What happened when Robert Williams developed a paid newsletter that transforms the pain points into money |

Robert Williams is helping web developers find leads for their clients through his paid newsletter. Here's how he structured his company to generate regular income.

Finding leads has been a continuous issue for the freelance web designer Robert Williams.

"I was a bit sluggish in my network of connections," he says. "I ran through my connections quickly, and realized I wanted to develop professionally, I had to generate leads."

On the internet for lead generation tips, they focused mostly on strategies for inbound marketing, such as blogging, social media and YouTube. These methods may attract clients for a long time however Robert wanted to get customers as quickly as possible. Unfazed, he searched for the job board, Slack, LinkedIn, and other online communities and began to develop a method for finding potential clients.

He was skilled at this, but finding and selecting leads of high quality was time-consuming. He thought "I wish I could hire an expert to help me."

For Robert The answer was simple. Robert could find the answer to his own most nagging problem. "If I'm willing to pay someone else to source leads, perhaps there are others who would like to do the exact process," Robert thought.

It's been a decade since Robert came up with his original idea. Now, he runs Folyo  which is an online company that helps freelance web designers and other agencies identify high-value leads and spend less time hunting for the perfect clients. Here's how he used his own personal challenges to build an effective paid newsletteras well as, later an online community, which generates juicy recurring revenue.

Growing a customer base starting from the ground up

Robert's concept was straightforward. He'd use his lead-finding method to identify the top web design projects every day. Freelancers could be charged a monthly cost to get a personal leads email directly to their mailboxes. This is the kind of product Robert himself would have wanted however, to be it a success, he had to have clients.

Robert wrote a sales page to his newsletter. It was later called "Workshop," and launched it to the world. The first week, only one person had signed to sign up.

However, by the end of his first month his earnings were around $3000 of recurring monthly revenuegrowing steadily. Engaging in relevant forums and enhancing his understanding of his target market is the key ingredient that got him to where he is today.

Community forums

Community forums helped Robert connect with his target market. Robert was already a part of several freelance communities as well as joining forums for digital products creators to brainstorm, network, and get feedback on the idea.

"I was part of a couple community groups that were focused on design and development during that time. It so happened that the majority of people I was sharing my idea were also potential customers," Robert explains.

"It's nothing I'd planned to do, but it definitely was helpful that I created a product for people in my neighborhood who I spent time around. It turned out to be a good place to find early customers. They gave me their suggestions and helping me refine my ideas also joined and received a fee."

Robert also posted writings which he composed in these communities and well-known social news sites for the industry such as Hacker News and Designer News Some of these became to the top of the list. Writing strong and opinionated articles generated buzz and put his program to the attention of potential customers.

Creator Community Link to the page

Creator Community Link to the page

Find out how to build a Creator company in the Creator Community.            Community

Monitoring trends in the audience

Robert had his first batch of customers in his system, however, when his business began to gain traction and he saw a change in his demographics. The majority of the sign-ups came from agencies, not individual freelancers. This led him down new avenues.

Instead of distributing freelance design leads, Robert began to share Request For Proposal (RFP) leads usually targeted at agencies. Companies and institutions send out RFPs when they're looking for bids for large-scale projects. Libraries or universities, as an example, could submit the cost of a $100,000 RFP to build the creation of a website.

Because the majority of his customers were design companies so it was sensible to offer the kinds of leads that agencies want the most as well as shift his marketing focus. If the demands of your customers change listen to them and then iterate in creating impactful products and programs.

From paid newsletter to an online community that is paid for

Agencies that sign up with the Agency Leads PRO will pay just $197 to gain access to the entire leads. The new system will make it easy for users to discover what they're looking to find as well as Robert isn't required to keep a complicated email tagging system and saves time for everyone.

As you embark on your business journey There's no way to predict which direction you'll take. Being open to change makes it possible to grow, which results in more efficient products that your clients will appreciate.

Recurring revenue to support longer-term expansion

In starting his business, Robert aimed to develop various income streams that would provide financial security. The fact that there were hundreds of subscribers paying instead of only a handful of clients for design meant that there would be less pressure should someone choose to quit.

"Over over the years I've tried many different business models, from training products to memberships with recurring revenues, and I've always come back to the initial idea of people paying monthly or annually."

What are the benefits of membership?

Recurring revenue isn't beginning from scratch every when you launch your new product. The moment Robert released his endless Clients course  in 2012, he had spent over one year building and then launch the course. The launch brought in some revenue however, it was only a once-off deal. Once the confetti settled, Robert would have to repeat the process.

"That's the reason I continue to go back for the monthly model" he explains. "Some portion of my effort is due to the regular income, and I don't need to begin with a new plan each year."

"This leads membership service is most efficient and the easiest to promote, and steadiest source of revenue."

For Robert, the right solution for his company wasn't particularly complex. He provided a good solution to a common problem as well as customers who were pleased with the recurring fees they paid for the time and headaches saved.

Simple things to do by using

If asked for advice he has for the aspiring creators of tomorrow, Robert recommends keeping your business simple. It's tempting to create everything and the kitchen sink but you could be successful entrepreneur with out the need for a lot of bells and bells.

"Through my career I've revamped my website several times, which included creating a custom Rails application to handle invoices, emails and online course deliveries for my students" He explains.

An interesting feature to consider if utilize @ for email marketing and tracking the the amount of revenue that is generated by every email sent in a campaign.
     
     I wanted this feature to be included for higher-end "sophisticated" toolboxes for marketing via email but data was never accurate.
     
     Good job! pic.twitter.com/2BdUeBmJcP          March 17, 2022

With endless customization options and over-the-top features to tinker using, Robert spent too much time navigating through rabbit holes and getting lost in work, without noticing the ROI. With , Robert has a well-built toolkit which saves him time each week, as it keeps him on track with his primary task of finding RFPs that his employees can use to help them.

"Moving everything into was the easiest method to execute my most successful business plan."

The bottom line is that you can achieve great success using simple technology that provides a straightforward solution to your target audience.

Designing products to address issues

Robert transformed a problem into an opportunitythat resulted as a win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win- as well as his clients. To follow in Robert's footsteps:

Consider your biggest pain points and structure your proposal to present an answer.

Find out where your ideal public hangs out and make time to build relationships.

If your audience demographics change adjust your strategy to accommodate their needs.

Build recurring revenue streams with communities and memberships so your efforts pay more slowly.

Make your technologies and products simpler so you can focus on the things that matter most.