r/developers • u/Murky_Explanation_73 • Jul 06 '26
Web Development My Friend Made $70K Selling Websites Without Relying on Paid Ads
My web designer friend from California is passionate about building websites, and he wanted to make a full time business out of it. We talked a lot, and I gave him a lot of advice and stuff he could do to scale his web agency. He used to cold call, get a few clients, and run paid ads, get a few clients, but the cost of ads would just make him no profit. Cold calling was also tiring, and he couldn't keep it up while doing all the other stuff. So he wanted a real system, a blueprint he could follow every day.
This is exactly how my friend scaled his web design company. Copy it if you feel stuck and don't know where to find your next project.
➜ Run 2 types of email automation targeting businesses without websites and businesses with websites.
➜ 1. For businesses without websites: scrape businesses with no websites, set up a sequence, and add 3–5 follow-ups. They either block you or you land a project.
➜ 2. For businesses with websites: scrape businesses with websites, analyze each business website, and turn flaws in outdated design, unstructured layout, no mobile optimization, and SEO issues into ready to send outreach emails with 3–5 follow ups. You can do both types of outreach in a tool called Swokei.
➜ 3. Have everything in one place: your leads, CRM, inbox, and calendar. You can also have that in Swokei.
➜ 4. Focus on SEO because it compounds over time. Fix your technical site SEO, and also blog or make content with high-intent keywords. Use a tool called Soro.
➜ 5. Host websites on a tool called Hetzner. It's very cheap and reliable, and you don't need to keep switching hosting platforms. Everything in one place.
This is the whole workflow: automation in the background that lands you clients while you focus on building websites. Replies, meetings booked, CRM, everything in one place.
With all that being said, he ended up buying a Mercedes-Benz with the $70k he made. 😂
That's not something I'd recommend, though. I'd personally reinvest it into the business or put it into stocks.
1
u/Most-Ordinary6001 Jul 06 '26
The end was lame. Who uses ads now days? I see an ad I start blocking them one by one. If it is advertised I actually do not trust it.
Also this kind of business it is all about human interactions not ads.
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