Seller Acquisition Guide
Supply-first marketplace. Seller acquisition is the only job that matters in month 1. Everything else is secondary until 50 sellers have made their first sale.
Acquisition Channels (Ranked by Cost Efficiency)
Tier 1: Zero cash cost
| Channel | Expected output (M3) | CAC |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram DM outreach | 30 active sellers/month | IDR 0 |
| Referral programme (IDR 25K Boost credit) | 18 active sellers/month | IDR 25,000 |
| Micro-influencer barter | 8 active sellers/month | IDR 0 |
| Jakarta remote DM | 12 active sellers/month | IDR 0 |
Tier 2: Low cost
| Channel | Expected output (M3) | CAC |
|---|---|---|
| Sales person offline (Bali) | 65 sign-ups/month → 33 active | salary-attributed (internal) |
| Content organic inbound | 15 active sellers/month | , (content cost shared with buyer acquisition) |
Blended seller CAC improves through month 12 as referral compounds (figures tracked internally).
Instagram DM Outreach
Volume: 400 DMs/month. Conversion to active seller: 5% (conservative, the difference between replying and actually listing).
Hashtags to mine: #thriftbali, #bajusekanbali, #jualbajangseken, #secondhandbali, #thriftstore_bali, #bajubekasbali, #thriftingbali
Pre-warm before DM:
- Follow their account
- Like 2-3 posts (don't spam)
- Leave one genuine comment on a selling post ("style-nya bagus banget, barang ini udah kejual?") Do this 2-3 days before the DM.
DM Script:
Hei [nama], gue Founder dari Pasar Seken.
Gue follow kamu udah lama dan barang
yang kamu jual tuh beneran bagus banget —
[specific item or style reference].
Lagi bangun marketplace fashion seken
khusus Indonesia, base di Bali. Gratis
listing, gak ada komisi, dan gue personally
ngundang kamu jadi salah satu seller pertama.
Yang pertama masuk dapet Founding Seller badge
permanen di profile + priority support langsung
dari gue.
Boleh ngobrol 15 menit? DM balik atau WhatsApp
ke [number].
Target: 30-40% reply rate, 15-20% agree to call.
Referral Programme
- Active seller earns IDR 25,000 Boost credit for each referred seller who lists 5+ items within 14 days
- Target: 0% of acquisitions at month 1 → 20% by month 3 → 30% by month 5
- The referral compound effect is what pulls blended CAC down substantially over time
Key positioning for DM sellers: Do not pitch SEKEN as Instagram DM replacement. Pitch as complementary:
"Tetap jual di Instagram, Pasar Seken adalah cara kamu dapet pembeli yang belum follow kamu."
UTM Seller Store Links
Every seller gets: pasarseken.id/store/[seller-handle]?ref=[seller-id]
When a seller shares this link and a buyer purchases through it, SEKEN can track which seller drove which buyer. This is the most important buyer acquisition data. One-day dev task. Without it, the highest-converting buyer acquisition channel is invisible.
The first-sale celebration loop:
- Seller makes first sale
- The Founder WhatsApps personally within the hour: "Yeay [nama]! Barang pertamamu sold! 🎉 Gimana rasanya?"
- Seller screenshots it and posts to their stories
- Followers see SEKEN
- 3-5 new seller enquiries arrive
- Cost: zero. Time: 2 minutes.
At 30 sellers making first sale in month 1 → 90-150 warm seller leads generated at zero cost.
Seller Onboarding Sequence (Automated via Resend)
Email 1, Day 0: Welcome Subject: "Selamat datang di Pasar Seken, [nama]! 🧵" CTA: "Mulai listing pertamamu sekarang →"
Email 2, Day 3: Check-in (if no listing yet) Subject: "Butuh bantuan untuk mulai?" Body: "Kebanyakan seller listing pertama dalam 10 menit. Butuh bantuan foto?" CTA: Photography tips + WhatsApp number
Email 3, Day 7: Tips for first sale (if listed but no sale) Subject: "Tips biar barang kamu cepat laku 🧵" Body: 3 specific tips, right price, good photos, complete description
Estimated activation rate lift: +15-20%.
Ops Retention Sequence (Days 0, 3, 7, 14, 21, 30)
80% of seller churn happens in first 30 days. Sellers who make first sale within 14 days have 4× higher 30-day retention than those who don't. The sequence costs ~15 min/seller/month.
| Day | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Welcome WhatsApp + listing tips link | Ops |
| 3 | Check-in if no listing yet ("Butuh bantuan foto?") | Ops |
| 7 | If listed: share "tips agar barang cepat terjual" | Ops |
| 14 | If no sale: personal message with pricing review offer | Ops |
| 21 | If no sale: feature their best item on @pasarseken.id stories (free) | Marketing Lead + Ops |
| 30 | If no sale: personal call from ops manager, ask, fix, keep | Ops Manager |
Expected impact: raise seller 30-day retention from ~45% to 65%+.
| Retention metric | Month 1 | Month 3 | Month 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sellers with 0 sales in 30 days who stay | 30% | 35% | 40% |
| Sellers with 1+ sale in 30 days who stay | 72% | 78% | 82% |
| Overall 90-day retention | 42% | 50% | 58% |
Power Seller Programme
| Tier | Listings | Sales | Rating | Response time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | 1+ | 0 | , | , |
| Active | 5+ | 3+ | 4.0+ | < 4 hours |
| Power | 20+ | 15+ | 4.5+ | < 2 hours |
| Founding | First 50 | Any | , | , |
Power seller benefits:
- 1× free Homepage Spotlight/month (IDR 25,000 value)
- Seller of the Week feature (quarterly)
- Direct WhatsApp to ops manager
- Early access to new features
- Priority dispute resolution: < 12 hours vs 48 hours standard
- Monthly performance review from ops manager
If a power seller drops below threshold: 30-day grace period with personal support before badge removal. Never remove without a conversation first.
Founding Seller Programme
The first 50 sellers are co-founders of the SEKEN community. Every one personally known to the Founder. Their quality sets the standard all future sellers are measured against.
Incentives (all zero or near-zero cost):
- Permanent Founding Seller badge on profile
- Featured on @pasarseken.id stories
- Priority WhatsApp line to the Founder
- First 3 Boost credits free (IDR 75,000 value)
- Listed on "Our Founders" page
Do NOT offer cash to founding sellers, sellers paid to join are contractors, not community members.