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$3K MRR in 30 Days Challenge —23 y/o, built 6-fig biz last year [VIDEO]

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

nickR8

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Hey!

I thought I'd post me documenting my $3K MRR in 30 Days Challenge for you to follow along :)

A little about myself:
I've been dabbling in business since dropping out of college almost 3 years ago. But I only started "hitting my stride" last year when I went from making next to nothing to having my first 6-figure year.

I started "digital marketing consulting" (basically paid traffic management) for a very specific niche (an elective medical procedure).

About the challenge: $3K MRR in 30 Days
This month I'm breaking into a new niche (MedSpas). My goal is to get up to at least $3K in MRR (monthly recurring revenue). I'm pretty confident that I'll reach (and hopefully surpass that by the end of this month), since I've done it before (in a different, yet similar, niche).

Is This Fastlane?
Nope. But it's a step in the right direction. When you have $3k in revenue coming in on autopilot, it's a lot easier to focus on your Fastlane ideas than if you're worrying about the bills all the time. Also, the skills you learn are very transferrable.

Why Am I Documenting This?
2 selfish reasons and one altruistic one ;)

1) I think video is the future of marketing and want to get more comfortable being in front of the camera and pumping out video content
2) I was looking to break into this new niche anyways and can use the accountability that comes from posting publicly
3) I want to show people that it is actually possible to "make money online" without sugarcoating it and actually showing the behind-the-scenes process of what it really takes.

I'm already 3 days into the challenge, so here are the 3 videos that I have so far (I'll be posting new update videos daily):

[DAY 1 - How I Chose A Business Model]
Mainly did prep work:
- Decided on business model
- Decided on niche
- Started writing direct mail piece to generate clients

[DAY 2 - Why I Chose MedSpas As A Niche]
- Selected a niche
- Did research on niche
- Continued working on direct mail piece

[DAY 3 - Who To Prospect + Money Math]
- Finished DM piece
- Started List building
- Hired VA on Upwork for list building
- Purchased equipment for direct mail

Lemme know if you have any questions about anything!

I'll post on update video this evening :)
 
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nickR8

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I can attribute 80% of my business' revenue to direct mail. It's one of the few mediums that allows you to reach almost ANYONE, no matter how important or busy (within reason).

With more and more marketers shifting their lead gen online, I think there's a huge opportunity in direct mail — making it one of the most underutilized and undervalued marketing channels out there.

[Day 4 - Why I Use Direct Mail]

-Reviewed VA's prospect list building
-Put final touches on the direct mail piece
-Set up mail merge with AutoCrat (autoCrat - Google Sheets add-on)

Has anyone else tried direct mail for marketing purposes?
 

MitchM

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I can attribute 80% of my business' revenue to direct mail. It's one of the few mediums that allows you to reach almost ANYONE, no matter how important or busy (within reason).

With more and more marketers shifting their lead gen online, I think there's a huge opportunity in direct mail — making it one of the most underutilized and undervalued marketing channels out there.

[Day 4 - Why I Use Direct Mail]

-Reviewed VA's prospect list building
-Put final touches on the direct mail piece
-Set up mail merge with AutoCrat (autoCrat - Google Sheets add-on)

Has anyone else tried direct mail for marketing purposes?

Wow man, I really enjoyed watching this and I definitely learned from it. Keep it up.

Liked, subbed, and will follow along.

One suggestion would be to try and keep it as short as possible because I specifically decided to just watch one video after seeing how long it was. I understand that this may not be possible and I didn't feel like you were wasting a lot of time - just something to keep in mind. I'm sure many will like the longer videos.
 

nickR8

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Wow man, I really enjoyed watching this and I definitely learned from it. Keep it up.

Liked, subbed, and will follow along.

One suggestion would be to try and keep it as short as possible because I specifically decided to just watch one video after seeing how long it was. I understand that this may not be possible and I didn't feel like you were wasting a lot of time - just something to keep in mind. I'm sure many will like the longer videos.

Thanks MrSterlock, appreciate it!

I'll have to see if I can find a good balance between making them short but still informative/valuable :)
 
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Denim Chicken

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Thanks MrSterlock, appreciate it!

I'll have to see if I can find a good balance between making them short but still informative/valuable :)
I disagree on the feedback. I watched all the videos and it was interesting. The length is fine and the people who subscribe and follow along with be the ones who read or watch it thru.
 

MitchM

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I disagree on the feedback. I watched all the videos and it was interesting. The length is fine and the people who subscribe and follow along with be the ones who read or watch it thru.
In hindsight you're probably right.
 

nickR8

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I disagree on the feedback. I watched all the videos and it was interesting. The length is fine and the people who subscribe and follow along with be the ones who read or watch it thru.
Thanks for your feedback Denim Chicken!

I guess everyone has different preferences. I'll try keeping the updates at 15 minutes in length. Uploading today's update right now :)
 
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nickR8

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When I did my first direct mail campaign to get web design clients 4 years ago, I sent out 100 "lumpy" mail pieces and got a whopping 1% response rate. Pretty disappointing to say the least.

My response rate these days is more like 3-7% which I 100% attribute to nailing the structure (AIDA) and using all "principles of persuasion" (Robert Cialdini's book influence).

I think human psychology (what motivates and influences people) is the #1 most profitable skill you can learn. Copywriting is great but it's really nothing more than understanding human psychology and then applying the principles in writing...

[Day 5 - How I Write Direct Mail Sales Letters]
What I did today:
-
Reviewed prospecting list from VA
-Annotated 50 letters (400 pages)
-Addressed 25 direct mail pieces

 

nickR8

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I posted an ad on Craigslist to find someone to help me with the direct mail creation.

I set the hourly pay to 8 dollars/hour which is close to minimum wage... over 16 applications in less than 12 hours.

Hopefully at least one of them will pan out :)

[Day 6 How I Hire On Craigslist]
 

nickR8

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OK, so today I wasn't able to dedicate much time to this challenge...

[Day 7 - How I Find People's Email Addresses Quick, Easy And Free]
What I did today:
- Hired Email Scraper
 
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maverick

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I can attribute 80% of my business' revenue to direct mail. It's one of the few mediums that allows you to reach almost ANYONE, no matter how important or busy (within reason).

With more and more marketers shifting their lead gen online, I think there's a huge opportunity in direct mail — making it one of the most underutilized and undervalued marketing channels out there.

[Day 4 - Why I Use Direct Mail]

-Reviewed VA's prospect list building
-Put final touches on the direct mail piece
-Set up mail merge with AutoCrat (autoCrat - Google Sheets add-on)

Has anyone else tried direct mail for marketing purposes?
Yes, direct mail is a great channel to use.
Direct mail + landing page + email marketing (e.g. Drip.co) + retargeting = chicken dinner!
 

ZCP

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Consulting Firm: hard copy mailers to researched potential clients are where we get our long term clients.
 
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nickR8

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Learning a lot from your videos. :thumbsup:

Thanks!

Yes, direct mail is a great channel to use.
Direct mail + landing page + email marketing (e.g. Drip.co) + retargeting = chicken dinner!

I've actually never done direct mail to landing page... always direct to schedule phone call. May be an approach worth testing!

So what happened to the 6 figure agency? If that was pumped and dumped, why repeat in another niche?

It's still alive and well! Problem is that the niche is very small and I've maxed it out to some extent (at least from a "low hanging fruit" perspective). So MedSpas is an additional niche I'm breaking into (it's also many times larger in size with more growth potential).
 

Denim Chicken

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Thanks!



I've actually never done direct mail to landing page... always direct to schedule phone call. May be an approach worth testing!



It's still alive and well! Problem is that the niche is very small and I've maxed it out to some extent (at least from a "low hanging fruit" perspective). So MedSpas is an additional niche I'm breaking into (it's also many times larger in size with more growth potential).
But unless it's a productized service, why make them go to a landing page when they can just call you? Seems like an additional step that's unnecessary
 
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nickR8

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But unless it's a productized service, why make them go to a landing page when they can just call you? Seems like an additional step that's unnecessary
For the business owner, it's a lower hurdle (micro commitment) to visit a website vs. emailing to schedule a call.
On the website you can then show a video/case study, to "selling" them on why they talk on the phone.
At least, that's the theory haha. As I said, I've always gone right for the call
 

goodguude

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Hey nick,

loving that style of challenge and will follow it for sure - especially since you are a fellow german. :)
 

nickR8

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Hey nick,

loving that style of challenge and will follow it for sure - especially since you are a fellow german. :)

Danke :)

I'm loving your videos, simple and very informative. Keep it up.

Thanks Matteo, appreciate it!

--

So today I actually had the person (student) I hired for the direct mail come by to get that side of the prospecting in gear.

[Day 8 - Keeping Track of Expenses + Hiring Update]

The person/agency I wanted for scraping the email is now also confirmed and the contract has started...
(unfortunately they don't work on Sundays... so I won't have an email list until later on Monday...)

Do you guys tend to work on Sundays? I used not to until Grant Cardone introduced me to the concept of having to "deserve" your weekend haha
 

goodguude

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Would love it if you could give me some insights about the following two questions:

1) Did you try Direct Mails in Germany, too? (Seems like you are living in the US now)
If yes, what were your experiences (especially regarding the response rate) with it compared to using direct mails in the US?

2) What are your favourite books? You mentioned "influence", "scientific advertising" and the books of grant cardone so far. Any further recommendations, especially for stepping up your sales game?

Thanks man!

About your question on working on sundays: yes, I do. Don't see any reason why I shouldn't as long as I haven't reached my goal(s).
 

nickR8

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1) Did you try Direct Mails in Germany, too? (Seems like you are living in the US now)
If yes, what were your experiences (especially regarding the response rate) with it compared to using direct mails in the US?

2) What are your favourite books? You mentioned "influence", "scientific advertising" and the books of grant cardone so far. Any further recommendations, especially for stepping up your sales game?

1) Yes, I did. Sent out 100 lumpy mails, got 1 response. So it was pretty terrible. The problem was not with Germany though but with my target audience and my offer/messaging. I took the wrong approach. I have a friend in Germany who I told about direct mail and showed my template which he's had success with. Just this month he landed a 15,000 EUR deal which came through a direct mail piece. If I were you, I'd just try it. Send out 100 mailers and see what happens.

2) Yes, here are some other book recommendations:
- The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan S. Kennedy — good for learning more about sales letters
- Ready Fire Aim
-The irresistible offer
- The Ultimate Sales Machine — probably the favorite of them all

I also answered your question in the next video which I'll post tomorrow morning (US time)
 
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goodguude

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Thank you a lot.
This really helps me.

Yeah, I definitely gonna try the direct mail approach for a new project (ppc services, targeted on a specific type of blue-collar businesses). Seems like a really good fit!

So, pretty sure that I will have some more questions in the future. :D
 

nickR8

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I definitely gonna try the direct mail approach for a new project (ppc services, targeted on a specific type of blue-collar businesses). Seems like a really good fit!
Right on!

Today I set up MailShake (for cold email sequence) and Hubspot CRM (for keeping track of leads):

[Day 9 - Cold Email Sequence]
 

maverick

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But unless it's a productized service, why make them go to a landing page when they can just call you? Seems like an additional step that's unnecessary

It's always dependent on your sales funnel. Some funnels are longer than others and in these cases it won't be effective to try to close the sale on the phone.

There are many scenario's where it is interesting to direct offline users to an LP to perform an action (e.g. schedule a time for a call, get a report, download trial). By directing them to an LP, you'll be able to use online analytics to determine the effectiveness of offline activations. This allows you to A/B test offline versus online and give you the means to calculate ROI. Allocate funds accordingly.
 
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nickR8

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It's always dependent on your sales funnel. Some funnels are longer than others and in these cases it won't be effective to try to close the sale on the phone.

There are many scenario's where it is interesting to direct offline users to an LP to perform an action (e.g. schedule a time for a call, get a report, download trial). By directing them to an LP, you'll be able to use online analytics to determine the effectiveness of offline activations. This allows you to A/B test offline versus online and give you the means to calculate ROI. Allocate funds accordingly.

Totally Agree. I think one main benefit from having people go over to a LP vs just call or send an email is that it's lower commitment and you're able to give more information through media like video, educating them so that they are more likely to request a call.

But at the end of the day, pretty much all offline high-ticket products/services do end in a phone call. It's hard to get around that (there are exceptions, of course).

[Day 10]
Short update. Continued to produce DMs. Email scraper guy messed up (AKA I didn't give clear enough instructions).

Will be sending out first DMs Today. Ready to rock and roll now!
 

nickR8

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[Day 11]
Person I hired for addressing direct mailers is working out well.
Running into issues with my email scraping guy.
Continuing on with making direct mailers.
 

Echizen

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Love to follow your challenge and I've some questions :
- Why did u leave Germany for USA ? More scaling opportunity?
- After dropping out, what was ur first job, where did u get your first revenues? And how did u get your first paid job in this area with no testimonial and portfolio?
- So you said that u use AIDA and 4 letters in your direct mail. One letter is for testimonials. What for the others? I understand that you can't show us your letters but could you write a little exemple with another business (imagine that your contacting sushimaker or idk..) ?
- You help those companies to increase their conversion ratio, right? What do you really do when you work fo them? Redesigning the website, create better cta, split-testing...?
- Would be awesome if you take the first direct mail you did a few years ago in Germany and show us what you would change on this mail and why it failed.
- Didn't understand why you want also the email if you direct mail ? You send those emails after they received your DM of before ?
- On the DM, their is a cta to call you, right ? You said that you offer a lot of value during the first call but at this moment, you don't have the time to check their website. So you ask to schedule an appointment? Or you have a script with a lot of questions to know where they are struggling in and so you can say how they can resolve that ?

Okay that's a lot of questions, sry but this really interest me !
 
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nickR8

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Love to follow your challenge and I've some questions :
- Why did u leave Germany for USA ? More scaling opportunity?
- After dropping out, what was ur first job, where did u get your first revenues? And how did u get your first paid job in this area with no testimonial and portfolio?
- So you said that u use AIDA and 4 letters in your direct mail. One letter is for testimonials. What for the others? I understand that you can't show us your letters but could you write a little exemple with another business (imagine that your contacting sushimaker or idk..) ?
- You help those companies to increase their conversion ratio, right? What do you really do when you work fo them? Redesigning the website, create better cta, split-testing...?
- Would be awesome if you take the first direct mail you did a few years ago in Germany and show us what you would change on this mail and why it failed.
- Didn't understand why you want also the email if you direct mail ? You send those emails after they received your DM of before ?
- On the DM, their is a cta to call you, right ? You said that you offer a lot of value during the first call but at this moment, you don't have the time to check their website. So you ask to schedule an appointment? Or you have a script with a lot of questions to know where they are struggling in and so you can say how they can resolve that ?

Okay that's a lot of questions, sry but this really interest me !

I've answered all your question in today's video :)

[Day 12 Sending Out The First Direct Mail Batch]
-Printed 100 DMs
-Sent Out 100 DMs
-Fired Email Scraping Guy
 

Echizen

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Thanks a lot for your response and Happy Birthday Nick !

"I got a few lead magnets that works really well in that industry"
So, in your previous business, you created thoses lead magnets and they are generic enough to attract people interesting in medspa?
When you say lead magnet, this is an ebook, a video or something like that ?

Ps: sry for "letters" and others english mistakes :rofl:
 

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