You just built an app that solves a problem you have experienced yourself, or one you have clearly observed in other people.
The app works. It delivers value. Maybe you even use it yourself.
So why is it still so hard to find users?
You have reached out to 10, 50, maybe 100 people online. You have dropped a link into forums or communities that seem like they should care. And still: little to no response.
If this sounds familiar, you are not alone.
Cold outreach is hard. And extremely time-consuming. But that does not mean it cannot work. In fact, for early-stage founders, it can be one of the most direct ways to reach the people who may eventually become your first users.
You just have to approach it with the right perspective:
First, cold outreach is still a numbers game. Even if you are writing thoughtful messages, you should expect a low response rate early on. That is not always because people are uninterested. Sometimes it is because your targeting is off. Sometimes your message is too broad. Sometimes you simply have not found the right framing yet.
Second, early outreach should not always aim to get a paying customer immediately. At this stage, the better goal is often to connect with people who seem close to the problem, show that you understand their world, and pull them into your network for discussion. Right now, they are not just prospects. They are potential allies in helping you understand the problem more clearly.
Third, you need to learn how to write better cold outreach. The good news is that the bar is lower than most founders think.
Here are seven principles for writing better cold outreach, adapted from Aaron Epstein, Group Partner at Y Combinator.
1. Have a single goal
Each message should try to accomplish one thing. Get a reply. Start a conversation. Ask a narrow question. Earn permission to follow up. If a sentence does not help move the reader toward that one goal, cut it.
2. Be human
Write the way you would speak to a thoughtful friend. You do not need to sound casual or sloppy, but you should sound like a real person rather than a generated template.
3. Personalize
Good personalization is not about mentioning a city or job title. It is about finding an uncommon commonality: a specific post they wrote, a problem they have described, a product choice they made, or a detail that proves you actually paid attention.
4. Keep it short
Short messages are easier to read, easier to trust, and easier to reply to. You are not trying to tell your whole story. You are trying to create enough relevance for the next step to feel worthwhile.
5. Establish credibility
The person should have some reason to believe you are worth responding to. That credibility might come from a shared connection, a useful observation, something you have published, or simply the fact that you clearly understand their problem space.
6. Make it about the reader
The message should not revolve around how excited you are about your startup. It should revolve around the person you are writing to, the problem they may care about, and why your note is relevant to them.
7. Use a clear CTA
Do not make the reader guess what you want. Ask for one small, clear next step. A good CTA feels easy to say yes to.
If you follow these seven principles, you will already be ahead of most cold emails people receive.
One more thing: one email is usually not enough. Thoughtful follow-up is normal. If done well, it is not annoying. It is just part of the process.
What I would add
The most important thing to understand is that early cold outreach is experimental, and the primary goal is learning, not sales.
You are not just trying to increase volume. You are trying to determine who your target is, and improve the way you message your beliefs to them.
And early on, the target is often moving. You may think you know exactly who your user is, but until you start reaching out and hearing how people respond, that is still a hypothesis.
That is why this process has to be iterative.
Start with a very specific target. Not "people who want to learn English." Something much sharper, like: English-language learners already in the workforce who struggle to keep up in group settings because of corporate jargon.
That kind of specificity matters. It gives you a much clearer picture of who to look for, how they describe the problem, and what a relevant message might sound like.
Then find 100 or 200 people who match that customer persona. Not 1,000 or 2,000.
You do not need a giant list at the start. You need a believable one.
The point of those first 100 or 200 people is not just to "do outreach." It is to learn:
- whether your target is actually the right one
- whether your message resonates
- whether the problem feels urgent to them
- whether they describe the pain the way you expected
This is why better targeting almost always beats more volume.
Final thought
If your early cold outreach is not converting, that does not automatically mean your idea is bad.
It may just mean you are still learning:
- who the right audience is
- how they describe the problem
- what message actually resonates
- and what kind of ask makes sense at this stage
That is normal.
Cold outreach is not just a way to find customers. Early on, it is also a way to sharpen your understanding of the market.
And if you approach it that way, every message gets more valuable.
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