ZapDM.io Journey to $100k

[animesh]

Wooo! Finally, congrats!

Oh no . Happy birthday!

Yeah, hopefully, good luck

Thanks!! ️

PS: I really appriciate that you read all my updates as soon as I post (and a few other AWESOME members like @Dopious, thanks!)
PPS: No pressure to read them right away, haha!

 

[Incarnate]

Good luck with this journey @animesh.

 

[animesh]

Good luck with this journey @animesh.

Doing my best, and more. Thanks!

 

[animesh]

Update - Week 19: January 25, 2025​

Stats so far:

(+18 new users since last week)

What I did last week (January 19 to February 25):

1. Added a few features to the codebase, but haven't pushed them yet. I'll properly test them out then make them live.
2. Improved the automation setup UI for easier and faster setup (yet to make it live)

What I plan to do this week (January 26 to January 25):

1. Test and make the changes live.
2. Optimizing everything to handle everything as we scale.
3. Do at least one more influencer collab.

Three weeks ago, I had hired a social media manager, she did the collab, that resulted in 14k+ views so far and got us 100+ users within just 2 weeks. I hope this continues and we reach our goal ASAP!

Costs so far: $955
Net revenue: $666 (+$24 Thunder Subscription)
MRR: ~$50

 

[animesh]

Update - Week 20: February 01, 2025​

Stats so far:

(+10 new users since last week)

What I did last week (January 26 to February 01):

1. Added a few features to the app. Couldn't do anything else, was stuck in the code all week.

What I plan to do this week (February 01 to February 08 ):

1. Do at least one more influencer collab.
2. Optimize the app for scaling
3. Add a few more features that I have planned.

EDIT: I just realized it’s been 150 days (about 5 months) since I made ZapDM public, time really flies.
I’ll admit I was expecting much higher numbers by now, but that’s okay. I’m willing to be patient, and honestly, scaling too fast can burn a product to the ground, so slower growth might actually be a good thing (for me).

Costs so far: $955
Net revenue: $666
MRR: ~$50

 

[SilverClouds]

I’ll admit I was expecting much higher numbers by now,​

Relatable... expectations vs reality . But yeah, gotta grind, it's not instant success like on scam coaches' yt videos, have to work for it and tweak as you go.

but that’s okay.​

...and that's the spirit.

 

[animesh]

Update - Week 21: February 08, 2025​

Stats so far:

(+7 new users since last week)

What I did last week (February 01 to February 08):

1. Added a retrigger automation feature.
2. Tried to do influencer collab, but didn't get anyone..

What I plan to do this week (February 09 to February 15):

1. Adding the rest of the features that I had planned.
2. Running ads and building MRR

Costs so far: $1,155 (+$200 New Meta Ads Agency Fee)
Net revenue: $666
MRR: ~$50

 

[animesh]

Update - Week 22: February 15, 2025​

Stats so far:

(+15 new users since last week)

What I did last week (February 09 to February 15):

1. Planned and prepared ads.
2. Improved ZapAI working

What I plan to do this week (February 16 to February 22):

1. sales and app improvements

Costs so far: $1,155
Net revenue: $696 (+$30 sale from Dealify)
MRR at this moment: ~$22 ( -$27, one user's payment method failed, and I'm guessing they won't renew since it's been a week already)

 

[animesh]

Update - Week 23: February 22, 2025​

Stats so far:

(+12 new users since last week)

What I did last week (February 16 to February 22):

1. Implemented an auto-blog feature, so I would be able to generate blog posts for ZapDM, on autopilot, it might help gain some visibility.
2. Improved the SEO structure of the whole website
3. Did some minor bug fixes

What I plan to do this week (February 23 to March 01):

1. Ads start this week
2. Outreach a few influencers for barter collab

Costs so far: $1,155
Net revenue: $696
MRR at this moment: $0

 

[Spy]

What’s your tech stack?

 

[animesh]

What’s your tech stack?

Next JS, PostgreSQL, Redis, BullMQ and Ubuntu 24 on a VPS for hosting the app.

 

[Singh]

Costs so far: $1,155 (+$200 New Meta Ads Agency Fee)

Shame you had to deal with fee from meta. Don't let it discorage you!

Good luck with journey!

 

[animesh]

Update - Week 24: March 01, 2026​

Stats so far:

(+19 new users since last week)

What I did last week (February 23 to March 01):

1. Ran leads ad on meta, got 30+ leads and called them all, but only one bought (that too was a $2 sale )
2. Did a free collab, got 2.5k+ views, got around 8-10 users from that I think.
3. Got 2 more Big influencers (70k and 90k followers) to test the product and create collab video for free

What I plan to do this week (March 02 to March 08):

1. Talk to more influencers for collab
2. Make the product much more better (I WON'T STOP THIS, HAHA)
3. Continue the ads and sales calls for 5 more days, if I get sales, then good, otherwise I won't have any funds until next month.

Costs so far: $1,210 (+$55 ad costs)
Net revenue: $725 (+$29, ~$27 from Dealify LTD sale. I plan to stop LTD sales, but I forget.. This week gonna run the last LTD promo then stop them)
MRR at this moment: $2 (yup, that's it. We ran ads, got leads, called this person, he bought this monthly bolt plan at $3.5/month - Indian pricing for PPP (Purchasing Power Parity))

 

[Enlightened]

Your free plan is too generous at 200 free DMs/month, should be about 100 at most imo.

 

[SeasonedCode]

i guess its better to get existing users to pay through email campaigns and automation imo you have lot of churn

you need to calculate the churned users that for example they didn't used the product since 6 days or whatever depends on your model

 

[Champagne]

200$ Agency Fee? That's insane.

 

[animesh]

Your free plan is too generous at 200 free DMs/month, should be about 100 at most imo.

I guess you are right, I feel this way too, also, most of my free user's aren't hitting this limit, so they aren't motivated to upgrade.

i guess its better to get existing users to pay through email campaigns and automation imo you have lot of churn

you need to calculate the churned users that for example they didn't used the product since 6 days or whatever depends on your model

Yes, I think I should build an email sequence this week, to auto email everyone based on their usage. 60% of my users haven't connected instagram account, maybe this is becuase they signed up and forgot. And I didn't send any email to bring them back!!

200$ Agency Fee? That's insane.

Ah yes , but they promised at least 3x ROAS (around $300) or they'd refund 100%. Also, I am getting the sales call handled on alternative days.
And I was promised 3-5 UGC videos that aren't delivered yet, so I am going to get a refund if they don't.

But yes, I do reget hiring them now. I hope I at least make back what I invested on them.

 

[Enlightened]

Look into usage statistics of your users, how many DM’s they are sending on average on the free plan, what the average follower count and activity is of each user, use the best user data to feed back into meta ads pixel for better audience targeting. I mentioned 100 DM limit for free users earlier but ideally the limit should be set slightly below average free user usage to make them take the step into paid plans.

 

[animesh]

Look into usage statistics of your users, how many DM’s they are sending on average on the free plan, what the average follower count and activity is of each user, use the best user data to feed back into meta ads pixel for better audience targeting. I mentioned 100 DM limit for free users earlier but ideally the limit should be set slightly below average free user usage to make them take the step into paid plans.

Good suggestions, will implement this week.

 

[animesh]

Update - Week 25: March 08, 2026​

Stats so far:

(+9 new users since last week)

What I did last week (March 02 to March 08):

1. Made ZapAI faster and more reliable (response time went from 10-15 seconds to 3-5 seconds)
2. Fixed a bug on landing page (login and signup buttons were not showing on mobile devices)
3. Influencer outreaches for collab

What I plan to do this week (March 09 to March 15):

1. Implementing suggestions by @Enlightened and @SeasonedCode (changing plan limits, win-back campaigns, measuring engagement)
2. Setting up proper reddit keyword mention bot (This bot will help me scout the posts that are related to ZapDM, I'll then manually reply to those reddit posts) - I know I tried reddit before, but I think I gave up too soon.
3. Adding more features but for higher plans only, so that higher pricing on those plans look justified and more useful.

Costs so far: $1,210
Net revenue: $725
MRR at this moment: $2