You don't need thousands of Instagram followers to start selling your baking.
Your first goal is much smaller: find fifty people who want to know when your next drop opens. That's enough to start building a real customer base.
Here's where I'd find them first.
The people who already eat your food
You have a list. You just don't think of it as one. The friend who asks you to bring the good bread. The three coworkers who ate an entire tray. Your sister's book club. The neighbour who says "you should sell these" every single time.
Text them. Not a broadcast, not an announcement, just: "I'm starting to do proper pre-orders. Want me to let you know when a drop opens?" Almost everyone says yes.
Start there. You may be surprised how quickly the first names add up.
Ask at the handoff, out loud
Pickup is one of the easiest times to ask. The customer is standing in front of you, they've already bought from you, and they're about to take your baking home.
Ask: "Want a text when the next drop opens?" Have your storefront link ready as a QR code so they can scan it while they're standing there.
Use markets to build your list
A market gives you something Instagram doesn't: dozens of conversations with people who are already interested enough to stop at your table.
Put your QR code where people can see it, at eye level rather than flat on the table where it disappears behind a basket. When someone likes what you're selling, tell them they can join your list to hear about future pre-order drops.
Treat the table as a signup desk with baking on it. Even someone who doesn't buy that day can become a customer later.
Make the bio link do its job
Make your storefront the primary link in your bio. Someone who taps it should immediately be able to see what's coming next, order if a drop is open, or join your list if it isn't.
That last part matters more than it sounds, because most people who find you aren't finding you on drop day. When nothing is open, your storefront says it for you:
Nothing's in the oven just yet. Leave your number below and you'll be first to know when the next drop opens.
Give the list a reason to exist
A list nobody benefits from is a list nobody joins. Give subscribers something the general public does not get, and say so plainly on the page.
The easy version is early access: subscribers can order fifteen or thirty minutes before the drop opens publicly. It costs you nothing, and it rewards the people who committed. Early access also gives your most interested customers the first opportunity to order, which can help you get momentum when a drop opens.
What not to bother with
Follower giveaways. Giveaways can increase follower counts without necessarily bringing you people who will buy your next drop. If your goal is customers, I'd spend that effort somewhere else.
Cold DMs. Don't cold-DM people asking them to buy or join your list. It's intrusive, and commercial electronic messaging is regulated in Canada.
Waiting until the page is perfect. Your storefront will never feel finished. Fifty people do not care about your banner photo.
Fifty is closer than it looks
Write down everyone you can think of who already knows your baking. Then add the people you meet at pickups and markets, and make it easy for anyone who finds you online to join.
You don't need a huge audience. You need to build the first small group of people who genuinely want to hear when you bake next.
Once you have that first group, each drop gives you a chance to grow it. Customers come back, some tell their friends, and the people who missed one drop have a reason to join the list for the next.
That's how fifty becomes a hundred.
