How Cold-Emailing Dubai Led To The Rise Of Assistagram: Zach Benson’s Success Story

Zach Benson is the founder and CEO of Assistagram, an Instagram marketing agency focused on forging relationships with real people to grow an authentic and engaged Instagram audience. Assistagram does this by getting real follows in the client’s niche, creating viral content that excites those followers, and having influencers follow their profile to lend social credibility.

Have you ever done anything unconventional to reach your goals?

I wanted to get into the tourism industry, but I didn’t have any connections. So I cold-emailed the Dubai tourism board and volunteered to help them for free. They wanted to bring in influencers to promote the country, so I told them I’d connect them with the best influencers in the industry.

From there, I reached out to influencers and offered them a free trip to Dubai — and who could turn that down? It really helped me kickstart my career because suddenly I had a huge tourism organization and lots of great influencers in my contact list. 

I took a leap of faith to make something out of nothing, and it worked. Yes, I had to do the work for free, but the connections I built because of it have been invaluable.

What’s the key to success in business?

Building relationships. It’s something I first realized when I went on the search for my birth mom. I spent a year in South Korea trying to find her before the adoption agency was finally able to connect us. That year made me realize how important our relationships are. Life really is about the people we bring into it, and business is no different. The time you spend building relationships really will determine your success.

Any advice for other entrepreneurs?

Offer your best in everything you do. Whether it’s volunteer work or a paid client, provide the same quality of work. How you do anything is how you do everything.

Be sure to follow Zach on Instagram!