User Acquisition: Zero-Budget Ways to Acquire New Customers

1. ACQUIRING CUSTOMERSWITH ZERO MARKETING BUDGET
PJ LEIMGRUBER | @MISTERPEEJ | EIA 2016

2. ABOUT THE SPEAKERP.J. LEIMGRUBER | @MISTERPEEJ

3. INTRODUCTION
ABOUT PJ LEIMGRUBER
▸ 1988 - Born in New York, Grew up in Florida
▸ 2011 - Bootstrapped an e-Commerce startup, RAGEHATS, to $50k/month
▸ 2012 - Co-Founded a boutique digital marketing/SEO firm, Rank Executives
▸ 2013 - Co-Founded, NEOREACH w/ brother @ Stanford, California. Raised 3M
in VC dollars.
▸ 2016 - Returned to Florida to focus on building my next venture in the PR
space.

4. INTRODUCTION
MY BACKGROUND
▸ Rank Executives - Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Internet Ads, Content/
Blogger Marketing, PR, Web Development.
▸ Key Clients: Nissan USA & Watches.com
▸ NeoReach - Influencer Marketing Search & Management Software for
Enterprise business and Ad Agencies
▸ Key Clients: Unilever, NBC Universal, Travel Channel, Citrix, Blue Apron,
Nnvidia, Wal-Mart, New York Times, Fan Duel

5. INTRODUCTION
MY HOBBIES
▸ I’m learning to mix & produce music.
▸ I love basketball, and I play as often as I can.
▸ I enjoy cooking and scouting out new restaurants in new cities. I believe the
best way to learn about a destination is to experience the cuisine.
▸ I play poker
▸ I have a cute dog named Sadie.

6. ACQUIRING CUSTOMERSWITH ZERO MARKETING BUDGET

7. GETTING STARTED
WHAT WILL WE COVER TODAY? STUFF THAT COSTS TIME BUT NOT MONEY
▸ Submission Sites & Posting Tactics
▸ The Basics of Content Marketing & Blogging
▸ How To Outreach To Bloggers, Press & Future Customers
▸ Social Media Best Practices
▸ Other Random Tactics, Tools and Strategies
▸ And most important…

8. HOW TO USE GOOGLEB/C YOU’VE BEEN DOING IT WRONG THIS WHOLE
TIME…

10. GETTING STARTED
USING GOOGLE PROPERLY IS THE BACKBONE FOR GROWTH HACKING
▸ The use of “quotes” tells Google to search for this exact phrase in this exact
order.
▸ The use of + is the most effective way to separate words in the same search.
▸ For example: “write for us” + blog.
▸ Using these advanced search operators will make you laser sharp at using
Google.
▸ TRY IT!

11. GETTING STARTED
INSTALL GOOGLE WEBMASTER TOOLS & ANALYTICS
▸ It’s free to sign up.
▸ Install custom analytics code onto your website/landing page.
▸ Tracks visitors & other important metrics like time on site, bounce rate, click
through rate (CTR)
▸ Great data = informed decision making.

12. SUBMISSION &
POSTING TACTICS
FREE PLACES YOU CAN LIST
YOUR WEBSITE/STARTUP
THAT WILL SEND FREE
TRAFFIC!

13. PART 1: SUBMISSION AND POSTING BASED TACTICS
TACTIC #1 - STUMBLEUPON
StumbleUpon
Free web-browser
extension which acts as an
intelligent browsing tool
for discovering and
sharing web sites by a
recommendation engine

14. PART 1: SUBMISSION AND POSTING BASED TACTICS
TACTIC #2 - PRODUCT HUNT
A curation of the best new
products, every day.
Discover the latest mobile
apps, websites, and
technology products that
everyone's talking about.

15. PART 1: SUBMISSION AND POSTING BASED TACTICS
TACTIC #3 - SCOOP.IT
Launch a topic at Scoop.it
and post your website into
your topic page

16. PART 1: SUBMISSION AND POSTING BASED TACTICS
TACTIC #4 - REDDIT & R/STARTUPS
Share your startup on
Reddit’s /r/startups category
or any other hyper targeted
subreddit.
Note - Engage with the
community first. Don’t just
sign up and post. They hate
spammers.

17. PART 1: SUBMISSION AND POSTING BASED TACTICS
TACTIC #5 - CREATE A CRUNCHBASE PAGE
CrunchBase
CrunchBase is the leading
platform to discover
innovative companies and
the people behind them.
Used by millions of
entrepreneurs, investors,
and analysts.
pro tip: works great for recruiting & hiring

18. CREATE COOL CONTENTAND GIVE IT AWAY… THIS IS CONTENT MARKETING

19. PART 2: CONTENT MARKETING
REMEMBER…
▸ You are considered an expert in the field of which
your company/startup is in.
▸ So put that knowledge to good use - and help
make the internet better by contributing to it.
▸ Guess who searches for information related to
your expert area of genius?? (YOUR CUSTOMERS)

20. PART 2: CONTENT MARKETING
THE GOLDEN RULE
In order to GET value
You must GIVE value!

21. PART 2: CONTENT MARKETING
EXAMPLES OF COOL CONTENT
▸ Infographics
▸ Blog Posts
▸ Viral Memes
▸ Slideshares
▸ Whitepapers
▸ How To Guides
▸ Viral Videos
▸ Giveaways
▸ Webinars
▸ Free Tools
▸ Industry Reports
▸ News/Press Releases

22. PART 2: CONTENT MARKETING
EXAMPLES OF COOL CONTENT

23. PART 2: CONTENT MARKETING
RESOURCES ON THE WEB ▸ Share Infographics:
▸ http://visual.ly/
▸ Create & Share Viral Memes:
▸ https://imgflip.com/memegenerator
▸ Publish Slideshares:
▸ http://www.slideshare.net
▸ Blogging Communities:
▸ https://myblogu.com
▸ https://topbloggers.com/

24. WRITE AN AWESOME BLOG POST
JUST ONE - BUT MAKE IT AMAZING!!!

25. PART 2: CONTENT MARKETING
Write attention grabbing
headline guides or write
posts that fill these
templates.
Free Tool:
https://
www.portent.com/tools/
title-maker
• The Secret of [blank]
• Little Known Ways to [blank]
• Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All
• What Everybody Ought to Know about [blank]
• The Lazy [blank’s] Way to [blank]
• 4 Ways to [Blank] That You Never Knew Existed
HOW TO BLOG EFFECTIVELY - WRITE MAGNETIC HEADLINES

26. PART 2: CONTENT MARKETING
▸ Write a post called “Our competitor
vs Our Company”
▸ This will attract search engine traffic
looking for reviews of competitor
HOW TO BLOG EFFECTIVELY - WRITE A POST COMPARING YOU VS. COMPETITOR

27. OUTREACHAKA… MESSAGING STRANGERS ON THE INTERNET

28. PART 3: OUTREACH
TACTIC #1 - CREATE A MEDIA KIT FOR YOUR “THING” (PRODUCT/COMPANY/STARTUP)
▸ This can be a is a word document or powerpoint.
▸ MUST INCLUDE: company overview, images/screenshots, logos,
▸ What problem does your “thing” solve? Who are the users of your “thing”?
▸ How can people learn more or get started using your “thing”
▸ This will make it easy for someone to learn about you, write about you,
recommend you, etc.

29. PART 3: OUTREACH
TACTIC #2 - OUTREACH TO BLOGGERS
Outreach to bloggers
and invite them to share
your content.
Best way is to Google for
blogs in your industry or
Find them using any of
these services:

30. PART 3: OUTREACH
TACTIC #3 - FIND GUEST POSTING OPPORTUNITIES
▸ Guest authorship means YOU
author your own blog post on a
topic (related to your company/
product/startup)
▸ Make it interesting; and not too
sales focused.
▸ Be sure to include your name and a
link to your site in your author bio.

31. PART 3: OUTREACH
PRO TIP: GOOGLE IS THE BEST FOR FINDING THESE OPPORTUNITIES
• Here’s how: Search “Write for us” + Your Industry/Niche +
Blog or “Guest Post” + Your Industry/Niche + Blog!
• Use “quotes” around a term, this tells Google to look
exactly for this term, in this particular order. Parse your
queries by adding a +
• This will help Google better narrow down your search
and return laser focused results!

32. PART 3: OUTREACH
TACTIC #4 - OUTREACH TO INFLUENCERS IN YOUR INDUSTRY
Outreach to influential people on
Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest,
Facebook, Vine etc. and invite
them to share your content.
There is an entire industry
devoted to this called “Influencer
Marketing.”
Hard to get for free, but hell - we
don’t have any money so its
worth a shot!

33. PART 3: OUTREACH
TACTIC #5 - PINPOINT AND MESSAGE AN INDUSTRY JOURNALIST
Pinpoint a new journalist at a big
publication, offer them an exclusive on
your content.
Provide them with data that only you
have access to.
Help the new journalist look good.
Tweet @ them or Message on LinkedIN

34. PART 3: OUTREACH
TACTIC #5 CONT - EXAMPLE PUBLICATIONS TO TARGET
▸ Huffington Post
▸ Business 2 Community
▸ E Learning Industry
▸ Examiner
▸ Markets Morning
▸ YFS Magazine
▸ Tech Cocktail
▸ Start-Up Beat
▸ Tech Wyse
▸ All Business
▸ Natural News
▸ Elite Daily
▸ The Self Employed
▸ Small Biz Trends
▸ Life Hacker
▸ Socialnomics
▸ Social Media Today
▸ Young Upstarts

35. AND MAKE RELATIONSHIPSDON’T JUST USE THEM AND FORGET IT

36. OUTREACH TO CUSTOMERSTHIS IS CALLED CUSTOMER VALIDATION…

37. PART 3: OUTREACH
TACTIC #6 - OUTREACH TO THEM USING LINKED IN
Have a compelling subject line
No more than 3 paragraphs and
3 sentences per paragraph. Also
known as the 3x3 rule.
Make it about them, not selling
your product.
ASK to set up a quick call to
interview them. ASK for 5 minutes
of their time…

38. PART 3: OUTREACH
TACTIC #7 - OUTREACH TO YOUR SCHOOL’S ALUMNI DATABASE
Contact school alumni on LinkedIn,
leverage their advice and
assistance.
See if your school has an alumni
database.
Great way to get an intro into a big
lead or prospect. Better B2B
customer acquisition strategy.

39. PART 3: OUTREACH
TACTIC #8 - CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT INTERVIEW SCRIPT
Thank you for your time, my name is < > and I work at < >. We are
working on a new solution that helps companies like yours do < >.
I do not want to sell you anything, but it would be great to get your
feedback to when our product/service is ready, it will best meet the
needs of your company.
Is it okay if I ask you some questions about you so that I can get a
better understanding of how our solution may help you?

40. SOCIAL MEDIATACTICS & BEST PRACTICES

41. PART 4: SOCIAL MEDIA
TACTIC #1 - CREATE A FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGE

42. PART 4: SOCIAL MEDIA
TACTIC #2 - CREATE A TWITTER PAGE
Put in the wrench time
and make some eye
popping designs.
There a tons of templates
and a little work goes a
long way.

43. PART 4: SOCIAL MEDIA
TACTIC #3 - CREATE A GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PAGE

44. PART 4: SOCIAL MEDIA
TACTIC #4 - SHARE THAT AWESOME CONTENT YOU MADE

45. PART 4: SOCIAL MEDIA
TACTIC #5 - DIRECT MESSAGE POWER USERS
Direct message thought
leaders, interact with
them, congratulate them
on their recent press, etc.
Say thanks! Fluff their
ego.
Get a retweet/repost/
reshare

46. PART 4: SOCIAL MEDIA
TACTIC #6 - TRADE SHOUT OUTS
Trade shout outs with
other companies and
thought leaders.
Accounts with a similar
social following to you
will be more willing to
cross promote.

47. PART 4: SOCIAL MEDIA
TACTIC #7 - ADD SOCIAL SHARE BUTTONS TO YOUR CONTENT
Add social sharing buttons to your
site
Yep, no secret sauce here
Just make it easy for your customers
to share the content on your site.

48. OTHER TACTICS & STRATEGIESA MIXED BREW

49. PART 5: A MIXED BREW OF TACTICS
TACTIC #1 - RESPOND TO UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ON QUORA
Respond to unanswered questions in
your niche on Quora. Quora is a
question-and-answer website where
questions are asked, answered,
edited and organized by its
community of users.

50. PART 5: A MIXED BREW OF TACTICS
TACTIC #2 - SIGN UP FOR MENTION
Mention allows you to monitor in real-time
anything published on the web and social
networks.
You can react by getting an alert triggered
by a keyword or key phrase you set up.
Connect social accounts (Twitter,
Facebook, Buffer) to your alerts as well.

51. PART 5: A MIXED BREW OF TACTICS
TACTIC #3 - SIGN UP GOOGLE ALERTS
Google Alerts is a content change detection
and notification service, offered for free by
Google.
The service sends emails to the user when it
finds new results—such as web pages,
newspaper articles, blogs, or scientific
research—that match the user's search term.
Great way to find authors, bloggers, and
websites in your niche.

52. PART 5: A MIXED BREW OF TACTICS
TACTIC #4 - SUBMIT A FREE PRESS RELEASE
Write a press release. If you don’t know what
those are. Google them, read some, and
give it your best shot.
Then you can submit a free press release
using a service like PRlog

53. PART 5: A MIXED BREW OF TACTICS
TACTIC #5 - HELLO BAR
HelloBar is one of the more
popular lead generation tools
available, and it allows you to
add these eye-catching
notification bars to the top of a
webpage.
I have been using this tool
myself for about eight months
now, and it has never
disappointed me.

54. PART 5: A MIXED BREW OF TACTICS
TACTIC #6 - COMPETITOR RESEARCH
Grab the URL of your
closest competitor
Use tools like
MajesticSEO to see who
links to your competitors.
Outreach to those
webmasters, and ask
them to feature your
product/service/website.

55. THE ENDQUESTIONS?
▸ Tweet (and follow) @misterpeej and ask me
any questions.
▸ Skype Me: pj.neoreach