How to Quickly Build an Audience for Your Startup Using AI. Here's What we Did!
We’re approaching our 1 millionth visitor to ValidatorAI.com
I want to share the past 3 years here, and how you can build your own massive funnel.
We started with a simple need:
People need help thinking through their startup ideas before they choose where to start building.
So, we built an easy-to-use AI tool that gives feedback when you enter your startup idea: competition, UVP suggestions, where to find early customers, how to modify your idea to fit the market, what early customer conversations might sound like.
We launched on Product Hunt, immediately. Day one. Then other early startup sites like Beta List. This helped earn initial visitors who will tell you what they really need. The other huge benefit is early backlinks from Product Hunt and everyone that decides to write about your new product.
Then we shared it on Reddit startup threads, founder groups, and niche communities. The goal was to get people to use the tool and tell others about it.
We submitted the site to AI tool directories (in 2022, there were only a few). And as more directories came online (there are dozens now) they all picked up our site and wrote about it. More backlinks, more traffic etc.
Our website started showing up in newsletters, blog posts, on twitter, TikTok and YouTube, without us ever pitching anyone.
Other creators and influencers started linking to us. It snowballed. Get the key backlinks and early adopters will share your site, then everyone else will find out about it.
We offered frictionless use - no email required. Word of mouth (and word of mouse) spread quickly.
The tool itself has always been designed to be fun and viral. People share their results, and in the early days, that’s vital.
Traffic grew, our link profile grew, and Google finally took notice. Suddenly we were ranking for a few terms around AI startup tools.
We checked Google’s Keyword Planner and found other search terms we were confident we could rank for.
We tweaked our homepage content to match the key phrases we wanted to rank for on Google.
We checked Google Search Console and found more longtail searches we were ranking for that we didn’t have on our radar. We did a bit more content tweaking. Then we let it sit, because it sometimes takes a while.
We kept everything free at our site. The goal was to be helpful, not revenue (yet) and the numbers kept piling up.
Once users saw value, we asked for email (softly). We wanted to be able to stay in touch with our visitors. This helped build a highly engaged newsletter list from the start. Those emails became a key growth and feedback loop.
We started a newsletter offering helpful advice and roadmaps for people pursing their ideas. We added polls in the newsletters to gently find out what people might need.
Oddly, advertisers started pouring in. HubSpot, Gamma, (tons of AI newsletters), Artisan, dozens more. We decided to stop placing ads in the newsletter to make it more authentic (I have ad offers piling up).
The newsletter became a second channel for growth. People started sharing posts that resonated with them.
We focused on utility. Every email had something to try, learn, or play with.
We started sharing the newsletters on our website. More content, more pages, more opportunities for Google to notice us and rank us. We wrote some content around phrases we wanted to rank for, which helped SEO.
We experimented with more AI tools. Created a new page and URL for each one, and noticed they started ranking in Google as well.
We tested dozens of landing page versions, call-to-action styles, and layouts and stuck with what worked.
We didn’t chase media coverage, but sites like Hacker Noon and others have mentioned us when they talk about free AI tools for business. Every mention helps (backlinks, traffic, people talking).
Backlink profile started to really be solid. Our 10,000 backlinks signal to Google that we’re worth ranking.
Kept experimenting with more tools and more pages, seeing what would rank on Google.
People started using our tools in their own communities, like universities.
We created a few viral side tools and projects… just playful or helpful ideas to help people discover us.
We always tracked what resonated… which tools people used the most, what they shared, what they ignored. Some ideas flopped, some went well. Brush off the failures and keep moving.
We learned that most users aren’t ready to launch yet. They want to explore, ideate, simulate and get confident before building. So, we made sure our free tool did exactly that.
We added simulations: “Here’s what Reddit would say,” “here’s how your landing page message may convert” to boost user confidence.
We added a scoring system to get people coming back to the site and to share their scores with friends.
We used internal data from 500,000+ tool submissions to share patterns and insights on startup trends. This created content that people started paying attention to.
The result of all of this is that we’re atop Google for many search terms that tens of thousands of people search every month. Leading to a steady flow of new idea-curious people, that we’ve paid $0 to reach. We also have over 250,000 of you in our member base. The foundation of something epic to come.
We made friends, not followers. As a result, we’ve been shared widely. And the best part… we’ve met countless interesting people who are working on really cool ideas.
Want to build a million-person funnel?
Solve for curiosity. Focus on one very small part of the journey that you can be the expert in. Make it fun and engaging, and make people feel smarter when they visit you.
We have spent $0 on the funnel. We just made something interesting and viral, shared it everywhere, engaged with users, kept tweaking and optimizing Google.
Now, we’re seeing ChatGPT be a large source of traffic (also free). If you want to know how to optimize your site so ChatGPT mentions you, we made a free tool for that here:
Agentic AI Readiness Assessment Tool
It’s absolutely free. I have nothing to sell you. I’m not going to build a business around this concept. But, wouldn’t you know it, that tool is ranking well on Google already as well!
Build the foundation and Google will recommend everything that you do. And plan for an agentic future… optimize your site for AI agents, not just Google.
Remember: Your life is valuable, and you’ve been uniquely gifted with talents and insights that no one else on earth has. You are a true 1 of 1 and there will never be another person with your exact experiences, skills and personality.
Take care. Talk soon.
I want to share the past 3 years here, and how you can build your own massive funnel.
We started with a simple need:
People need help thinking through their startup ideas before they choose where to start building.
So, we built an easy-to-use AI tool that gives feedback when you enter your startup idea: competition, UVP suggestions, where to find early customers, how to modify your idea to fit the market, what early customer conversations might sound like.
We launched on Product Hunt, immediately. Day one. Then other early startup sites like Beta List. This helped earn initial visitors who will tell you what they really need. The other huge benefit is early backlinks from Product Hunt and everyone that decides to write about your new product.
Then we shared it on Reddit startup threads, founder groups, and niche communities. The goal was to get people to use the tool and tell others about it.
We submitted the site to AI tool directories (in 2022, there were only a few). And as more directories came online (there are dozens now) they all picked up our site and wrote about it. More backlinks, more traffic etc.
Our website started showing up in newsletters, blog posts, on twitter, TikTok and YouTube, without us ever pitching anyone.
Other creators and influencers started linking to us. It snowballed. Get the key backlinks and early adopters will share your site, then everyone else will find out about it.
We offered frictionless use - no email required. Word of mouth (and word of mouse) spread quickly.
The tool itself has always been designed to be fun and viral. People share their results, and in the early days, that’s vital.
Traffic grew, our link profile grew, and Google finally took notice. Suddenly we were ranking for a few terms around AI startup tools.
We checked Google’s Keyword Planner and found other search terms we were confident we could rank for.
We tweaked our homepage content to match the key phrases we wanted to rank for on Google.
We checked Google Search Console and found more longtail searches we were ranking for that we didn’t have on our radar. We did a bit more content tweaking. Then we let it sit, because it sometimes takes a while.
We kept everything free at our site. The goal was to be helpful, not revenue (yet) and the numbers kept piling up.
Once users saw value, we asked for email (softly). We wanted to be able to stay in touch with our visitors. This helped build a highly engaged newsletter list from the start. Those emails became a key growth and feedback loop.
We started a newsletter offering helpful advice and roadmaps for people pursing their ideas. We added polls in the newsletters to gently find out what people might need.
Oddly, advertisers started pouring in. HubSpot, Gamma, (tons of AI newsletters), Artisan, dozens more. We decided to stop placing ads in the newsletter to make it more authentic (I have ad offers piling up).
The newsletter became a second channel for growth. People started sharing posts that resonated with them.
We focused on utility. Every email had something to try, learn, or play with.
We started sharing the newsletters on our website. More content, more pages, more opportunities for Google to notice us and rank us. We wrote some content around phrases we wanted to rank for, which helped SEO.
We experimented with more AI tools. Created a new page and URL for each one, and noticed they started ranking in Google as well.
We tested dozens of landing page versions, call-to-action styles, and layouts and stuck with what worked.
We didn’t chase media coverage, but sites like Hacker Noon and others have mentioned us when they talk about free AI tools for business. Every mention helps (backlinks, traffic, people talking).
Backlink profile started to really be solid. Our 10,000 backlinks signal to Google that we’re worth ranking.
Kept experimenting with more tools and more pages, seeing what would rank on Google.
People started using our tools in their own communities, like universities.
We created a few viral side tools and projects… just playful or helpful ideas to help people discover us.
We always tracked what resonated… which tools people used the most, what they shared, what they ignored. Some ideas flopped, some went well. Brush off the failures and keep moving.
We learned that most users aren’t ready to launch yet. They want to explore, ideate, simulate and get confident before building. So, we made sure our free tool did exactly that.
We added simulations: “Here’s what Reddit would say,” “here’s how your landing page message may convert” to boost user confidence.
We added a scoring system to get people coming back to the site and to share their scores with friends.
We used internal data from 500,000+ tool submissions to share patterns and insights on startup trends. This created content that people started paying attention to.
The result of all of this is that we’re atop Google for many search terms that tens of thousands of people search every month. Leading to a steady flow of new idea-curious people, that we’ve paid $0 to reach. We also have over 250,000 of you in our member base. The foundation of something epic to come.
We made friends, not followers. As a result, we’ve been shared widely. And the best part… we’ve met countless interesting people who are working on really cool ideas.
Want to build a million-person funnel?
Solve for curiosity. Focus on one very small part of the journey that you can be the expert in. Make it fun and engaging, and make people feel smarter when they visit you.
We have spent $0 on the funnel. We just made something interesting and viral, shared it everywhere, engaged with users, kept tweaking and optimizing Google.
Now, we’re seeing ChatGPT be a large source of traffic (also free). If you want to know how to optimize your site so ChatGPT mentions you, we made a free tool for that here:
Agentic AI Readiness Assessment Tool
It’s absolutely free. I have nothing to sell you. I’m not going to build a business around this concept. But, wouldn’t you know it, that tool is ranking well on Google already as well!
Build the foundation and Google will recommend everything that you do. And plan for an agentic future… optimize your site for AI agents, not just Google.
Remember: Your life is valuable, and you’ve been uniquely gifted with talents and insights that no one else on earth has. You are a true 1 of 1 and there will never be another person with your exact experiences, skills and personality.
Take care. Talk soon.
