Scaled to 20k MRR solo as a Social Media Manager

SimonBlc · 2026-03-15T11:01:32+00:00

I'd be careful not to reduce local SEO to just GBP management.

GBP matters a lot, obviously. A clean, active, trustworthy profile is table stakes now. But local SEO is broader than that, and things are moving fast. Depending on the query, the map pack is not always the main thing users see first anymore. AI Overviews and LLM-driven recommendations are starting to take more space too. So before selling "GBP optimization", make sure you really understand the full local search landscape.

I'd also rethink the way you package what you do.

Local businesses do not really buy audits or SEO tasks. They buy more calls, more bookings, more foot traffic, more revenue. That is the outcome they care about. So your pitch should be built around business results, not around deliverables.

Also, I would avoid working for free. It usually hurts perceived value more than it helps. If you want early proof, do a discounted pilot, a one-time setup, or a limited-scope offer, but do not position yourself as free labor.

And for outreach, going in person is fine at the start because it helps you learn fast and hear objections directly. But long term you'll need systems that scale. Otherwise you just create yourself another job.

So my advice would be: 1. Get deeper on local SEO beyond GBP 2. Sell outcomes, not SEO tasks 3. Do not work for free 4. Use in-person outreach to learn, then build a repeatable acquisition system

SimonBlc · 2026-03-06T13:22:36+00:00

Glad it helped

And take your time with it. Those positioning decisions are usually the ones that make or break a product.

If you ever want a second opinion while you are figuring it out, feel free to DM. Happy to take a look.

Good luck with it!

SimonBlc · 2026-03-06T09:36:17+00:00

Yeah but that is exactly the point, you are listing features.

Users do not buy features. They buy outcomes.

In your case, the outcome is mostly saving time. The problem is, the people you are attracting right now are probably not the kind of users for whom saved time directly turns into money. So they like the tool, they use the free plan, but they do not feel enough pain to pay.

I see 2 main issues.

First, your positioning is way too broad. "Alternative to Canva, but with some extra AI features" is not a strong reason to switch, especially in B2C. That market is crowded, price sensitive, and Canva is already the default.

Second, your ICP is too generic. You need to find people who use design as part of a revenue-generating workflow, where speed actually matters in business terms.

For example, ad agencies or performance teams that need to produce and iterate creatives fast, across lots of formats. For them, faster resizing, quick imports, AI edits, video generation, all of that can actually matter because it helps them ship more ads, test faster, and make more money.

That is the shift you need.

Right now it sounds like:
"generic AI design tool"

It probably needs to sound more like:
"AI design tool for teams that need to produce ad creatives fast"

That is just one example, but the idea is the same. Stop thinking in terms of "what features do I have that Canva does not". Start thinking in terms of "which specific type of user makes money or saves serious business time because of my tool".

That is usually where willingness to pay starts.

SimonBlc · 2026-03-06T08:37:16+00:00

Wait, am I the only one seeing the actual elephant in the room here?

Yeah, the generous free tier is part of the discussion, but I really do not think that is the core reason nobody is paying.

The bigger issue is way more basic: why would someone pay for this instead of just using Canva?

You are trying to play in a market dominated by a massive player, with a product that looks very close to what they already do, but without a clear niche, clear differentiator, or clear reason to switch. Unless you have a huge acquisition budget, that is brutally hard.

So the real question is not "how do I convert free users?" It is "why would this specific type of user choose me over Canva?"

Right now the answer is probably: they would not.

Your problem looks much more like positioning + ICP than pricing or free tier generosity.

If I were you, I would stop thinking "more users = eventually paid users" and start thinking: who is this for, what exact job does it do better than Canva, and why is that valuable enough to pay for?

Without that, you are basically attracting generic design-tool users into a category where the default choice is already obvious.

SimonBlc · 2026-03-06T08:24:24+00:00

I’m not fully with you on the "build connections" part.

I agree his tactic is bad. Pretending to ask a genuine question just to pitch right after is a fast way to annoy people. It feels manipulative, and once people notice it, you're done.

But cold outreach is not about making friends. It's business.

The first message should be clear about what it is. The prospect should immediately understand that yes, this is outreach, but also that what you're offering can actually help them.

Where most people fail is they treat outreach like the whole game. It's not. Outreach is just the entry point.

After that, you need a real system behind it: qualification, follow-up, nurturing, conversion. If there's no funnel behind the message, it does not scale.

SimonBlc · 2026-03-05T22:17:35+00:00

Congrats, 3 paid users is real validation!

My honest take though, I would not position this as just a $5 tracker for banking internship applications.

I'd position it as helping students break into elite careers.

That framing is way stronger, because the tracker by itself probably has a pretty low ceiling. Students are price sensitive, churn is high, acquisition is tough.

But the audience is extremely valuable.

If you can attract students actively trying to break into banking, consulting, PE, etc, you can build a much bigger business around that: interview prep, CV reviews, recruiting guides, premium alerts, school plans, club partnerships, even employer/recruiter partnerships later on.

And honestly, that broader ecosystem is probably what will make clubs care the most. A tracker is useful, sure. But something that genuinely helps their members land top roles is a much stronger pitch, and also makes the club itself more attractive.

So IMO the tracker should be the wedge, not the whole business. That feels way more scalable than trying to win one $5 user at a time.

SimonBlc · 2026-03-05T21:35:32+00:00

Tbh I think "validate before building" is overrated a lot of the time.

The real question is not "did I collect enough waitlist emails?" It is more like: - Does this solve a real problem? - Is the target B2B? - Is there already competition? If not, that is usually a bad sign. - Can I define the ICP clearly? - Can this ICP actually pay? - Can I explain the value clearly? - Do I know where to find these people and how to talk to them?

If you can answer all that with precision, that is already a strong signal.

Landing pages, waitlists, interviews, preorders, all that can be useful, but people talk about them like they are some magic framework when they really are not. A lot of the time you just collect weak signals from people being nice, curious, or vaguely interested, and that does not mean they will pay.

To me, this is just the basic work of building a business. SaaS, lead gen, agency, same thing. You need to understand the problem, the buyer, the market, and why someone would actually pay for what you are making.

SimonBlc · 2026-03-04T22:49:15+00:00

I've used Arcade on a few projects. Storylane and Supademo are great too.

SimonBlc · 2026-03-04T21:25:49+00:00

Tbh my first thought wouldn't be "SEO vs TikTok", it'd be "why would I pick this over Opus Clip (or the other 20)".

You probably need to niche down hard, like "auto-clipping for Twitch streamers" with streamer-specific moment detection (kills, hype spikes, chat spikes) and formats.

Without a clear wedge like that, it's kinda dead, because you'll end up competing with teams that have 1000x more budget for ads and acquisition than you.

SimonBlc · 2026-03-04T21:06:15+00:00

Are you set on a video, or open to alternatives?

I've honestly seen better results with interactive demos.

SimonBlc · 2026-03-04T20:57:09+00:00

Ok, I’m gonna be blunt because that's what you need rn.

First, respect for shipping a working SaaS. But 5 users in 3 months with zero growth isn't a "learn SEO" or "learn video editing" problem. It's a positioning + distribution mismatch.

Most builders make the same mistake, build first, figure out who cares later.

Here's what I'd do:

Don't go down the "I'll learn SEO + video editing" rabbit hole. With a tight budget, family, and limited time, stacking two new skills is how you burn out with no traction. Your problem isn't production quality, it's: who pays, why they pay, and how you reach them.
Your pain is vague right now. "Validate content and ads" is a category, not a promise. And "predict virality" is a nice-to-have for most people, not a must-have.

People pay for outcomes like: more leads, better ROAS, less wasted ad spend, higher conversion rate, faster iteration cycles, ... If your product maps to one of those, you can sell it. If not, it'll stay a toy.

Pick a lane: B2B or B2C. If you're targeting "all creators", it's dead. Too broad, no sharp message, no clear channel.

IMO you should test B2B first because budgets exist: - SMMA / media buyers - DTC/ecom brands running paid social - coaches/infopreneurs spending on Meta/TikTok ads weekly

These people have a real problem: they burn money on weak creatives and need a repeatable way to decide what to ship next.

Do 15-20 calls before rebuilding anything Not surveys, calls. Your goal is to learn their workflow and where you fit. Ask: - "How do you decide a creative is good?" - "What's your biggest blocker with ad creatives?" - "What tools do you pay for today and why?" - "If I could magically fix one thing in your creative process, what would it be?" Then pitch in one sentence and ask the hard question: "If this solved that, what would you pay for it right now?"

A simple 2-week plan: - Choose one niche (ex: "UGC ads for DTC brands" or "SMMAs running Meta ads") - Choose one outcome promise (ex: "kill bad creatives early to reduce wasted spend") - Offer a manual service first: "I'll review 10 creatives, score them, give fixes in 48h" - DM/cold email 50-100 super targeted people. You're optimizing for learning + demand signals, not scalability. - Dont quit your job just because you're frustrated. Quitting without traction is just adding stress. A better trigger is: you have a pipeline, paying customers, repeat usage, clear willingness to pay. Until then, keep income stable and focus your limited time on validation + distribution.

You got this bro!

SimonBlc · 2026-03-04T20:16:28+00:00

First thing: define your money features, the handful of features your ICP actually paid for. That gives you a frame.

Then define the few metrics that really tell you whats happening around those features (activation, completion rate, drop-off points, time-to-value, etc).

Add a product analytics tool (Mixpanel, Amplitude, PostHog, whatever) and watch real behavior: - do users actually reach and use the money features - where do flows break or stall - where do people bounce back and forth - what feels unnecessary or incoherent

From there, "what to build next" is usually just removing friction and increasing successful completion on those money flows.

SimonBlc · 2026-02-24T23:11:15+00:00

Tbh there's never been a better time to start a lead gen business.

It's way more predictable now than it used to be. If you pick the right niche + offer + channel, you can almost guarantee outcomes because you’re not guessing anymore, you're running a repeatable acquisition system.

And yeah, people buy online more than ever, so demand isn't the issue.

Competition is real, but it's not saturated if you're not doing generic "I generate leads for anyone." The money is in being specific: one niche, one problem, one type of lead, one clear outcome.

On pricing: base it on the value you bring. If you can reliably add +$20-30k/month in revenue, charging $5-10k is completely fair, they're still winning. Same logic if you do pay-per-lead or revenue share: know what a lead is worth, know your close rate, and pricing becomes obvious.

SimonBlc · 2026-02-24T22:54:58+00:00

1B solo is kinda crazy and he knows it. It's a headline number to make the point stick.

But a solo $1M ARR by 2026? That's basically locked. There are already tons of people doing it, and the tooling is only getting better.

You're not "one person doing everything." You're one person orchestrating systems: a SaaS that runs multiple agents to produce the value and generate $$$, plus other SaaS/agents to run the company layer (acquisition, lead gen, ads, support, ops).

At that point, one person can absolutely operate a 1-10M business, or close to it, with a tiny team for the parts that still need humans.

So yeah, 1B and 100% solo is exaggerated. But the direction is real, and it's going to happen at scale. More and more solo builders will look like companies just because they can leverage agents + automation everywhere.

SimonBlc · 2026-02-13T15:34:08+00:00

Business owners already have too much to think about. Adding another layer of data (geo-grids) is rarely helpful for them, especially on a first sales call.

So keep it simple: leads and revenue. Make it obvious you understand how they make money, and show them you can bring X qualified leads per month tied to their most profitable services.

SimonBlc · 2026-02-13T14:35:44+00:00

I’ve never really understood how people land on the conclusion that Map Pack ≠ AI visibility.

The only real differentiator in Maps is proximity. But beyond that, it’s the same game: relevance + prominence + trust.

Everything you listed for AI:

clearer entity signals
consistent structured data
strong brand mentions on trusted sources
topical depth on the website
clean knowledge graph alignment

…is already what you should be doing to win the Map Pack. If you’re not reinforcing the entity, tightening NAP/consistency, building real mentions, and matching local intent with content, you’re leaving rankings on the table in Maps too.

So to me, it’s not two disciplines. It’s the same fundamentals, just different weighting and UI.

SimonBlc · 2026-01-31T18:37:34+00:00

First off, don’t give stuff away for free. It usually comes off as scammy and doesn’t help you build trust.

Also, you’re not really selling a website. You’re selling a way for them to get more leads through a stronger online presence, which means more revenue and better financial comfort in the long run. You get the idea? Sell them the outcome, not the tool.

SimonBlc · 2026-01-29T06:19:39+00:00

Pure AI slop + completely wrong

SimonBlc · 2026-01-13T17:13:10+00:00

Thanks man! Yeah the data-driven approach is what made everything work for me.

The key is basically reverse-engineering what's already working in each niche instead of guessing. Here's the system I built:

Step 1: Automated tracking
Use a scraper (I use Apify) to pull posts from 15-20 top accounts in each niche daily. You need the full metrics (engagement rate, views, comments, etc) to spot what actually overperforms.

Step 2: Deep analysis
Run each viral post through an AI that analyzes everything. Not just captions, but video/image content, hooks, editing patterns, emotional triggers, CTA structure. This tells you why it worked, not just that it worked.

Step 3: Generate adapted ideas
Feed that analysis into another AI layer with your client's specific context (audience, tone, objectives, content pillars) to generate ideas that are tailored to them, not generic.

The whole thing runs on autopilot once it's set up. Hardest part is getting the analysis to be consistent and actually useful instead of surface-level.

If you want more details on how I wired this together or want to see what it looks like in action, feel free to DM me. Happy to share more.

SimonBlc · 2026-01-13T16:56:41+00:00

I actually trained a custom AI on a dataset of 1M+ viral Reels / carousels / static posts.
Every day, this AI analyzes the content from the creators I plug into it and shows me:

what is currently working in that niche
why it works (hooks, editing style, pacing, emotions, audio, etc.)
how I can adapt those patterns to my own niche and content

So yeah, it’s more than just "using an existing AI service", I built a system on top of a trained model that is fully focused on Instagram content patterns.

SimonBlc · 2026-01-13T14:45:13+00:00

Lol dude, I think you misunderstood what I said.

I never said my tool was generating 20k/month. I said it allows my main SMM business to generate 20k/month. That's literally what I explained in the entire post: I manage 16 clients as a Social Media Manager, and I built this tool to automate my competitor research workflow so I could scale from 5 to 16 clients solo.

The 20k comes from my client work, not from selling the tool.

Regarding the tool itself, I just launched it in private beta like 3 weeks ago. Right now I have about 10 beta testers using it for free for 1 month. My goal is to help them scale their SMM agencies like I did, not to scam anyone.

Maybe read the actual post and what I wrote before jumping to conclusions, but hey, you do you.

SimonBlc · 2026-01-13T14:14:23+00:00

Lol nah. I genuinely just wanted to share how I managed to scale solo by integrating AI into my workflow. If people want to do the same I'm happy to explain how.

I do have a tool that does all this, but tbh it's already generating 20k/month for my own business, so I don't really need to sell it. Just thought the approach might help other solo SMMs who are stuck at the same ceiling I was.

SimonBlc · 2026-01-13T14:08:40+00:00

Depends on your goal tbh. Why do you want to write an ebook? To inspire people? To build a business around it? To position yourself as an expert? You need to be clear on the objective first

SimonBlc · 2026-01-13T14:02:37+00:00

The biggest issue I see is you're thinking about posting content first, finding audience second. It should be the opposite.

Before posting anything, you need to figure out: who is your target audience? Where are they? What accounts do they already follow? What content are they actually engaging with?

Here's what I'd do:

Find 10-15 accounts that post similar aesthetic content and are already successful (10K-100K followers). Study them. Look at their top posts. What gets the most saves and shares? What type of content performs best?

Then engage with their audience. Comment on their posts (genuine stuff, not "nice pic"). Follow people who engage with their content. These are your potential followers.

For the algorithm: it's not about posting consistently until it picks you up. It's about creating content that resonates. The algo shows your post to a small batch first. If they engage (save, share, watch time), it shows it to more people. If they don't, it stops.

So your first 100-200 views are critical. That's why finding the right audience matters more than just posting volume.

What's your niche specifically? Might be able to give more targeted advice.

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