Lessons From 500k Cold DMs (Psychological Tricks)

1. 4 Pillars for Successful Cold DMs

Cold direct messaging (DM) can be a powerful marketing tool when done right. This masterclass by Charlie Barber, who has sent over 500,000 Cold DMs, will guide you through the intricacies of cold DMs on Instagram and help boost your success rate.

A. Finding Quality Leads

The foundation of successful cold DMs is targeting underexposed leads. These are people who haven't been bombarded with messages from other marketers. Here's how to find them:

1. The Micro-Influencer Strategy:

   • Find a micro-influencer in your niche. For example, if you're targeting coaches, find a popular coach.

   • Look at their followers and recent posts to find people who engage with their posts.

2. Local Hashtag Searches:

   • Use location-specific hashtags. For instance, real estate agents could search #yourcityrealestate.

B. Optimizing Your Profile

Your profile is your digital first impression. Make it count:

• Include at least 6 photos on your account.

• Pin 3 free lifestyle photos at the top of your profile.

Utilize the mere-exposure effect.

Use the mere-exposure effect in your profile to foster familiarity and receptiveness. Showcase yourself in environments relevant to your niche. If you're targeting gym owners, include content of yourself in the gym.

C. Engage Before You Message

Don't jump straight into messaging. Engage with your prospects first:

• Like their posts.

• Comment on their content.

• Follow 100 ideal clients per day.

This approach can lead to 5-10 follow-backs daily, potentially a few hundred per month. Follow for Follow (F4F) still works.

D. Speed To Lead

When a prospect replies, respond within 2-5 minutes. This quick response keeps the conversation flowing and eliminates bottlenecks in your cold DM system.

The above 4 factors are key constraints (bottlenecks) hindering the effectiveness of cold DM systems. Optimizing these 4 factors is crucial for optimal results.

2. Choosing the Right Platform

Select the platform where your niche is most active:

• Older demographic: Focus on Facebook

• Younger audience: Use Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, or Twitter

• Learning-oriented audience: Consider YouTube

3. Track Your Performance

Before you start sending Cold DMs, monitor your key performance indicators (KPIs) using a tracking sheet. Important metrics include:

• First reply rate - The percentage of recipients who respond to the first message

• Second reply rate - The percentage of recipients who respond to the second message

• Appointment booking rate - The percentage of recipients who book a call

Use this data to improve your approach. For example, if your second reply rate is low, adjust your second message.

4. Crafting Your Opening Message

2-step framework to craft a compelling copy:

1. The Opener: Aim for a 15-20% first reply rate (FRR) by invoking curiosity and minimizing friction.

2. Qualifying Questions: Get an easy reply (ideally a yes/no answer) that simultaneously qualifies leads for the offered service.

3. Example Opener: “How's it going Steve, are you selling high ticket items?” This question qualifies the lead and prompts a simple response.

Do not blindly copy any script as it provides diminishing returns due to overexposure of a particular script.

Psychology and static principles (a fundamental concept that remains true over time) are true drivers of success.

5. Sending Messages at Scale

Use automation tools like Insta DM AI to mass Cold DM at scale. Aim to send a minimum of 100 DMs per day.

Top Tweets of the day

1/

Speed is the ultimate advantage. Ship fast, get market feedback, iterate.

2/

Street interviews are blowing up on TikTok as a trend. Hop on before they get saturated.

No one would think its an ad even if you interview someone from your team or pay them $10 (or a gift) to get interviewed for 5 mins.

3/

There are people who don't buy if you price your product cheaply.

And there are people who don't buy if you charge a lot of money.

Know your audience. If its an info-product, you can charge cheaply ($5) and later have lots of upsells (and downsells) to make up for it. Remember, the vast majority of the world isn't rich.

Rabbit Holes

1. Playbook: This is How You Form Meaningful Partnerships with Influencers by Nik Sharma

2. 9 Lead Magnet Ideas with Examples (And ONE That Generated 35,859 Leads In 60 Days) by Ryan Deiss

3. How To Get More Stuff Done Like Elon Musk by Keith Rabois

Until next time!

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