HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Segment Outlets and Swap Words for Each Category

Segment Outlets and Swap Words for Each Category is a cold outreach tactic for getting your first users: They tagged every outlet as General, Women, Tech, or Education and tweaked the pitch per group, saying "user" for tech sites and "student" elsewhere, and only mentioned a government-backed incubator to outlets with government ties.

It's a strong fit for teams of almost any kind, and works especially well for PR outreach across diverse outlets. As a cold outreach play, plan for high effort and expect results to arrive at a steady pace, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

Cold outreachHigh effortMedium

Why does cold outreach work for this?

Tailored framing makes each journalist feel personally addressed and dodges the bulk-email spam filter.

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
Any / universal

Frequently asked

How is the "Segment Outlets and Swap Words for Each Category" 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 medium.
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.

Related tactics

Cold outreachMedium effort· Medium

Pitch Value (Workshops, Lead Magnets) Instead of Asking for a Share

Cold emails that offer the org something useful, like a free resource or a talk, consistently outperformed emails that just asked them to push your link to members.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachLow effort· Fast

Verify Your Number in Twilio to Get a Green Checkmark, Not 'Spam Likely'

Registers and verifies the calling number and business inside Twilio so the caller ID shows a verified green checkmark instead of being flagged as 'spam likely'.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachHigh effort· Medium

Cold-DM Individuals En Masse to Find First Users

Message lots of individual prospects directly about your product, accepting that responses split sharply between very interested and very disinterested.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachLow effort· Fast

Cap Your Follow-Ups at Two

Send the initial message plus at most one follow-up, then stop chasing anyone who stayed silent.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachLow effort· Fast

Use a Low-Friction DM Script That Just Asks 'Want a Link?'

The script that converted referenced who the person follows, admitted it was a little random, gave a one-line value pitch with an example, and closed with a tiny ask ('Would you like a link?') instead of pasting the URL.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachHigh effort· Fast

Cold-DM People Who Publicly Complained About the Problem

Direct-message Reddit users who posted complaints about your problem with a soft build-in-public note, not a sales pitch.

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