GET SEEN

Nobody can buy an offer they've never heard of. Before you sell in Chapter 6, a small group of the right people needs to know who you are and what you help with. This chapter gives you one platform and one 30-minute routine to make that happen, and most of it is replying to other people.

Pick one platform

I use Threads, and it's what I teach. I spent a long time on Instagram getting nowhere. My first week on Threads I gained 100 followers, more than I'd ever gotten anywhere. I've posted and replied there every day since.

It works for guys like us because it's all text. You can write a post in the truck, reply from the break room, and never film a video or show your face on camera if you don't want to.

If your buyers clearly hang out somewhere else, the routine below still works there. Whatever you pick, pick one and stay on it until your offer sells. Jumping platforms after two quiet weeks is the Chapter 1 loop just in a different form.

You need fewer people than you think

Go back to your Offer Card. If your offer is $29, you need 18 buyers to hit $500. You need 18 people who trust you, and you can get there long before you have a big following. Your job in this chapter is to get the right people to recognize your name.

Set up your profile first

When someone likes your reply, they tap your name. Your profile has about three seconds to tell them why they should follow.

• Photo: your face, clear and close. People follow people.
• Name: your real name, or your name plus what you do.
• Bio: your transformation sentence from Chapter 3, cut down. Who you help and the result. Add one line of proof if you have it.
• Link: leave it empty for now or point it to your email. In Chapter 6 it'll point to your offer.

The system: 15 replies and 1 post a day

This is part of the routine that grew my account. Every day: at least 15 high-effort replies and at least 1 post. Replies come first, and here's why.

When your account is new, almost nobody sees your posts. Bigger accounts already have the crowd. When you leave a sharp reply under their post, their audience reads it. Every good reply is a small ad for your profile, and the people who like it tap through to see who you are.

What makes a high-effort reply

A high-effort reply adds something to the conversation. Your experience, a specific tip, a real question. Write it for everyone reading the thread. Two to four sentences is usually right.

Under a post that says "Contractors charge whatever they want and nobody stops them":

Low effort: "Facts 💯"

High effort: "I did HVAC for 10 years. Ask for the model number of the unit in the quote and look it up yourself. A lot of 'premium' systems are the base model and they charge more thinking you won't notice."

The first one disappears. The second one gets likes, replies and profile taps, and every person who taps it is a homeowner who just learned this guy knows his stuff.

Where to reply: find 10 to 20 accounts your buyers already follow, ideally a bit bigger than you and posting about your topic. Turn on notifications for a few of them so you can reply while their posts are fresh. Early replies get seen more.

A real example

"Someone posted asking people who make big money doing something unusual to come share their business. The post had almost 400 likes and over 100 replies. About three hours after it went up, I replied: 'My business is two-fold. I help working men start their online business during their lunch breaks. I also help entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and service providers turn their expertise into $10K+ months.' That reply got over 5,000 views and booked me sales calls." — Cody

Why it worked:

• The post asked for it. A clear answer is the high-effort reply when a big post invites people to say what they do.
• It says who and what in two sentences.
• It landed early — three hours in, while the post was still climbing.
• The readers were already curious about businesses they could start.

Watch for posts like: "What do you do?", "Drop your business below", "Who's building something?" Keep your two-sentence answer saved in your notes so you can paste it in fast.

What to post

One idea per post, written the way you talk, with the first line doing the work. Rotate between three kinds:

• Proof. Something you did and what happened.
• Teach one thing. A single tip from your Overlap that someone can use today.
• Your take. Something your people believe that you see differently, and why.

Once a week, mention what you're working on. "Putting together a one-page guide on hiring contractors without getting burned." That plants the seed for Chapter 6. Write tomorrow's post the night before or on your morning break, so your lunch is for replying.

Thank every new follower

When someone follows me, I send a personal message to thank them and get to know them, and I leave an open offer to help if they ever need it. No pitch, no link. Something like:

"Hey [name], appreciate the follow. What brought you over? If you're ever stuck on [your topic], I'm happy to help."

Those conversations are where your first buyers come from. You'll know what they're stuck on, and they'll know you're a real person.

The 30-minute session

If your time comes in pieces, split it. Replies on your two breaks, post and DMs on lunch. The daily total matters more than doing it in one sitting.

What to expect

The first couple of weeks are quiet. That's normal, and it's exactly where most people quit. Track three numbers each day: replies you left, new followers, and conversations started. If those are moving, it's working.

It took me about 150 days to go from zero to 10,000 followers, and I'm past 18,000 now. Your numbers will be different, and for your first $500 you need a fraction of that.

Common traps

• Posting and leaving. One post and no replies is shouting into an empty room.
• "Great post!" replies. If it would work under any post, it's not adding anything.
• Posting about everything. Stay in your Overlap so people know what you're about.
• Checking stats all day. That's consuming. Check once at night.
• Switching platforms after two quiet weeks. Give it 30 days of the full routine before you judge it.

Your task: Set up your 30-minute routine

Step 1. Fix your profile.

Photo, name, and a bio built from your transformation sentence. Write your bio here:

 

Step 2. Build your reply list.

Step 3. Write three posts.

One proof, one teach-one-thing, one take. Save them in your notes app.

Step 4. Run your first session and track it.

You're my social media coach. You're walking me through "Set up your 30-minute routine" from Chapter 5 of Cody Tye's guide "Your First $500 Online." The goal: get the right people to know who I am before I sell my offer, using one platform and a daily routine of at least 15 high-effort replies and 1 post, in 30 minutes or less.

About me:
- My offer from Chapter 4 (name, who it's for, result, price): [paste your one-line pitch]
- My transformation sentence from Chapter 3: [I help ___ go from ___ to ___ using what I know about ___]
- The platform I'm using: [example: Threads]
- My current bio and follower count: [paste it, or "new account"]
- When I'll run my 30 minutes: [example: 15 min on morning break, 15 min on lunch]

How to run this:
1. Ask me ONE question at a time. Wait for my answer before you ask the next one.
2. PROFILE: Help me write a bio from my transformation sentence. Give me 3 options.
3. REPLY LIST: Help me find 10 accounts my buyers already follow.
4. POSTS: Help me write 3 posts: one proof, one teach-one-thing, one take. Ask questions to pull out real details from my life.
5. REPLY PRACTICE: Ask me to paste a real post and the reply I'd leave. Grade it. Show me a stronger version. Do this 3 times.
6. DMs: Help me write a short friendly message to thank new followers. No pitch, no link.
7. ROUTINE: Help me lay out my 30 minutes around my schedule.
8. Give me my feedback:
   - My final bio
   - My 3 posts, ready to copy
   - My new-follower DM
   - My 30-minute routine as a simple schedule
   - The 3 numbers to track daily: replies left, new followers, conversations started

Rules:
- Keep every message short. I'm reading on my phone on a break.
- Be direct and honest.
- Keep everything about my offer's topic.
- No cold DM scripts.

Start now with your first question.