12 weeks · 3 phases · DIY calendar
Outreach plan, week by week
This is the operational layer underneath Track 3 of the 90-day growth plan. It takes the 5 tactics from outreach.html and the 6 earned-mention pathways from backlinks-strategy.html and sequences them across 12 weeks. Pick the weeks that feel real, skip the rest, do not treat it as a checklist.
Effort target: 3 to 5 hours per week. Compounds into 50 to 80 inbound conversations over 90 days if you actually do it. The biggest risk is not under-effort, it is treating outreach as something you binge for 2 days and then drop for 3 weeks. Consistency at low volume beats bursts at high volume.
How to read this page
Profile
Zuzalu.city profile fix-list and other low-touch profile cleanups.
Lu.ma
Lu.ma host scrape (Tactic 1) and themed-week recruiter sequences (Tactic 2).
Press
Earned-mention pitches to newsletters, magazines, and Japan/nomad publications (Pathways 1-2).
Podcast
Podcast guest pitches (Tactic 3, Pathway 3).
Content
X / Farcaster cadence (Tactic 4) and member essay nudges (Pathway 5).
Partner
Reciprocal partnerships (Tactic 5) and themed-week sponsor blog reciprocity (Pathway 4).
Week 1
Profile cleanup + Lu.ma host scrape kickoff
~4 hours
- Day 1 (30 min). Do the zuzalu.city profile fix-list from backlinks-strategy.html Step 0. All 6 items.
- Day 2 (60 min). Audit your existing public profiles (Lu.ma, X, Farcaster, LinkedIn, any DAO directories you're listed on). Same fix pattern: add website link, expand bio, current themed-week mention.
- Day 3-4 (90 min). Start the Lu.ma host scrape (Tactic 1). Build a list of 30 Lu.ma hosts running events tangential to Zucity themes (ETH meetups, DeSci, AI agent builder nights). Drop into a spreadsheet.
- Day 5 (45 min). Set up the tracking sheet (schema from backlinks-strategy.html Step 4). One sheet, one row per target, 9 columns.
- Ongoing. X / Farcaster cadence begins: 3 posts this week. Themed-week recap, builder story, weird Japan thing.
What good looks likeZuzalu.city profile is full. 30 Lu.ma hosts in the sheet. 3 X posts up. Zero pitches sent yet. That is the point this week.
Week 2
Lu.ma host outreach round 1 + 10 newsletter targets
~5 hours
- Day 1-2 (90 min). Send Lu.ma host pitches to the first 10 of the 30. Use the 1-line X DM script from outreach.html Tactic 1. Comp pass offer for next themed week.
- Day 3 (60 min). Pull the 10 newsletter targets from backlinks-strategy.html Pathway 1 + Pathway 2 (15 total, pick the 10 that fit your current week). Personalize the pitch angle per outlet.
- Day 4 (45 min). Identify which 5 of the 10 newsletters you'll pitch this week. Save the other 5 for Week 4.
- Day 5 (60 min). Member essay nudge: send Template C to 5 recent residents. Frame as a soft ask, no deadline.
- Ongoing. X / Farcaster: 3 posts.
What good looks like10 Lu.ma host pitches sent. 5 member-essay nudges out. 5 newsletter pitches drafted but not yet sent (sending Week 3).
Week 3
First press pitches + podcast list-build
~4 hours
- Day 1 (60 min). Send the 5 newsletter pitches you drafted last week (Template A).
- Day 2 (90 min). Build the podcast target list. Pull 9 from backlinks-strategy.html Pathway 3 + add any you actually listen to. Add to tracking sheet.
- Day 3 (45 min). Lu.ma host follow-up: any "Sent" rows from Week 2 with no reply at 5 days get the one-line bump (outreach.html Tactic 1 Step 2).
- Day 4 (30 min). Reach out to 1 themed-week sponsor lead (Pathway 4): VitaDAO for DeSci, ETHTokyo for Tokyo overlap, etc. Just the opening message.
- Ongoing. X / Farcaster: 3 posts. Reply to anyone who replies to your earlier posts.
What good looks like5 newsletter pitches sent. 9 podcasts in the sheet. 1 sponsor conversation started. At least 1 Lu.ma host reply (10% reply rate is realistic on a curated cold list).
Week 4
Podcast pitches round 1 + 5 more newsletters
~5 hours
- Day 1 (75 min). Send the second 5 newsletter pitches (the ones held back from Week 2).
- Day 2-3 (120 min). Send 5 podcast pitches (Template B). Pick the 5 with the lowest barrier (smaller shows, host you've interacted with on X). Save the stretch targets for Phase 2.
- Day 4 (60 min). Lu.ma host outreach round 2: send to the next 10 hosts in the sheet.
- Day 5 (45 min). Member essay nudges: 5 more residents from previous months.
- End of week. Phase 1 review (30 min). What's working? What's getting replies? Adjust the angle on anything that's dead.
What good looks like10 newsletter pitches total sent, 5 podcasts pitched, 20 Lu.ma hosts pitched, 10 member-essay nudges out. Phase 1 ends with about 35 inbound conversations possible. Expect 5-10 to actually move forward.
Week 5
Themed-week recruiter sequence (60 days out)
~5 hours
- Day 1-2 (120 min). Pick the themed week that's 60 days out. Identify the right ICP tier from targeting.html. Pull 30 names. Theme-specific hook (not generic Zucity pitch).
- Day 3 (45 min). Send the first 10 themed-week pitches (outreach.html Tactic 2 Step 1).
- Day 4 (60 min). Follow up on any Phase 1 newsletter pitches that replied positively. Send drafts or Q&A responses.
- Day 5 (45 min). Podcast pitches round 2: send 3 more, including 1 stretch target. Use a warmer hook than round 1.
- Ongoing. X / Farcaster: 3 posts. Add 1 post that recaps a Phase 1 win (member essay published, podcast booked).
What good looks like30-name themed-week list ready. 10 themed-week pitches sent. 1-2 newsletter drafts in progress. 1 podcast booked or confirmed for recording.
Week 6
Sponsor-blog reciprocity outreach + member essay harvest
~4 hours
- Day 1 (60 min). Reach out to 3 themed-week sponsor blogs (Pathway 4: VitaDAO, ETHTokyo, Polygon/Optimism/Arbitrum ecosystem). Offer to write the first draft of an announcement post.
- Day 2 (75 min). Send the next 10 themed-week recruiter pitches.
- Day 3 (60 min). Harvest any member essays that have been written. Cross-post or quote on X. DM the writers thank-you + ask if they'd write a second one.
- Day 4 (45 min). Lu.ma host follow-ups: anyone in "Sent" status 14+ days gets the final "keeping you on the list" message (Tactic 1 Step 3).
- Ongoing. X / Farcaster: 3 posts.
What good looks like3 sponsor-blog conversations started. 20 themed-week recruiter pitches out cumulative. 2+ member essays published and amplified.
Week 7
Stretch press targets + reciprocal partnership opening
~4 hours
- Day 1 (75 min). Send 2 stretch press pitches: Bankless and Nikkei Asia (or any two from the Stretch tier). Different angles. Don't expect replies, expect 1 in 5.
- Day 2 (60 min). Reciprocal partnership outreach (Tactic 5): send 1 message to a top-tier peer (Edge City, Cabin, Esmeralda, Network School, or Outpost). Co-host concept for next quarter.
- Day 3 (45 min). Themed-week pitch round 3: 10 more.
- Day 4 (30 min). Podcast pitch follow-ups. Any 14-day-no-reply gets the one-line bump.
- Ongoing. X / Farcaster: 3 posts. One should be a podcast announcement if any are booked.
What good looks like2 stretch pitches sent (no expectation, just on the list). 1 partner conversation open. 30 themed-week pitches out total. Phase 2 momentum visibly building.
Week 8
Mid-cycle review + first podcast recordings
~3 hours
- Day 1 (60 min). Review the tracking sheet. Anything in "Sent" for 30+ days moves to Dead. Anything that converted goes in a "wins" tab. Count: how many real conversations, how many real outcomes?
- Day 2-3 (90 min). Record the first 1-2 podcast episodes if booked. Or hold the time for Lu.ma host calls if any of those converted.
- Day 4 (45 min). Light week on cold outreach: 3 themed-week pitches only. Catch up on member-essay nudges.
- Ongoing. X / Farcaster: 3 posts.
What good looks likeSheet hygiene done. 1-2 podcasts recorded. 2+ press conversations advancing to draft stage. Phase 2 ends with rhythm established.
Week 9
Nurture and convert warm replies
~4 hours
- Day 1-2 (120 min). Close out warm press conversations: send the drafts journalists asked for, do the Q&A responses, set the publishing dates.
- Day 3 (60 min). Themed-week applicant follow-up: anyone who applied but didn't pay deposit gets one nudge.
- Day 4 (45 min). Member essay harvest: collect anything written in the past 3 weeks, cross-post, thank-you DMs.
- Ongoing. X / Farcaster: 3 posts. Use a published press hit as a post hook if any are live.
What good looks like2-3 press drafts in editor's hands. Themed week filling. Member essays published.
Week 10
Reciprocal partnership scheduling + sponsor blog drafts
~4 hours
- Day 1 (75 min). Move any open partnership conversation (Edge City, Cabin, Esmeralda) to a date or kill it. Don't let it drift.
- Day 2 (60 min). Write the first draft for any sponsor-blog reciprocity that's been approved. Send for their edit.
- Day 3 (45 min). Add 5 new Lu.ma hosts to the scrape sheet. Send to all 5. (Refilling the top of the funnel without binging.)
- Day 4 (30 min). Q4 themed-week planning: identify the theme and ICP for the next 60-day-out week so Week 13 onward has a target.
- Ongoing. X / Farcaster: 3 posts.
What good looks like1 partner co-host date scheduled. 1 sponsor-blog draft sent. 5 new Lu.ma hosts in flow.
Week 11
Second podcast wave + press hit amplification
~4 hours
- Day 1-2 (90 min). Record any podcast episodes booked from Phase 2 pitches.
- Day 3 (45 min). Amplify any press hits that have published. Thread on X, share in your community channels, DM the journalist a thank-you with a fact for the next piece.
- Day 4 (60 min). Send 5 fresh podcast pitches to the ones you skipped in Phase 1. Reference any recent press hit as proof.
- Ongoing. X / Farcaster: 3 posts.
What good looks like2 more podcasts recorded. 1-2 press hits live and amplified. Pipeline refilling.
Week 12
90-day review, retrospective, next-quarter plan
~3 hours
- Day 1 (60 min). Tracking sheet retrospective. Count: how many pitches sent total, how many replied, how many converted to real outcomes (applicant, podcast booked, press hit, partnership scheduled, essay published, sponsor blog live).
- Day 2 (45 min). Pick the 2 tactics that produced the most value per hour. Plan to double down on them in the next 90 days.
- Day 3 (30 min). Kill the tactic that produced least value. Don't apologize, just stop.
- Day 4 (45 min). Write a public retrospective on X or Mirror: "90 days of network-state outreach, here's what worked." This is itself an earned-mention asset (people repost, journalists notice).
- Ongoing. X / Farcaster: 3 posts. One is the retrospective.
What good looks likeHonest count of pitches/outcomes. 2 tactics to scale, 1 to kill. A public retrospective that itself drives more inbound.
Aggregate 90-day output target
If you run this as written, the cumulative output is roughly:
| Activity | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lu.ma host pitches sent | 20 | 10 | 5 | 35 |
| Themed-week recruiter pitches | 0 | 30 | 5 | 35 |
| Newsletter / press pitches | 10 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| Podcast pitches | 5 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
| Sponsor blog conversations | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Reciprocal partnership opens | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Member essay nudges | 10 | 5 | 5 | 20 |
| X / Farcaster posts | 12 | 12 | 12 | 36 |
Realistic conversion expectations (not promises, calibrate as you go):
- Lu.ma host pitches: 10-20% reply, 5-10% convert to a themed-week comp pass.
- Themed-week recruiter pitches: 15-25% reply, 5-15% convert to applicant.
- Newsletter / press pitches: 20-30% reply, 10-15% convert to a published piece. 12 pitches = roughly 1-2 published pieces.
- Podcast pitches: 30-40% reply, 20-30% convert to a recording. 13 pitches = roughly 3-4 recordings.
- Member essay nudges: 30-50% essays written within 30 days. 20 nudges = roughly 6-10 essays.
- Sponsor blog conversations: 50%+ convert if the themed week is already confirmed. 4 conversations = roughly 2-3 published.
- Reciprocal partnership opens: 50% convert to scheduled co-host within 90 days. 2 opens = roughly 1 confirmed.
Stack that up and the 90-day output is: 1-2 press hits, 3-4 podcast appearances, 6-10 member essays, 2-3 sponsor blog posts, 1 partner co-host scheduled, plus the cumulative effect of 36 X posts. That maps cleanly onto the 27-new-referring-domains target from backlinks.html.
What to skip on any week if time is tight
This calendar is a maximum, not a minimum. If a week is busy with running an actual themed week, defer everything except the two compounding activities:
- X / Farcaster posting (3x/week). Anything less and momentum dies. Anything more is unnecessary.
- One member essay nudge per week. The cheapest outreach you do, and the highest-quality output (real-human writing about lived experience).
Everything else can shift by 1-2 weeks without breaking the system. Don't apologize for shifting, just shift.
Connection map
- targeting.html for the ICP map (who you're pitching to).
- backlinks-strategy.html for the named publication targets (where the press pitches go).
- outreach.html for the original 5-tactic playbook (the muscle this calendar exercises).
- growth-plan.html Track 3 for where this fits in the 90-day sequencing alongside wedge-launch and CRO compound.
- intel-leads.html when you run out of pitch angles.
The point is the cadence, not the volume. 3 to 5 hours a week for 12 weeks, done as a rhythm rather than a sprint, will out-perform a 40-hour outreach binge followed by 11 weeks of silence. Pick the activities you actually enjoy and ignore the rest. Anything you want to scope into something bigger (proper Tier 1 press, sponsored podcast tour, partner residency program), ping me and I'll write a 1-pager.
Donal · Online Optimisers · 2026-05-30