vers
Registered Member
- Jan 11, 2021
- 55
- 19
Hi BHW,
Let me briefly introduce myself. I’ve been a freelance web developer for several years. I’ve been building websites and web applications for clients, but I’ve been stuck at an average of around $2k/month for a long time, and I’ve lost my motivation. My main source of clients right now is Fiverr, it brings in leads of mediocre quality and results in "low" rates for the work I do (though it has allowed me to make a living at this all these years, so I’m not complaining). The biggest problem I see is that I’m currently the "guy who does it all", clients keep asking for more and more, yet they don't fully value my work.
The idea behind this thread is to share my plan and process for scaling up to a web development agency, with a goal of hitting $5k/month. I’ll be sharing my plan, exact metrics, and actual revenue figures with you all so you can offer advice and (most importantly) give me the motivational push I need to go all out (the world of being a solo dev is pretty lonely, and I don't really have anyone to talk to about this stuff, haha).
My problem
My main challenge right now is the top of the funnel, specifically, lead generation. Because I lack a steady stream of leads, I end up accepting any gig on Fiverr, even when I know the pay is poor. A few months ago, I experimented with Google Ads and cold email campaigns; I lost about $2,200 on advertising and generated several leads, but I didn't close a single sale. I think the issue was positioning myself as a "premium" service provider (targeting large companies with over 50 employees, high revenues, or venture backing) only for them to see a young guy working alone out of his bedroom. That made me realize I’ve always been good at selling to small businesses and freelancers, so I should shift my focus there.
Exact metrics for my Google Ads campaign
- Keywords: professional website, professional web design, web design agency...
- Country: Spain
- Budget: ~$25/day for 3 months
- Landing: professional web design for $2k
- Results: 866 clicks, 4 leads, 0 closed
My new plan
I’ve now devised a new strategy (and a much better-structured offer, after reading Alex Hormozi’s 100M Offers). Here it is:
- Pre-built sites for local businesses. I’ve created premium-quality templates featuring scroll animations and motion effects for various niches. I’ve set up an agent that simply prompts me to fill out a form with the company’s details; I then select the template, and it builds the site in minutes with high quality.
- Productized offer: a landing page live within 24 hours for a fixed price. I’ll keep raising the price until the conversion rate drops, while continuously optimizing the page for conversions.
- Meta Ads targeting small businesses or freelancers, using creatives that showcase 3D scrolling websites and "Competitor's Website vs. Our Website" comparisons.
- Google Ads targeting key pain points: low-cost websites (price), 24-hour turnaround (speed), guarantees, etc.
- Starting cold calling: telling prospects I’ve already built their new website and trying to book a meeting to show it to them. Later, I’ll hire 1–2 commission-based appointment setters (paid per booked meeting), with each one testing a different niche. The script: "We’ve already built your new website, want to see it?" I build the site in the 30–60 minutes prior to the call.
I firmly believe my plan should work, but I’ve tried many times without success so far... I hope that with every attempt, I’m getting closer to my goal. And with your advice, perhaps I can get there faster. I am 100% open to your suggestions for improvement; I’d love to hear what you have to say.
I’ll be updating absolutely EVERYTHING in this journal: traffic data, website statistics, revenue, expenses, time spent...
I hope you like this new journey of mine. I’m really motivated to keep this journal going!
Let me briefly introduce myself. I’ve been a freelance web developer for several years. I’ve been building websites and web applications for clients, but I’ve been stuck at an average of around $2k/month for a long time, and I’ve lost my motivation. My main source of clients right now is Fiverr, it brings in leads of mediocre quality and results in "low" rates for the work I do (though it has allowed me to make a living at this all these years, so I’m not complaining). The biggest problem I see is that I’m currently the "guy who does it all", clients keep asking for more and more, yet they don't fully value my work.
The idea behind this thread is to share my plan and process for scaling up to a web development agency, with a goal of hitting $5k/month. I’ll be sharing my plan, exact metrics, and actual revenue figures with you all so you can offer advice and (most importantly) give me the motivational push I need to go all out (the world of being a solo dev is pretty lonely, and I don't really have anyone to talk to about this stuff, haha).
My problem
My main challenge right now is the top of the funnel, specifically, lead generation. Because I lack a steady stream of leads, I end up accepting any gig on Fiverr, even when I know the pay is poor. A few months ago, I experimented with Google Ads and cold email campaigns; I lost about $2,200 on advertising and generated several leads, but I didn't close a single sale. I think the issue was positioning myself as a "premium" service provider (targeting large companies with over 50 employees, high revenues, or venture backing) only for them to see a young guy working alone out of his bedroom. That made me realize I’ve always been good at selling to small businesses and freelancers, so I should shift my focus there.
Exact metrics for my Google Ads campaign
- Keywords: professional website, professional web design, web design agency...
- Country: Spain
- Budget: ~$25/day for 3 months
- Landing: professional web design for $2k
- Results: 866 clicks, 4 leads, 0 closed
My new plan
I’ve now devised a new strategy (and a much better-structured offer, after reading Alex Hormozi’s 100M Offers). Here it is:
- Pre-built sites for local businesses. I’ve created premium-quality templates featuring scroll animations and motion effects for various niches. I’ve set up an agent that simply prompts me to fill out a form with the company’s details; I then select the template, and it builds the site in minutes with high quality.
- Productized offer: a landing page live within 24 hours for a fixed price. I’ll keep raising the price until the conversion rate drops, while continuously optimizing the page for conversions.
- Meta Ads targeting small businesses or freelancers, using creatives that showcase 3D scrolling websites and "Competitor's Website vs. Our Website" comparisons.
- Google Ads targeting key pain points: low-cost websites (price), 24-hour turnaround (speed), guarantees, etc.
- Starting cold calling: telling prospects I’ve already built their new website and trying to book a meeting to show it to them. Later, I’ll hire 1–2 commission-based appointment setters (paid per booked meeting), with each one testing a different niche. The script: "We’ve already built your new website, want to see it?" I build the site in the 30–60 minutes prior to the call.
I firmly believe my plan should work, but I’ve tried many times without success so far... I hope that with every attempt, I’m getting closer to my goal. And with your advice, perhaps I can get there faster. I am 100% open to your suggestions for improvement; I’d love to hear what you have to say.
I’ll be updating absolutely EVERYTHING in this journal: traffic data, website statistics, revenue, expenses, time spent...
I hope you like this new journey of mine. I’m really motivated to keep this journal going!
