This might be a weakness in my skillset, but I tend to think that outbound marketing is a very time-intensive proposition, and as a sole businessman time is something I can never really have enough of. I don't want to do anything that has to get over a spam filter, a low-conversion inbox scan, and then a low-conversion salespitch for it to positively affect my business. (And, it goes without saying, spam is right out.)
I don't know what your personal threshold is for writing non-spammy email, but I personally can't put my hands on a keyboard and not type a hundred words. Even at ten emails a day, that is a thousand words. That could be an article, an interview, a blog post (that would be criticized for overlength), etc, etc. All things that I get to keep, that stay available on the public Internet, and that aren't strongly dependent on the reception of individual third parties.
I'd much rather write the thousand words and pull some folks to me. After that, perhaps we could do email and/or coffee.
If you were producing something more complex, such as software for companies or organizations, you would need a different approach.
One of pg's articles mentions that the successful YC's are ones where one of the founders is always on the phone, contacting people. That is the reality for a lot of business.
Bigger ticket items have to have some direct contact. Even trying out relatively cheap b2b software like redgate products gets direct emails (probably initially canned but I got a prompt human response to my reply to it). You will also find yourself in direct contact with Dell if you buy as a business.
Biggest problem: I don't have time to think before I blurt something out when on the phone or in person. With email, I can craft my words, then even WAIT before I say them, think some more if needed, and I control my conversation rather than vamp and hope for the best.
I'd love to see some interviews with successful programmers turned CEO's/managers (but in smaller companies, not Bill Gates) to see how they managed it.
Also, shouldn't you call people instead? Calls are generally more personal and harder to ignore than a random email from a stranger.
I find calling is more effective, too.
But I won't call someone I don't know unless I can get an introduction.
My take on "what being an entrepreneur really means" is 179 degrees from yours:
I can't wait to contact people I don't know to share what I'm doing and how it can improve their lives.
If you don't feel the same way, maybe you shouldn't be an entrepreneur.
I regularly go to Tech Breakfasts, Chamber of Commerce meetings, industry dinners, dev groups, and network over coffee or beer just for the chance to talk about what I'm doing. I love doing this almost as much as writing the code itself. It gets me off my butt and away from my terminal and also gets valuable feedback from others.
Coding in a vacuum is like trying to push cooked spaghetti through a straw. Getting away from my text editor and talking to others, regardless of method, completes the loop and improves the whole process.
And anyway, I'm not writing it for myself. It's for them. They really need to know.
If your heart doesn't cry a little bit every time you ask for a favor from a stranger, or email someone who you know only has a 1 in 10 chance of being interested, then you're probably the guy people avoid sitting next to at Tech Breakfasts.
If you avoid other entrepreneurs, then maybe you're hanging out with the wrong ones.
If you liken anyone promoting their own business to a street preacher, then perhaps you're the one missing the point.
As for me, I don't ask favors from anyone. I just build what they already need and have asked for. I love writing software and I love sharing it with those who are interested, including those next to me at Tech Breakfasts. I've sold lots of software and built lasting relationships and friendships this way.
So I thought I'd share that with OP, who seems to have a problem doing and enjoying it as much as I do. Your attitude and response does nothing to help him (or anyone for that matter).
You're making a classic logical mistake: Just because some men buy their wives flowers after they cheat, doesn't mean that if a man buys his wife flowers, he's cheated.
EDIT: That said, the OP (article not commenter) is not going to get his CEO wings from cold-emailing.
As I can't read their mind I'm not sure if it's a mindset they deliberately choose or just a different way of looking at life, but you definitely sound like one of those kind of people.
Great trait to have, but not everyone has it. Doesn't mean you can't be an entrepreneur if you don't have it though.
Are you passionate about your work? Obviously most of us are. We talk to each other here about it all the time. Do to any dev group or hacker hangout and it's hard to hear yourself think with all the chatter we share with each other about our work.
Emailing, calling, or talking to civilians is the same thing. As soon as we think it's "selling", we set up a mental block that's no good for anyone.
Just build a great product for others and share your passion about that product with them. Anyone can do it. In fact, most of us already are.
Just be yourself, let others know how your work will benefit them, and let the "selling" become a byproduct of that process. It's much easier than many of us think if we just give it a chance.
He didn't say that 'sending lots of emails' makes you an entrepreneur - he said that is one thing that he has to do as an entrepreneur that he wasn't expecting. There was another post, I think about a year ago on HN, where a founder pointed out that he ended up cleaning the company's toilets until they could afford to hire a janitor. There are all kinds of jobs that need to be done for a business to function that many people don't realize beforehand.
Of course, the CEO should close the leads himself.
Things like this really kill your chances to have a good start out of the gate. I think it's better to micro-manage your customer contacts.
Customer Development is the process of how you get out of the building and search for the model. Customer Development is designed so that you the founder(s) gather first hand experience about customer and market needs. It can’t be delegated. Let me say it again: Getting customer feedback can not be delegated.
http://steveblank.com/2010/05/13/consultants-don%E2%80%99t-p...
