u/IAmRogueStar

I'm thinking of starting a YouTube video production service for B2B businesses. Wanted to get some honest feedback before I start!

The idea is to have the company's own experts (an engineer, a technician, a sales rep, whoever actually knows the answer) answer the real questions their customers ask before buying, on video. Things like "how much does X cost", "X vs Y, which one do I need", "what goes wrong when you install X". I collect the questions in a short call with the sales team, record a remote call with the expert, cut myself out in editing, add screen recordings of the product if needed, and publish it on the company's YouTube channel.

The point is that the video is useful even with very few views I think. The sales team can send it to a prospect who asked that exact question and over time it can rank on YouTube and Google for searches people actually make.

In addition to that, the added value is the content repurposing: turning each video into vertical clips with subtitles, LinkedIn posts, a newsletter, a blog post, etc., so the company gets more content out of a single recording.

A few things I'm unsure about and would love feedback on:

• Would they prefer remote recording or someone coming to their office with a camera (this was originally my idea to add some extra value to the service)?
• Is "videos your sales team can use tomorrow" a stronger pitch than "grow your YouTube channel"?
• Which industries do you think this would work best for?

I'm putting together an offer and I'd like it torn apart before I start selling it.

The service: direct mail for B2B companies with a high-ticket offer (€10k+ deal size). The client either gives me a target list or I build it for them. They give me the copy or I write it. I print the letters, hand write the recipient's address on each envelope and mail them. Then I run the follow-up myself over email and LinkedIn DMs (does it make sense to add "cold" calls as well?) and the goal is a meeting on their calendar.

The physical letter is the door-opener: nobody has an unread pile of mail the way they have an unread email inbox and the digital follow up is what actually converts the attention into a meeting I guess.

Pricing: €10 per letter, all in. 100 letters = €1,000, including list, copy, printing, sending and follow up.

What I'm expecting: a 7–10% reply rate on a good targeted list, so roughly 7–10 conversations per 100 letters, and hopefully 1–2 closed deals for the client. At a €10k deal size, that's a decent return on €1,000. I'm aware that's the clean version and reality has a hundred variables in it.

What I'd like input on:

1. Does this appeal at all or is direct mail a novelty that gets a "cute" reaction and no budget?
2. Is per letter pricing the right model or should this be a retainer or per meeting? Per letter feels transparent but it also makes the client shop on unit cost instead of outcome.
3. Are my reply rate expectations realistic, or am I quoting the best case numbers from case studies written by people selling direct mail?
4. Should cold calling be part of the followup or does adding a channel just dilute the thing that makes this different?
5. If you run a B2B company with €10k+ deals: what would make you say no to this in the first ten seconds?

I'm thinking about starting an audio guestbook rental service for weddings and I'd like a reality check before I build any hardware.

The idea: a retro telephone guestbook during the reception to leave a voice message for the couple. Afterwards the couple gets every recording cleaned up and delivered. It seems fairly established in the US and UK, but it barely exists in Italy, which is where I'd do this.

What makes me think I could do it: I'm trained in audio production and can edit, mix and master properly, so the deliverable wouldn't just be raw phone audio (even so, I think we can still get excellent results with AI). Startup cost looks low, one or two units and the rest is outreach to wedding planners and venues.

What I'm unsure about:

• Does this cap out fast at one unit per weekend, or does it actually scale by adding units and handing off the delivery work?
• If you already rent these: how many bookings do you get per season, and how much comes from planners vs. couples finding you directly?
• Is the "professionally edited" angle something people pay extra for or do couples just want the raw messages and don't care?
• Biggest hidden cost or headache you didn't see coming?

If you've run this or something adjacent in the wedding space, I'd rather hear why it didn't work than why it did.

My idea is to produce podcasts and content for small and medium companies. The model: one 45 minutes recorded conversation with the founder per month, and I turn it into everything they publish for the next 30 days: the episode itself, short form clips, an article, LinkedIn posts, a newsletter.

I have no portfolio yet and every prospect asks for samples before they'll talk price. So my plan is to record and produce the first episode for free fully delivered and then ask whether they want to continue at €1,200/month.

Two things I'd like a reality check on:

1. The free first episode: it costs me roughly half a day. My thinking is that it removes the "can I see examples" wall and lets the work sell itself. But I'm aware this can backfire (people take the free thing and disappear or it anchors the service as low value). Has anyone run this as an entry motion for a retainer service? What conversion did you actually see, and did it attract the wrong kind of client?
2. One price, no tiers: I'm considering a single €1,200/month option instead of good/better/best. Simpler to sell and it stops the race to the cheapest tier, but I might be leaving money on the table with clients who'd have paid more.

For context I'm solo, doing this alongside a part-time contract, so I can realistically handle 4-6 clients. Not looking to build an agency.

Any hard feedback welcome, especially from people who've sold monthly retainers to SMBs.

My idea is to produce podcasts and content for small and medium companies. The model: one 45 minutes recorded conversation with the founder per month, and I turn it into everything they publish for the next 30 days: the episode itself, short form clips, an article, LinkedIn posts, a newsletter.

I have no portfolio yet and every prospect asks for samples before they'll talk price. So my plan is to record and produce the first episode for free fully delivered and then ask whether they want to continue at €1,200/month.

Two things I'd like a reality check on:

1. The free first episode: it costs me roughly half a day. My thinking is that it removes the "can I see examples" wall and lets the work sell itself. But I'm aware this can backfire (people take the free thing and disappear or it anchors the service as low value). Has anyone run this as an entry motion for a retainer service? What conversion did you actually see, and did it attract the wrong kind of client?

2. One price, no tiers: I'm considering a single €1,200/month option instead of good/better/best. Simpler to sell and it stops the race to the cheapest tier, but I might be leaving money on the table with clients who'd have paid more.

For context I'm solo, doing this alongside a part-time contract, so I can realistically handle 4-6 clients. Not looking to build an agency.

Any hard feedback welcome, especially from people who've sold monthly retainers to SMBs.