HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Complementary Cross-Promotion

Complementary Cross-Promotion is a partnerships & affiliates tactic for getting your first users: Pair up with companies that serve the same buyer but sell something adjacent rather than competing, then recommend each other to your respective audiences. You borrow the trust and attention they have already earned with your ideal customer.

It's a strong fit for Agencies / services, B2B SaaS, and Dev tools / technical teams, and works especially well for B2B SaaS, dev tools, agencies. As a partnerships & affiliates play, plan for low effort and expect results to show up quickly, all grounded in 6 linked primary sources.

Partnerships & affiliatesLow effortFast

Why does partnerships & affiliates work for this?

A warm recommendation from a trusted, non-competing source converts far better than cold outreach because the endorsement carries borrowed credibility.

The exact steps (4)

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
Agencies / servicesB2B SaaSDev tools / technical

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Complementary Cross-Promotion" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for Agencies / services, B2B SaaS, and Dev tools / technical — pick it when your product looks like one of those, since the play is shaped around how those users find new tools.
How is the "Complementary Cross-Promotion" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 6 primary sources — real founder write-ups and interviews, not generic advice. They are linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original accounts yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is low 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 Get your first 100 SaaS customers for $0 and First 100 Customers for Your SaaS, is in the paid library.

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