150+ companies rejected me 5 months ago and now I laugh about it.

Rejection sucks! It’s super PAIN-FUL.

Imagine seeing, “We have reviewed your application and regret to inform you… blah blah blah,” 150 times in your inbox.

At some point, my email felt sorry for me and sent them to spam.

My ego and my friends assured me a Master’s degree guarantees a job. Reality slapped me like Will Smith did Chris Rock.

That slap took me through all 5 phases of rejection.

I denied. Got angry. Tried to bargain. Went through a depressive state.

Then, I did it. I accepted my fate.

I accepted I was not meant to work a 9-5 because I always challenged norms, questioned every authority figure in my life, and HATE being told what to do.

The universe was giving me a clear message, “Do your own thing Big V!”

Every NO pushed me closer to The Degen Creator. Every NO built my mental toughness.

Rejections push you closer to your purpose, so embrace the Nos.

Let’s dive into the 3 T’s!

Marketing Tip: Build social proof

6 months ago, no one wanted to hire me. 3 months ago, no one wanted to be my client. Today, no one believes I reject brands because I’m at max bandwidth.

When you build a brand, get used to hearing “NO.” A LOT.

How can you go from hearing NO to having to say NO?

Build social proof. I went from making $0 in January to earning almost $7,000 in February by doing so.

Here’s my simple strategy.

1.) Create content that helps your target audience.

30% of your content should be free advice to your target audience.

2.) Help your target audience for free on a 1:1 call.

Schedule a 30 minute call to solve a problem your target audience has.

3.) Ask for written or video review.

At the end of the call, ask if it’s okay to follow up to see how your solution helped them. With their permission (& a positive review), share the reviews publicly.

Build social proof so you can earn some cha-ching!

Creator Tool: Calendly

When you build social proof, scheduling time can be a struggle, but it doesn’t have to be.

Enter Calendly.

I started using Calendly a month ago and it has made scheduling meetings a breeze.

All you have to do is create a schedule with times & days you're available. Then, connect it to your google calendar. Lastly, turn the zoom or google meets on and you’ll never have to worry about setting up times or a place to meet.

After you set it up, send your calendly link to anyone and they pick the best time for them BASED ON YOUR SCHEDULE. This saved me time everyday on the back & forth messaging.

I only use the free version right now. But as I scale my brand, I’ll buy the professional version to improve my workflow.

I suggest starting with the free version like me!

Weekly Test: DM 3 people per day

In the past 7 days, I DM’d 21 people on Twitter using the template I shared in last week’s marketing tip and 14 of them responded (so far).

Oh and I didn’t reach out to any regular joes either. I DM’d people building their own brands.

I’m talking @AlexIsBuilding, @BullishDumpling, @LucidCiC, and many more.

My goal was to 1.) network with them & 2.) learn something from them.

Here are 3 things I learned throughout the process:

1.) People with 10k+ followers are human

Everyone I reached out to APPRECIATED being recognized for their efforts, so share how their brand has helped you.

It takes serious mental toughness to deal with trolls, haters, and jerks online, but most people don’t realize how much of a toll it takes.

Be the breadth of fresh air and connect with them as a human being, not just as a brand.

2.) Big accounts want to help you

I was surprised at the level of effort and thought creators with 10k+ followers put into answering my question.

I changed my question based on their specific skillset, but made it simple so they don’t feel obligated to give a long answer.

Yet, everyone that responded was thoughtful and they geniunely want to help others get to where they are.

Here’s one question I asked, “What’s one piece of advice you’d give yourself before you started your [specific area] journey to get where you are today?”

3.) Stop being scared and DM

I felt like I had to prepare the perfect message to connect with people. In reality, people want to know 2 things when you cold DM them.

a.) who you are?
b.) what do you want from them?

It’s that simple. For A, it can be the same message. For B, you can write a question, offer help, ask to meet, etc.

Next Week: 1 post per day on Linkedin

For 2 months, I have put off posting on Linkedin, but personal brands, web3 brands, and NFT brands have a huge opportunity on Linkedin to find clients or build partnerships.

So this week, I want to level up my Linkedin game and share what I learned.

Talk to you next Tuesday, Degens!

Thanks for reading! If you haven’t already, join The Degen Lettter here and level up. Follow me Twitter and Linkedin.