Introduction
Hey BHW,I’ve been a member of this forum since 2010, and over the years, I’ve launched (and crashed) countless projects. Some turned out to be massive successes, while others were complete disasters. But one thing has remained constant: internet marketing has been my primary source of income for over 15 years.
This time, I want to do something different—a collaborative journey where we decide together how to move forward. Everything I do will be transparent and shared (except for sensitive information that needs to remain private). The goal is to involve the community, share insights, and adapt our approach based on your feedback.
The Concept
Everything in internet marketing comes down to one thing: traffic. Without a source of traffic, it doesn’t matter how optimized your funnel is or how great your product might be. But if you have traffic, you can target it, convert it, and scale it to your needs.This journey is focused on generating inbound traffic and leads using a somewhat old-school method: phone calls. Sure, phone calls may seem outdated, but they have a unique advantage—they’re far less controlled by Big Tech platforms. In particular, I’m going to focus on automated, robotized calls (missed calls, IVR, pre-recorded messages, etc.).
What’s Been Done So Far
Step 1: Setup and Configuration- I’ve completed the setup of Vicidial to handle up to 250 concurrent calls.
- I’ve identified tolerant VoIP carriers with streamlined setup and verification processes to move quickly.
- I have access to a list of phone numbers that can be segmented by country, gender, and age range (28-60 years, with an average around 40).
- Created a WhatsApp account with a friendly profile picture of a young woman (non-provocative).
- Set this number as the caller ID for the missed calls, matching the nationality of the recipients.
- There was no monetization funnel in place; the focus was purely on monitoring responses.
- If someone answered the call, they would hear a 3-second apology message before the system disconnected.
- The test was capped at 3 calls per second, which was the limit of the carrier used.
- This speed could be increased using multiple carriers or multiple accounts with the same carrier, but it would add complexity and wasn’t necessary for a simple test like this.
Results of the Test
- Missed Calls Sent: Exact number unknown due to practical limitations.
- Target Audience: Male, European country.
- Total Spend on Campaign: Around €8 for call costs.
- Inbound Interactions:
- WhatsApp: 36 messages (mostly “You’re beautiful”, “Are you an angel?”, etc.).
- SMS: 18 messages (more generic, like “Who are you?”, “Are you the courier?”).
- Revenue: €0 (no monetization attempted yet)
Analysis and Community Involvement
Alright, so here we are. We’ve generated 54 interactions between WhatsApp and SMS with minimal spend, but there’s no monetization funnel in place yet.The question now is: what do we do with these results? Are these interactions worth anything? Can we monetize them somehow? Or should we keep testing before committing to a full conversion funnel?
I’ve got a few ideas on where to go from here, but I really want to hear from you. What would you do at this point? Should we focus on scaling up traffic first, or jump straight into monetization? Does it make sense to stick with missed calls, or should we pivot to testing automated calls with pre-recorded messages and IVR?
I’m open to all your thoughts. Let me know what you think and how you’d approach the next steps!
Technical Breakdown and Costs
Here’s a quick breakdown of the investments made so far:- Vicidial Setup and Configuration: $500
- VoIP Carrier Credit (testing and interconnection): $100
- Phone Numbers for WhatsApp and Caller ID: $20
- Cost of Missed Call Campaign: €8
Total Interactions Generated: 54 (36 on WhatsApp + 18 SMS)
Cost per Interaction: Approx. $0.15
Revenue: $0
