How I Grow a Copywriting Business Using AppSumo Tools (and Saved $128,538.91)

Hi, I’m Matt. Mercenary Copywriter, dad, and huge AppSumo fan. I write superb copy that gets your customers to do what you want.

I’ve been an entrepreneur since the ripe old age of 13, selling candy out of my backpack at school which paid for my first car.

Now I help businesses make more money. I do this by writing copy that has humor, tells a story, and gets people curious about what my clients offer.

But what I found when I first started was that it was really difficult to grow my business without having the tools that everyone else had.

So I began looking for a solution and found AppSumo.

The Sumo-ling king? Move over, Noah!

I like seeing results and planning for the future, even when I don’t know what that future entails. Especially if it involves business.

That’s why I love AppSumo. It allows me to quickly invest my money in tools that will help me today and in the future.

Since 2013, I’ve been a proud Sumo-ling. I recommend AppSumo to everyone.

I talk about AppSumo so much that my wife is tired of me talking about it. When we talk about SaaS tools or any products that might be on AppSumo, my wife gets this look in her eye and says something like “…let me guess. You got it from an AppSumo deal.”

And she’s right. (Just don’t tell her I said that!)

AppSumo is a resource and community I have come to cherish. In fact, it’s not uncommon for me to check the marketplace once or twice a day.

Needless to say, I’m a huge fan. Being the dork that I am, I wanted to quantify and calculate how much AppSumo has really helped me.

So I put together a Google Sheet and typed in every single AppSumo deal I’ve purchased. Then I found out how much it cost me.

The results stunned me. I didn’t realize how much I’d spent.

Since 2013, I’ve purchased $7,842.32 worth of AppSumo deals. (Again, don’t tell my wife!)

Wanting to prove that my spending was justified, I calculated what it would have cost me if I were to sign up today for the deals I’ve purchased at their current rate. Once I found all of them, I calculated how long I had the product and multiplied the current costs minus the prices I paid.

After adding everything together, I found that I saved myself a whopping $128,538.91. In fact, I recalculated the amounts three different times to make sure I was correct.

So let me say that again.

I saved $128,538.91 because of AppSumo.

What I found even more interesting is that out of all the 169 lifetime deals that I purchased, only four businesses had gone under or merged.

So, if you’re thinking about purchasing a deal or listing your business on AppSumo, stop thinking about it and do it!

AppSumo deals that make you look damn good.

As a solopreneur, my time is very valuable. I’m a one-man show. So every action, intention and goal needs to focus on long term gains. After buying 169 deals, I’ve learned which tools are best for me and which ones aren’t.

This is the criteria I look for when purchasing and trying out new tools:

1. It has to save me time, money and effort
2. The tool must be easy to use
3. It must be something that I can implement into my business immediately and something I’ll use in the future

Naturally, that’s how I decide on each purchase I make on AppSumo now. Each tool plays a part in my plan for my business.

These are the tools I use:

1. SalesBlink – This tool that replaced Mailshake. It’s outstanding, especially for the price. I just purchased it and it’s a complete gamechanger. This tool is highly recommended for anyone doing cold email outreach.
2. Email List Validation. It only makes sense to have an email validation checker. This tool provides me with real email addresses, and even lets me find the emails of specific people. Ultimately, it helps me stay out of the SPAM box.
3. Berrycast. This video recording tool has saved me countless back-and-forth emails with clients. It does a fantastic job of recording my screen or webcam and even allows me to put my logo on it. I use Berrycast often, from editing copy to helping out SaaS businesses with bugs. It’s amazing.
4. Zeroin. This is an amazing tool for leads. I use this when I want to find someone’s email through LinkedIn. I use this almost daily now, especially when I’m sending cold emails to CEOs.
5. Quickpage. This really leveled up emails for me. It not only helped me capture attention with my cold emails, but it also allowed me to connect with people quicker through video. Plus, it allowed me to embed a video in an email that made it obvious to the recipient that the content was made for them specifically. I use Berrycast to record my videos and then upload them to Quickpages.

How I’m using these tools

As a solopreneur, I need a quick and effective process to reach as many clients I can. I sort them into two categories:

1. Gaining exposure for my business
2. Reaching out to the clients I want to work with.

When I’m using a tool to get exposure, I focus on businesses that are in my niche but do not offer the same services or products. For example, AppSumo helps businesses by offering amazing deals. I help businesses, too, but I provide services instead. That makes AppSumo a great candidate to work with.

I then use that opportunity to send clients to my landing page so that they can sign up for my newsletter. My goal for my newsletter is to be fun, lighthearted and entertaining, but also to share copywriting tactics and strategies to everyone who wants to learn. Doing this establishes me as an authority and helps sell my services (and soon, products).

On the other hand, when I am looking for new clients, I will often start by researching my previous clients’ partnerships.

For example, I’ve worked with Vector Marketing in the past. So if I am interested in finding additional businesses to work with, I could start by researching who Vector Marketing is currently partnered with or has worked with in the past.

Let’s say I’ve researched Vector Marketing and I have found that they have partnered in the past with a consulting firm. Now, when I send a cold email to the consulting firm, I’ll include the fact that I’ve worked with Vector Marketing. That way, I can establish trust and rapport, thus increasing my chances of them being interested in what I have to offer.

I do this because the consulting firm already trusts Vector Marketing so much that they’ve already partnered together. So, if I tell them that I have already worked with Vector Marketing and had gotten them great results, then I must be good at what I do and can help them as well.

It’s the place to be

I’ve purchased a lot of tools on AppSumo. To say that I am a huge fan is an understatement.

On top of all the amazing tools AppSumo offers, it has a great community (aka Sumo-lings) who have helped me make more informed decisions about each deal. Plus, with AppSumo’s 60-day guarantee and the perks of Appsumo Plus, being a part of this marketplace is really a no-brainer.

AppSumo has already saved me $128,538.91.

How much can AppSumo save you?

This post was written by Matt Defeo, head honcho at CopyPulse.com.