thread, and create a solution for it.<\/p>\n He started by looking at micro-niches – which makes the idea extraction phase that much easier – and eventually settled on professional bloggers. It\u2019s a big enough umbrella to be profitable – with countless micro-niches within it – and as a blogger himself, Nathan already had insight into the problems and pain points.<\/p>\n \u201cI got tired of hacking around my email provider to implement the tactics I know would grow my blog and increase revenue<\/i>.\u201d ~Nathan Barry<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n His SaaS product, therefore, would be an email marketing solution aimed specifically at professional bloggers.<\/p>\n With something to pitch and numerous niches to target (professional parenting bloggers, professional financial bloggers, professional cooking bloggers, and on and on), he recognized that he needed quick growth and outbound sales (an unusual choice in our inbound digital world).<\/p>\n To get them, Nathan followed the old adage \u201cless is more.\u201d By focusing on an ultra-specific micro-niche (professional [blank] bloggers), he was able to create both a finite list of targets that fit the criteria and (eventually) an echo chamber within the niche itself as use of his service spread.<\/p>\n \u201cThe micro-niche approach is more personalized and less spray and pray. It\u2019s more narrowed in and the CTAs tend to be better<\/i>.\u201d ~Nathan Barry<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Nathan\u2019s list-building method as a start-up was simplicity itself:<\/p>\n It was manual and methodical.<\/p>\n Once he had a long enough list, he began to qualify each one by asking: are they \u201cinternet famous\u201d enough to be featured or interviewed by others? If yes, they probably had an email list of 5000+, making them a worthwhile lead.<\/p>\n Those that fell short were saved to another spreadsheet for possible exploration down the road.<\/p>\n In essence, he\u2019d come across a blog by either searching or browsing, check what platform they\u2019re were using, and reach out to them with a straightforward email template:<\/p>\n Don\u2019t pitch. Just ask<\/a>. Quick introduction. Thanks.<\/p>\n As he gained momentum, Nathan was able to add a bit about others in the same industry already using his service (\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of great bloggers using us like Katie and Seth from Wellness Mama<\/i>, Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income<\/i>, and Chris Guillebeau.\u201d) to provide some always-welcome social proof<\/a>.<\/p>\n By asking about frustrations with their current<\/i> platform, Nathan not only gave them something quick and easy to respond with, but he also got to collect valuable data about pain points and desired features they wanted from a new<\/i> platform. Gold.<\/p>\n As the July 1, 2013, deadline arrived, ConvertKit was bringing in an MRR value of, drum roll, please\u2026<\/p>\n $2480. Nathan Barry had failed on the one metric that mattered – monthly recurring revenue. His target was $5000, and he managed less than half of that. Still impressive – who wouldn\u2019t want an extra $2500 each month? – but not what he set out to accomplish.<\/p>\n That could<\/i> have been the end of the story. Challenge over. Challenge \u201cfailed.\u201d<\/p>\n His enthusiasm waning, Nathan held on to ConvertKit for a few more months. By October 2014, the MRR had fallen to $1000 and he was seriously thinking about pulling the plug.<\/p>\n It was a conversation with a friend that convinced him to switch gears and devote himself full-time<\/i> to the project.<\/p>\n More searches. More outreach. But to truly turn things around, he knew he\u2019d have to expand his process and technique.<\/p>\n For new leads and prospects, he\u2019d follow and interact with them on Twitter and LinkedIn. He\u2019d find out everything he could about them.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m trying to land you as a customer, gradually over time you\u2019re going to see me everywhere<\/i>.\u201d ~Nathan Barry<\/p><\/blockquote>\n By the time he sent his email to them, he was a recognized name in their inbox. This engagement technique generated response rates that were 35% higher than if he\u2019d had no contact with them.<\/p>\n Next, Nathan set his sights on some very big fish. For bloggers with 50,000+ subscribers, he\u2019d follow the same pattern, but he\u2019d eventually send a quick note with a friendly offer:<\/p>\n \u201cHey, I\u2019m in [blank] next week, and I\u2019d love to buy you dinner\/meet up\/talk to you\/get to know you better<\/i>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n He\u2019d schedule a few of these in-person meetups for a given location, hop on a plane, and deliver the kind of personal touch we don\u2019t see much anymore. Nathan met them, connected with them, and asked about their email marketing. Face to face. In real life.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the long-lost art of real-life relationships (remember those?) and an old-school sales practice, but one Nathan believes should be brought back.<\/p>\n Why? Because it differentiates you from everyone else. It makes it all about the customer. And it works.<\/p>\n Nathan Barry had momentum. He had a growing customer base. And his brand was making waves.<\/p>\n The bigger he got, though, the more his whole workflow had to evolve and adapt.<\/p>\n \u201cI made it work through pure hustle, but now other people in the company are actually being smart about it<\/i>.\u201d ~Nathan Barry<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As the company expanded, how they went about getting and<\/i> keeping customers changed a little, too.<\/p>\n They now use an actual CRM instead of a spreadsheet. They now get a decent amount of customers through inbound methods like demo requests and scheduled calls, in addition to the outbound method that still brings them in today.<\/p>\n But most importantly, they discovered a way to erase the biggest, most common friction point: switching email providers with a big subscriber list is just too much work.<\/p>\n Nathan knew that his product was high-quality and that targets immediately recognized the benefit to them.<\/p>\n But those with a big email list were often reluctant to pull the trigger because of the time and effort involved in switching.<\/p>\n Many platforms offer how-tos, walkthroughs, and tutorials on migration. But no one cares.<\/p>\n \u201cDo it for them. It removes the last major objection. It\u2019s like they hang all of their objections on that one thing, and when you take it away, they go \u2018Oh, okay, let\u2019s do it\u2019. I feel like many people in direct sales are missing that part of it<\/i>.\u201d ~Nathan Barry<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe Web App Challenge<\/h2>\n
A Couple of Observations<\/h3>\n
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The Idea and the Target<\/h2>\n
Reaching Out<\/h2>\n
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![\"Sample](\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/ConvertKit-email-template.png?resize=550%2C344&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nDid It Work?<\/h2>\n
Going All In<\/h2>\n
The Personal Touch<\/h2>\n
Kicking Into Overdrive<\/h2>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/ConvertKit-website.png?resize=550%2C303&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nConcierge Migration<\/h2>\n