The Referral → Outreach Loop

A surprising thing about referrals is that they often lead to interesting partnerships and cold outreach strategies.

Here's a set of steps we've followed. These have led to hundreds of thousands in revenue in less than two months—for many companies we've worked with. Think about them as you craft your own referral strategy.

1. Find your happiest users.
2. Figure out what groups they belong to. This could be anything from a female founders group to a university alumni network to a restaurant management trade association. How do you find out? Ask them, literally. Ask what groups they belong to.
3. Ask your happy users to connect you with the heads of those groups. Solve a problem they have, even if it's not related to your business. For example, you can refer new members to the group. You can also refer speakers, offer deals, offer to write content for them, or provide free office hours. Down the road, these people will inevitably send you referrals.
4. Reach out, cold, to similar people in those groups, referencing the original happy users as case studies (with their permission).

Going through groups is particularly powerful because it only takes one entry point to reach many, many people.

A growth strategy that relies on relationships and warm introductions, but reaches thousands of people?

Sign us up. That's scalable and sound.

Other examples of outreach incentives

If you're targeting founders and find that many users come from Indie Hackers, you could host a free office hours session and offer a special deal for Indie Hackers users.

If you're making an automation tool for lobbyists, ask your customers if they're part of a lobbying association. You might throw a joint webinar with an organization like the Lobbying Institute.

If you're targeting real estate developers, you might write an opinion piece in your local newspaper explaining the hidden benefits of a recent new development, then email that link to your local real estate development association.

If you're targeting coffee connoisseurs, consider doing a live class on brewing techniques, with a special deal for attendees.

If you're targeting millennial and gen Z investors and find that many users come from the personal finance subreddit, you might consider doing an AMA and offering a special deal for Redditors.