Nine Free Ways to Get Your First 100 Customers

Paid ads amplify a business that already works. Until you know who buys and why, spend time instead of money. Here is where those first hundred customers usually come from.

Be findable

• Claim your Google Business Profile. Free, and it is the map listing people use to find a local business. Add hours, photos, and a phone number.
• Ask every happy customer for a review. Reviews are the ranking factor for local search, and they cost nothing but a polite text message.
• Put one clear offer on your website. A visitor should know what you sell and how to buy within five seconds.

Be useful where your customers already are

• Answer questions in Facebook groups and forums. Be genuinely helpful for a couple of weeks before you mention your business.
• Start your own Facebook group. You own the audience instead of renting it, and members see every post.
• Post three times a week. One tip, one story, one offer. Consistency beats production quality.
• Offer to help a local organization. Churches, schools, and clubs need speakers, sponsors, and volunteers - and they talk about the people who show up.

Ask directly

• Tell everyone you know what you do. Most new businesses get their first ten customers from people within two degrees of them.
• Ask for referrals at the moment of delivery. "Do you know one other person who needs this?" is the whole script.

Track what works

Write down where every new customer came from for your first month. Two or three of these will carry your business, and you will know which ones to double down on.

The Facebook group and social media checklists walk through the setup step by step.