1. Text a business owner you already know
Template: "Hey [Name], it's [Your name]. Quick one: who posts on [Business]'s Instagram right now, you or someone else? I built a tool that [cuts scheduling a week of posts to 20 minutes]. Would you try it free for 2 weeks and tell me what's broken?" Use this first, with the café, gym, salon or shop owner already in your phone contacts.
2. DM a freelance social media manager
Template: "Hi [Name], saw you manage [Client] and [Client]. How many hours a week go into [writing captions / scheduling / client approvals]? I built [Tool] for exactly that. If I set it up for one of your clients this week, would you pay [$X/month] if it saves you [3 hours]?" Send it on Instagram or LinkedIn to people whose bio says "social media manager" or "SMM" and lists 2 to 5 clients.
3. Follow up after someone complains in public
Template: "Hi [Name], saw your post in [r/socialmedia / Facebook group name] about [posting to 4 platforms taking forever]. I built [Tool] to fix that. Want me to set up your next week of posts for you on a 15-min call? Free, I just want to watch you use it." Use within 24 hours of the post, and search phrases like "scheduling tool recommendation" or "tired of posting" in r/socialmedia, r/smallbusiness and r/SocialMediaMarketing.
4. Message a small agency owner
Template: "Hi [Name], you run [Agency] with about [team size]. When a client sends caption changes at 10pm, how does that get handled? [Tool] puts approvals in one link the client can tap from their phone. Worth a 10-minute look on [day]?" Use for agency owners with 2 to 10 people, found through local LinkedIn searches or Clutch listings.
5. Ask a free user to pay
Template: "Hi [Name], you've scheduled [N] posts with [Tool] in [2 weeks]. Thank you. I'm starting paid plans at [$X/month]. Want me to keep your account running on that? If not, what would it need to do first?" Send when a trial user has used it at least 3 times, because usage is your best argument.
6. Ask for a referral after a yes
Template: "Thanks for signing up, [Name]. Who's one other person you know who posts for a business and complains about it? If you text them my number, I'll set them up personally." Use the same day someone pays. That's when they are most willing to help.
7. Close the loop after no reply
Template: "Hi [Name], last note from me. If [posting for Business] isn't a pain right now, no worries at all. If it gets annoying later, my number's here." Send once, 4 to 5 days after the first message, then stop. Hulby, an AI cofounder, finds these people and drafts these messages daily for founders who would rather spend the time talking to customers.
People asking this right now
Real, public posts from the last few weeks. Each one is somebody you could help today.
- How To Turn Social Media Comments Into Real Customers With BlitzFrame Blitz Frame is an AI-powered Reel and short-form video creation tool d (Bluesky)
- I CALLED CITY HALL. I have received a barrage of emails and text messages telling me where and how to vote. I finally just called City Hall (Bluesky)
- Text messages are much better than the phone calls I get at home from the office of Morgan Griffith. I wish there was a chance that he'd be (Bluesky)
- It's not even text search. I can know the exact text I'm looking for and get messages that use completely different words just because Disco (Hacker News)
- I am so tired of getting spammed with text messages from the desperate republican campaigns that are fearmongering DEI and Use blatant trans (Bluesky)
Mistakes to skip
- Sending a feature list instead of asking about one specific posting problem.
- Texting strangers' phone numbers. Use DMs for people you don't know, and texts for people who already have your number.
- Offering free forever instead of naming a price after the trial.
- Following up more than once. Repeated unwanted texts read as spam.
Want this done for your social media tool, every day?
Hulby finds the people asking for what you built, writes every reply and email, and keeps you on it until they pay. Free to start.
Find my first customersQuestions
How many messages should I send a day?
Aim for 15 to 20 personal ones. Each should mention something specific about that person.
Text or DM?
Text people who know you. DM everyone else on the platform where they already post.
What price should I ask for first?
Pick a simple monthly number and say it out loud. You can change it later. A real yes at any price teaches you more than ten free users.
What if they ask for features I don't have?
Write them down and ask if they'd pay once it exists. If several people ask for the same thing, build it next.