HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Play the Volume Game

Play the Volume Game is a cold outreach tactic for getting your first users: Sending cold DMs at large scale, accepting low per-message conversion in exchange for raw reach, often using automation to hit the numbers manual sending can't.

It's a strong fit for B2B SaaS and Consumer / mobile apps teams, and works especially well for consumer mobile apps, broad-market SaaS, beta recruiting. As a cold outreach play, plan for high effort and expect results to build gradually over time, all grounded in 5 linked primary sources.

Cold outreachHigh effortSlow

Why does cold outreach work for this?

When conversion per message is small, total output is the only lever that reliably produces conversations, and tooling makes that output achievable for a solo founder or tiny team.

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.

Unlock the steps · $29 oncePlus all 3,000+ tactics and the new ones we add weekly.

Sources

Works for
B2B SaaSConsumer / mobile apps

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Play the Volume Game" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for B2B SaaS and Consumer / mobile apps — 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 "Play the Volume Game" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 5 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 high effort, and results tend to be slow.
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 10 Paying Customers for My SaaS, is in the paid library.

Related tactics

Cold outreachMedium effort· Medium

Cold-Pitch HR Decision-Makers Directly

For a workplace product, reach out by phone and message straight to HR decision-makers and pitch the tool as a ready-made office or team activity.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachMedium effort· Medium

Run a 2,000/Month Cold Email Stack: Apollo, ZeroBounce, Lemlist

A commenter shares a working cold-email pipeline: pull leads from Apollo.io, scrub them through ZeroBounce, then sequence via Lemlist, loading ~2,000 contacts a month for roughly $400, with about a 25% close rate on those who reply.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachHigh effort· Fast

Pre-Sell With Proof of Work Before You Build

You win the deal by showing the prospect a tangible, personalized version of the result first — a mockup, a before/after of their own product, or even free finished work — before asking for money or even having a product.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachMedium effort· Fast

Tiny List, Real Homework

Instead of blasting hundreds of strangers, hand-pick a few dozen highly relevant prospects and write each one a message that proves you actually studied them.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachHigh effort· Medium

Scrape Lists and Send Personalized Cold Emails

Hand-scrape tightly targeted prospect lists and send personalized (not mass-blasted) cold emails, tuning the message until it converts.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachMedium effort· Medium

Merge the Prospect's Logo Into a Personalized Photo (Logo T-Shirt Trick)

Use an image-merge tool like Lemlist to drop each prospect's logo into a real photo, such as a teammate wearing a shirt with their logo or a screenshot of you on their website.

Read the steps →

Get all 3,000+ tactics in one place

Filter by your product and channel, follow the exact steps, and get the new tactics we add every week. One payment, yours for good.

Unlock for $29 onceBrowse by channel