If you've never landed a client before, why not just land the client and worry about showcasing it later?
I think the reality TVization of virtually everything we do is really annoying. While I'm a contributor through the build-in public series, it's worth noting that I've landed a fair number of clients and done many impressive things. When you click on one of my videos, you're not just watching someone fumble around the solution space; you're seeing that I have a concrete, straightforward path to a result, which makes the video worth your time—and that's why my videos get a lot of views. I understand where you're coming from and the urge to document everything, but I don't think that's particularly useful, and I wouldn't do it myself. Until seven days ago, I didn't even know about Instantly; I'd never heard of it. Today, using your 'Watch Me Launch a Successful Email Campaign' video, I launched my first ever campaign and got two replies—both rejections. If I'm being bold and honest, you are actually who the world thinks. Iman Godzia, thank you for your content. Thank you, man. I really appreciate that. Congratulations on launching your successful email campaign—it's not easy.
I don’t use a big script anymore. When I create a Loom outreach video, I start by putting myself in the client’s shoes and thinking about how to maximize perceived customization. I pick a recent piece of their content—like a specific Instagram post, a funnel page, or a calendar booking page—and reference it right away to show I’ve done my homework. I open with a quick, genuine introduction, confirming I’m a real person, and then I front‑load the video with the problem I can solve for them, making it clear I’m not asking for anything up front. I keep the tone conversational, avoid a salesy pitch, and focus on delivering value. For example, I might say, “Hey, I’m Peter. I saw your Instagram post about X, and I wanted to show you a quick way to fix Y that could save you Z.” I then demonstrate the solution in under 30 seconds, highlighting the impact. The goal is to be concise, personalized, and value‑first, so the prospect feels a genuine connection and sees an immediate benefit without feeling pressured.
I've considered it and decided not to — it would be too much to ask of my clients, especially since a lot of them I've worked with for the better part of a year or longer, and my current client roster is much smaller than it used to be. A lot of the systems I've built for those clients have already been repurposed into YouTube videos, and I've even built a couple of them live on camera before (back when I did more live builds). But doing a full expose/case-study breakdown on a specific client doesn't sit right with me, and honestly I think it makes more sense to put that energy into info products given the leverage there versus interviewing one client at a time.
I paused the campaign after getting a huge influx of positive replies – people were eager to hop on calls, which wasn’t realistic for me to handle. I had to pump the brakes in certain regions to keep growth sustainable. Here are the final stats: I ended up with 26 replies. When I launched the campaign I was opening at about 2‑2.5 % and have now scaled that up to roughly 4‑4.2 % after some split‑testing. I even recorded a video showing the iterations and published it, which helped a lot of people make money with cold email, confirming I was on the right track. I plan to follow up with deeper dives into the rest of the sales process, but it’s tough to justify the time right now because each sales call takes a lot of effort – I need participants who are comfortable having their calls published, and there’s a liability factor now. Producing one of those deep‑dive videos costs me about 10‑15 hours versus the 30‑45 minute videos I make now. I still think doing cornerstone content like this about once every 10‑15 videos is strategic, so I’ll keep it in the pipeline when the timing feels right.
Yeah, I like to think so as well. I deliver a ridiculous amount of value—whether it’s $60, $70, or whatever the current price is, sometimes around $3,000 depending on when you watch this. To make a long story short, I don’t actually recommend posting on YouTube for a while; most people see creators like me posting and assume that’s how you make money, so they feel they need to post and showcase their systems. I can only do that because I’ve already had success selling this through cold outreach and built a business model aside from YouTube. Only once I had the cash flow to justify spending time on YouTube did I start making videos consistently. Before you start making videos about a money‑making topic, get to the point where you’ve achieved more than 99% of people at that thing. If you’re a standout 1% with some accomplishment or social proof, people will be far more likely to listen to you. There are literally a million‑plus people waving light poles online talking about stuff they don’t really understand. When you can demonstrate real results—say, making $42,000 a month—and show how you did it, you cut through that noise much more easily. The key is to do it without bragging; come across as genuine, not ungrounded. Based on our interactions in Maker School, you’re not that kind of guy—you’re good. For me, it’s more about reputation than follower count; I care about the strength and quality of each follower, not just the number. I’m not missing out on money by focusing on goodwill; in fact, I’m accumulating more goodwill than pretty much anyone in the industry by doing this. Thanks for the advice—you totally get how to play the game.