HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Cold-DM People Who Publicly Complained About the Problem

Cold-DM People Who Publicly Complained About the Problem is a cold outreach tactic for getting your first users: Direct-message Reddit users who posted complaints about your problem with a soft build-in-public note, not a sales pitch.

It's a strong fit for teams of almost any kind, and works especially well for Early first-users push with zero budget. As a cold outreach play, plan for high effort and expect results to show up quickly, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

Cold outreachHigh effortFast

Why does cold outreach work for this?

A relevant, non-salesy DM tied to a real complaint converts far better than any broadcast promo.

The exact steps (5)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

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Sources

Works for
Any / universal

Frequently asked

How is the "Cold-DM People Who Publicly Complained About the Problem" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 1 primary source — a real founder write-up or interview, not generic advice. It is linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original account yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is high effort, and results tend to be fast.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Source — IndieHackers, is in the paid library.

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