I had a video call today with a sharp founder who needs more users for her app.

But her app needs users from a very specific audience: doctors and pharmacists.

Here's the email I sent her afterwards:

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Thanks for the tour of your business this morning:)

A few notes after the call: no AI:)

You have an app. We need users for it.

Not just any users: doctors and pharmacists in Germany.

You've had positive feedback in your LinkedIn network so far, but we want to beam even more users into your app.

But how?

Earned Reach: Social

One hope of yours was to use AI to efficiently share and spread your thoughts across more social media channels.

That's a solid idea.

I call it: Earned Reach. 

Earned reach. Worked-for reach.

It's doable in principle, but building real new reach via social is hard, especially across multiple channels.

It's basically a full-time job: no success guarantee.

Happy to help on strategy and tactics.

Multi-posting software across networks is no problem.

The harder part is continuous production of good, relevant content.

We can look at how software and AI fit your case.

But just trying to build relevant new reach outside your existing bubble will stay a full-time job.

At least for now.

Earned Reach: SEO

The second widespread founder hope: free reach through SEO. 

This isn't free either. It takes intense work to win at SEO: but we're happy to research what the niche looks like for you.

Paid Reach

Paid reach.

Well-targeted paid reach is clearly the superior method we run for all our clients.

With earned reach via organic posts, I have to beg the algo and feed the sensationalism just to get serious reach.

Even if I crack the algo, there's a good chance my content then has nothing left to do with my actual audience and their core problems.

One of our mottos:

We don't beg bots. We just pay them to do exactly what we want.

Behind that sits a simple insight: 

The attention aggregators know the value of every second of attention extremely well, and have ZERO interest in ever sending their users from their site to yours.

That's why sharing links in LinkedIn posts gets punished by the algo, for example.

Platform operators will do everything to keep "your followers" on LinkedIn forever.

So they know the value of aggregated attention.

But they're always ready to sell that attention.

On the attention exchange. 

Daytrading Attention. That's what the aggregators do, and we do.

We happily buy attention, very targeted, and point it exactly where we want it: to us.

Or rather, to you.

So we buy attention on the attention exchange.

But we only buy the attention we need.

Which brings us to your concrete case, and my first thoughts on how we'd buy users for your app:

Meta Ads

Meta Ads (Instagram Ads & Facebook Ads) -> approach doctors and pharmacists via demographic targeting and interest targeting

Youtube Ads

Youtube Ads -> Single Video URL Targeting -> build lists of videos the target group watches -> run ads there

Google Search Ads

• Book Title Keyword Targeting -> users search book titles -> we show ads
• Book Author Keyword Targeting -> users search book authors -> we show ads
• Trade Magazine Keyword Targeting -> users search trade magazines -> we show ads
• Continuing Education Keyword Targeting -> users search training -> we show ads
• Paper Keyword Targeting -> users search scientific papers -> we show ads
• ...

Google App Install Ads

This could get tough in this niche, but we could try it.

GEO-Targeting

Hit large gatherings of doctors and pharmacists at specific events as precisely as possible

The big ad systems have a minimum radius of 1km

• Remote conference venues are ideal for GEO targeting
• Even at larger fairs and congresses, spillover can stay limited depending on the site
• But truly remote places are better
• The smaller the place, the better for this method.
• Small towns also work, like Davos in Switzerland: still, spillover jumps right away.
• Busy roads inside the target radius also create spillover.
• A budget question: the smaller the budget, the safer a tighter radius
• A very unusual method, but highly interesting depending on the audience.

Further approaches

Target doctor-content sites via the Google Display Network

Influence decision-maker groups with ads (associations / multipliers)

Happy to share more methods once we start.

How much budget do I need to start?

There are many ways to reach people: we pick the promising ones for you and run them.

As media budget I recommend at least 3000 € per month for at least 3 months.

You can go more cautious with less budget, but more budget makes testing easier and gives enough signal for real learnings.

Our Founder Flatrate makes the start very low-risk for you:

1. Your marketing team from 2500 €/m
2. Advice on ALL marketing topics. 
3. Steering of all campaigns on Google, Youtube, Meta, Linkedin, TikTok & Co. 
4. Including ad creation. 
5. Clear reporting & controlling with all numbers in one place. 
6. Exclusive Slack chat & weekly video calls.
7. Limits: We do everything, but not everything at once.
8. Low-risk exit: cancel monthly. One email is enough. 
9. Our goal: We help you grow and stay on board: as long as we're useful:)

Key questions:

• What can it cost your business model to get a new user into your app?
• How many users do you want in your app this year?

Grab another call in my calendar, or send me a WhatsApp for short-notice slots, or times outside the calendar window: +49 160 486 1837.

Happy Optimizing,

John

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Real email, real questions, real answers, real content. Really real. Really good.

Yeah, that's how I write emails.

Easily burns a full hour.

Long term that's of course brutally inefficient.

On the other hand, that's personal service and personal skin in the game.

Still, I want to prep and speed up trust-building in the digital space through, who would have guessed, smart marketing.

The more potential clients already know me and my agency before the first call, the less I have to explain on the call.

Yes, I've done marketing a long time, but marketing for myself and my agency is still a challenge.

So: welcome aboard and see you soon on the internet,

John