Getting your first batch of customers is challenging when nobody knows you yet. When website traffic is still barely trickling it’s easy to feel invisible. But you’ll be glad to know: you don’t need thousands of visitors to start building trust and momentum.
Before SEO kicks in, you can actively cultivate credibility through strategic, small-scale moves that make your startup look and feel legit.
The following tips will help you establish authority and social proof early on, long before the Google gods deliver traffic.
Get Hands-On Help Building Early Credibility
1. Tap Your Personal Network Early
When you have zero customers, start with the people who already trust you. Reach out to friends, former colleagues, mentors – anyone in your personal network who fits your target user profile. Often, those first few believers come from tapping your own circle.
Treat these early adopters like partners: ask for honest feedback, iterate with them, and over-deliver on value. Not only can this get you your initial users, but a happy friend-of-a-friend might refer the next. Personal referrals carry a built-in trust that no cold ad can match. (src: UnitelVoice)
2. Do Things That Don’t Scale (Manual Outreach)
In the very early days, hustle beats automation. You can’t sit back waiting for users to magically find you – you have to go get them, one by one. Paul Graham famously advises founders that the most common unscalable move is to recruit users manually: “You can’t wait for users to come to you. You have to go out and get them.” (src: Paul Graham)
This means sending personalized emails, DMs, or even making calls. Identify 50-100 ideal customers and reach out with a genuine, problem-solving message (not a salesy pitch). Yes, it’s time consuming, and many will ignore you. But even a 10 percent reply rate could land you your first 5–10 customers. Those wins are absolutely worth the effort at this stage.
3. Engage in Niche Communities
When you have no audience of your own, borrow one. Go to the online hangouts where your potential customers spend time – industry forums, relevant subreddits, Facebook or LinkedIn groups, Slack communities, etc. Lurk a bit to understand the vibe, then start contributing in a truly helpful way. Answer questions, share tips, solve problems – without immediately plugging your product.
This builds your reputation as a knowledgeable, trustworthy member of the community. Over time, people will naturally become curious about who you are and what you offer. Communities aren’t just marketing channels; they’re ecosystems of trust. If you give value sincerely, they’ll give back. (src: Medium)
Find Your Community and Contribute
4. Secure Early Testimonials & Social Proof
If you were a consumer, would you buy from a company with no reviews or references? Probably not – and neither will your early prospects. In fact, about 90 percent of consumers read 5–10 reviews before trusting a business. (src: SaaSholic)
That’s why even a handful of positive testimonials or case studies can dramatically boost your credibility. Don’t have any yet? Create some. Offer your product or service free (or at cost) to a few willing users in exchange for an honest testimonial or review. Proof is more valuable than profit early on.
5. Share Your Expertise to Build Authority
You might not have traffic yet, but you do have knowledge. Establishing yourself (and your brand) as an authority is key to building credibility. One smart way to do this is to share content where the audience already exists – guest posts, industry blogs, podcast interviews, or value-driven LinkedIn content. That exposure plants seeds of trust and drives curious users to your brand.
When people see you generously sharing useful insights, they start thinking of you as someone who knows what they’re doing. Authority isn’t about having the biggest audience – it’s about showing up with value consistently. (src: SaaSholic)
6. Partner with Established Brands (Credibility by Association)
Trust is transferable. If you’re new and unknown, you can still build credibility by associating with brands your audience already knows and respects. Whether it’s a joint webinar, getting featured on their marketplace, or having a quote from a known name on your site – these partnerships help you borrow trust.
In the early days, Uber sponsored the same events as big tech brands just to share the spotlight. You can do the same in your niche. Think about your alumni network, past employers, accelerators, or even professional groups you’ve been part of. (src: GoCardless)
Forge a Credibility-Boosting Partnership
7. Deliver a WOW Experience to Every Customer
One of the best things about having only a few customers is that you can treat every one of them like gold. Go above and beyond. Reach out personally. Offer concierge-style onboarding or hand-crafted follow-ups. Small touches matter.
Paul Graham puts it like this: “Your first users should feel that signing up with you was one of the best choices they ever made.” (src: Paul Graham)
When you wow people, they stick around and tell others. That kind of word-of-mouth momentum can carry your business further than any campaign ever could.
Final Thoughts & Next Steps
You don’t need to wait for SEO, ads, or traffic spikes to start building trust. There are real, scrappy, human-first ways to grow your credibility right now. Every helpful post, every kind reply, every happy customer – it all compounds.
If you’re ready to accelerate your growth and build something real, we can help you put these strategies into action the smart way.
Book a Free Growth Strategy Session and Kickstart Your Customer Growth 🚀