How to get bigger brands to promote you (for free) 🚀

Steal this "Poster Boy Formula" for quick growth

PLEASE don’t build an audience from scratch like a sucker.

• Posting daily on LinkedIn for 18 months

• Sacrificing your soul to an algorithm

• Spend $3K on ads to get 24 email subscribers

• Send 500 cold emails hoping for 5% reply rates

There’s a shortcut waiting to be copied.

It’s called the “Poster Boy Formula” and it works because you’re giving companies what they desperately need: proof their product works.

Keep reading to steal the formula for reaching huge audiences for free.

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📣 What is the “Poster Boy Formula”?

You become a walking case study for brands your ideal clients already trust.

Here’s how it works:

You:

Use [Their Product] → Get results → Document everything → Share your story

The Brand:

See undeniable proof → Feature your success → Promote you to their audience

Result:

You borrow their credibility and reach their audience without building it yourself.

Companies spend thousands on testimonials and case studies.

You’re giving them one for free, backed by metrics and your business attached.

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🥇 Examples of the “Poster Boy Formula”

#1: Bryan Harris x AppSumo

Bryan sent his case study to AppSumo, who then emailed it to their 600,000+ subscriber list and featured Videofruit on their course landing page. His story also landed in a Lifehacker article. The “Poster Boy” strategy helped Bryan go from not having a business to quitting his job and doubling his salary in 8 months, ultimately building his email list to over 10,000 subscribers.

#2: Marketing School Listener x Neil Patel & Eric Siu

A podcast listener implemented strategies from Neil Patel and Eric Siu’s Marketing School podcast. Instead of keeping quiet, they compiled results into a detailed breakdown. Sent it to Neil and Eric with specific numbers and got mentioned. This was free exposure on a podcast approaching 100 million downloads.

#3: Cloudways x Ahrefs

Cloudways documented how Ahrefs’ SEO tools helped them find competitor backlinks and spot content gaps. They tracked everything: Site Explorer for backlink profiles, Content Explorer for content ideas. This provided a detailed case study Ahrefs couldn’t resist sharing. Cloudways was featured in Ahrefs’ SEO community and positioned itself as a power user.

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🚀 How to execute the formula (steal this)

Step 1: Pick your poster brands

✅ Steal this: Make a list of 10 products, services, or content creators you use. Filter for brands with audiences that match your ideal client. Target companies big enough to have reach but small enough to value your story.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Open your last 30 days of purchases and subscriptions. Which 3 products helped you get a specific, measurable result? Those are your candidates.

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Step 2: Document every win

✅ Steal this: Track measurable results from using their product. Screenshots, metrics, before/after comparisons. Make it undeniable. Companies need proof.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Create a Google Doc titled “[Brand Name] Wins.” Every time you get a result using their product, log it with the date and metric. Aim for 5-10 documented wins before reaching out.

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Step 3: Warm them up (don’t be a stranger)

✅ Steal this: Reply to their welcome emails. Leave thoughtful comments on their posts. Share their content. Make them recognise your name before pitching your story.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Set a 15-minute weekly reminder to engage with 3 brands on your list. Comment on LinkedIn posts, reply to newsletters, tag them when you share their content. Do this for 4-6 weeks before reaching out.

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Step 4: Share your story (with zero ask)

✅ Steal this: Send them a detailed breakdown of how their product helped you. Include specific metrics, screenshots, and the steps you took. End with genuine gratitude. No “Can you feature me?”.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Use this subject line: “How [Their Product] helped me [Specific Result] in [Timeframe].” Keep the email under 300 words. Attach a one-page PDF with your full breakdown including screenshots and numbers.

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Step 5: Follow up every 90 days

✅ Steal this: Stay on their radar with brief updates every quarter. New wins, bigger numbers, additional results. Show momentum. Not every company will feature your first story, but consistent wins build relationships.

👉 Quick Growth Idea: Set a recurring calendar reminder every 90 days: “Update [Brand] with latest wins.” Each update should take 10 minutes max. Keep it short and show progress from your last update.

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💡 Your Friday takeaway

You’re already using products that could feature you to 100K+ people. This includes:

• Every tool in your tech stack.

• Every course you’ve taken.

• Every service that’s gotten you results.

Those are audiences sitting in your inbox right now.

TL;DR: Stop building audiences from scratch. Pick products that got you results, document wins obsessively, warm up the brand, share your story without asking for anything, and follow up. You become their “poster boy or girl”. They become your loudspeaker.

See you next week 🚀

Sam

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