Got My First User from FB Organic, and It’s Easier Than You Think

Facebook? Isn’t it dying? For some people, yes. For others, there’s no better place to hang out and connect. Also, I’m going to start cleaning people’s toilets without ever going to their house.

(5 minute read)

This past week I’ve been blown away by my own marketing efforts.

I created a single post and was able to reach 10k accounts of my target audience. This turned into 70 emails and one paying customer (currently on a short free trial) for expiredlistingscout.com for a total of $200 MRR if they continue.

It’s not much, but it’s progress. So how did I do it?

I did it through self promo in Facebook Groups.

The tricky part is that most Groups do not allow self promo. However, if you disguise the promo as value with a lead magnet, you can certainly get away.

I used the search bar for keywords like ‘email’, ‘drop your email’, ‘email it to you’. If you find posts with these key phrases, you can take inspiration to what the mods have approved and work within the boundaries.

For reference, here’s my post:

Notice a few things:

1. I have a lead magnet. I am marketing to real estate investors and I created a dataset that is valuable to them (it also happens to be my core product)

2. ‘Let me know if you want me to email it to you’. This is the key phrase. Do not say ‘DM me’, most of the time that will not fly by the moderators.

3. I’m a ‘Top Contributor’. What does that mean? It’s basically a way of knowing which people have made posts with significant traffic in a group in the past. This lets others know to pay attention to your posts since you have to earn it, ideally without spamming. I’ve been in this specific group for over 1 year and have posted other valuable data sets for free. All it takes is one post to do well and you’ll earn the ‘Top Contributor’ badge.

Once I got enough emails, I simply instructed my VA (with this 3 minute loom) to scrape them and put them in a google sheet to start marketing to them.

There’s a lot more that I want to cover with organic Facebook Groups marketing but I feel like that might be beyond the scope of this edition, let me know if I should go more into depth on it!

I’m Starting a Remote House Cleaning Business

Yup. Basically what the title says.

For those who don’t know, a remote house cleaning business essentially acts as a staffing agency. Its prime focus is handling all the admin and lead gen, while contracting external cleaners for fulfillment.

So why am I choosing to start this? Well, there are a few reasons:

Recurring revenue potential

From weekly to monthly cleans, there is potential for customers to stick around for longer and provide more consistent business.

Strong referral potential

Do a great job? It’s likely that customers will tell their friends.

Competition is much less

Unlike online businesses which compete with the best of the best around the globe, I am competing with maybe 3-5 cleaning companies in my area that are decent at marketing.

The vast majority of local service businesses have lack luster marketing (assuming they have any in the first place), and rely heavily on repeat clients and referrals.

I know from first hand experience that my family’s landscaping business has been running for 10+ years with no website, no Google Business Profile, and no ads.

Just sweet, sweet repeat customers and referrals.

I know I can dominate by providing a great service and incorporating modern marketing.

Has B2B potential

I love this one. Commercial cleans provide a larger volume of work.

With cold calling and cold email, I can reach these customers cheaply.

Low cost to acquire + high LTV = $$$

Proven business model

Nick Buzz, the man behind baked.design, started a remote cleaning business first. While his other ventures have outpaced the revenue of his cleaning business, he is proof that it can be done, and better yet, be semi passive with hiring the right people.

Another example is Ian Cushing, who is currently at 45k/month in rev between 2 locations of his remote cleaning business. 

Full disclosure: I purchased his course + 1 hour of his time for $100, and honestly so far it’s been 100% worth it.

My key takeaways from these two are:

1. Generating business is not rocket science. I either pay for marketing like Google LSA or pick up the phone and start dialing. (There are other ways of course, but these 2 are the primary ones)

2. This business is so simple to understand it can be automated with the right hire.

Current State and Next Steps

So far I have my website (be nice, it’s not finished yet), LLC, business bank account, general liability insurance, online booking, and have some door hangers on the way. 

I also have 15+ cleaner applicants (from Facebook Groups and Craigslist) and have done 3 interviews thus far. 

I am realizing I need to systematize the hiring process or else I will spend the rest of my days inside gmail.

Major to-dos:

1. Get verified on Google

2. Wait for my EIN (the IRS takes forever)

3. List website on directories and gain backlinks

4. Onboard first cleaners

For starting this business less than 2 weeks ago, I’m proud of where I am. 

I truly believe this business can be making at least 20k in monthly revenue by EOY, especially in Seattle.

I’m looking forward to finally cold calling some apartments!