I made $1090 within two months by my side project design subscription business - here's what I did

[srod]

Hey everyone,

I planned to start my design subscription business 4-5 months ago. The preparation and launching took me almost 3 months.

What methods I tried

I started digging to acquire clients. I tried posting on Linkedin, X, Facebook Page, Reddit, Indie Hackers, Hackernews and some other platforms.

I am also trying FB boosting, Dribbble boosting, and X ads. I tried cold emailing too, but this needs another level of expertise, I think in the future I might hire people to do cold emailing.

Wait I forgot to share my website, here it is Pentaclay

How I got my first client

Two months ago a prospect messaged me on LinkedIn. I convinced him to jump into a call, I hadn't released my design subscription website back then.

After two months of back-and-forth communication, and cold follow-ups, finally he subscribed for a 15-day trial subscription for $1090. That's a clear win for me.

What methods I might try next

I'll try influencer marketing, shoutouts, and paid featured on various websites in the near future. Maybe after getting 2 more clients. This will help me gain some cash to run these.

I know taking this long to land a client won't be feasible for this business, but for starting or for maybe the first 5 clients I need to dig this way.

Let me know your thoughts Thanks.

 

[kimhimmel]

@srod Influencer marketing is quite expensive.

 

[srod]

@kimhimmel Yes definitely. But the goal is to make partnership with them.

I offer a 10% recurring commission to the partners.

 

[fschmidt]

@srod

1. Please proofread your posts before posting. Some words have missing letters…
2. I think you need to host your designs on your website, not on Figma. It takes a while to load them and it’s suboptimal that I need to leave your website and then move back to it again (lower chance to convert). Same with Behance
3. In your case studies, try to show results that are important for customers. To be honest, they probably aren't that interested in awards, but more in conversion rates, bounce, time spent on the website, revenue generated, etc
4. In Testimonials you explicitly say “Feedback From Real People”…But where they are? Add some names and photos to prove it

 

[srod]

@fschmidt Thanks for your constructive feedback.

1. I've checked with Grammarly, not sure which words do have missing letters.
2. This is crucial point, I'll fix this up.
3. These are also valid points. I'll work on the case studies.
4. Sure, I added the logos, I'll also add the names.

Thanks a lot.

 

[wvd1]

@srod Not sure if your still reading these Have you tried marketing your website through social media platforms? You gotta love how nosey they are for the fact that it will literally place your ads in front of people that are most likely going to visit your site and buy something

I can probably help you make a ton more money