That time I tried pitching via Instagram DMs and actually got a $400 project out of it

I was super skeptical about sliding into DMs for work, but after 3 tries a small bakery owner in Denver messaged me back and we closed a deal in 2 days. Has anyone else had luck with casual social outreach over formal proposals?

2 comments

2 Comments

shanes6620h ago

You know, it's funny how we've gotten so hung up on "professional" ways of reaching people when in reality most small business owners are just regular folks scrolling their phones between cake orders. I've noticed this pattern everywhere now - the guy at my local hardware store told me he only reads texts, not emails, and the coffee shop owner I chat with says she gets hundreds of emails a day but actually looks at her DMs because they feel more personal. It's like we built this whole formal business communication system that everyone secretly hates and ignores. The casual approach cuts through all that noise because it treats people like people, not like inboxes to check. So your bakery deal doesn't surprise me one bit, it actually makes perfect sense when you think about how the world really works.

coleman.hannah17h ago

Wait, you're telling me all those years of writing perfectly crafted cover letters were basically a waste of time because I just need to fire off a "hey, want a website?" message between dog memes?

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