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The fastest way to find people on X asking for what you sell is to search for the exact words they use when they ask, like “looking for a designer” or “can anyone recommend an SEO agency”, filter out replies and reposts, and read the Latest tab. That’s twitter advanced search for leads in one sentence. Below: the operators that still work in 2026, 24 searches to copy and a 10-minute daily routine.
After your own followers (covered in X lead generation from your followers), these are the warmest people on X. They’ve told the whole platform they need help, this week. (Looking for how to find people asking for recommendations on Twitter, or to find clients with Twitter search? Same thing.)
Why “asking right now” posts are worth your time
Someone posting “anyone know a good Webflow developer?” has a problem and a deadline. They’ve done half the sales process for you. They just haven’t picked anyone yet.
Speed matters here. In a study of 1.25 million inbound sales leads, firms that contacted a lead within an hour were about seven times more likely to qualify it than firms that waited even one more hour (Harvard Business Review, “The Short Life of Online Sales Leads”, 2011; summary by CrankWheel, both checked Oct 19, 2026). That research is older and about web form leads, not X posts. But the lesson carries over: a public request goes cold quickly. Within a day it may have 30 replies.
So the goal isn’t a giant list. It’s a few real requests, found while they’re fresh.
The building blocks: X advanced search operators in 2026
Type these straight into the X search box, on the web or in the app. The table says which ones X documents and which are community-known.
We checked each one on Oct 19, 2026 against X’s advanced search help page, X’s saved searches page, the long-running community operator reference by Igor Brigadir, and 2026 guides from Tweet Archivist (updated Oct 2026) and Unfollr (Apr 2026). X changes search without notice, so run a search once before you rely on it.
| Operator | What it does | Example | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
"exact phrase" | Only posts with those words in that order | "need a logo" | X documents it (“exact phrase” field) |
OR (capitals) | Either term matches | "need a designer" OR "looking for a designer" | X documents it (“any of these words”); typed OR is community-known |
-word | Excludes a word or phrase | -"we're hiring" | X documents it (“none of these words”) |
lang: | One language | lang:en | X documents it (language field; used in its example links) |
since: / until: | Date range, YYYY-MM-DD (until: is exclusive) | since:2026-10-12 | X documents it (date fields; used in its example links) |
from: / to: | Posts by an account / replies to an account | to:yourcompetitor | X documents it (“from these accounts”, “to these accounts”) |
| Latest tab | Newest posts first instead of “Top” | X documents it (X Help: search) | |
-filter:replies | Removes replies, so you see original posts | Community-known; on the advanced search form, not the help page | |
-filter:retweets | Removes old-style “RT” posts and quote posts (button reposts are left out of search by default) | Community-known | |
min_faves: | At least that many likes | min_faves:3 | Community-known; matches the form’s “Engagement” fields |
within_time: | Only the last N days or hours | within_time:7d | Community-known |
? | Matches posts with a question mark | designer ? | Community-known |
A few notes:
- Spaces mean AND.
logo designerfinds posts with both words anywhere. Quotes are what make it a phrase. - Brackets group things.
("need a designer" OR "looking for a designer") -filter:replieskeeps the OR together. - Keep
min_faves:low. Fresh requests rarely have many likes.min_faves:1ormin_faves:2removes some spam without hiding new posts. Save higher numbers for finding popular launch posts. -filter:replieshas a cost. Some requests sit in replies (“anyone know a dev for this?” under a thread). Drop the filter now and then to catch them.
24 searches to copy, by audience
Each line is one search. Paste it into X, press Enter, then open Latest. They’re examples: swap in your own niche, tools and words.
Add this to the end of any of them to cut the most common noise:
-filter:replies -filter:retweets -"we're hiring" -"job alert" -"#hiring" -"my portfolio" -"available for" lang:enFreelance designers
("looking for a designer" OR "need a designer" OR "recommend a designer")Open on X("need a logo" OR "need a new logo" OR "logo designer recommendations")Open on X("anyone recommend" OR "looking for someone") ("landing page" OR "website redesign") designerOpen on XDevelopers
("looking for a developer" OR "need a developer" OR "looking for a dev")Open on X("webflow developer" OR "shopify developer" OR "wordpress developer") ("recommend" OR "looking for" OR "need")Open on X("who can build" OR "need someone to build" OR "help me build") (mvp OR app OR "chrome extension")Open on XCopywriters
("looking for a copywriter" OR "need a copywriter" OR "recommend a copywriter")Open on X("help with my website copy" OR "rewrite my landing page" OR "need someone to write")Open on X("looking for a ghostwriter" OR "newsletter writer" OR "need an email copywriter")Open on XMarketing agencies
("looking for an agency" OR "recommend an agency" OR "agency recommendations") (marketing OR ads OR growth)Open on X("facebook ads" OR "google ads" OR "paid ads") ("anyone recommend" OR "who should I talk to" OR "looking for someone")Open on X("fired our agency" OR "switching agencies" OR "parting ways with our agency")Open on XSEO consultants
("seo consultant" OR "seo expert" OR "seo agency") ("recommend" OR "looking for" OR "need")Open on X("traffic dropped" OR "lost our rankings" OR "organic traffic is down") ("help" OR "anyone know")Open on X("need help with seo" OR "how do I get my site to rank" OR "seo audit")Open on XCoaches
("looking for a coach" OR "need a coach" OR "recommend a coach") (business OR career OR executive OR leadership)Open on X("anyone worked with a" OR "anyone recommend a") coachOpen on X("need accountability" OR "accountability partner" OR "looking for a mentor")Open on XSaaS founders looking for users and beta testers
("is there a tool" OR "any tool that" OR "looking for a tool") (invoicing OR scheduling OR "your category")Open on X("alternative to" OR "switching from" OR "fed up with") YourCompetitorOpen on X("happy to beta test" OR "would pay for this" OR "does this exist")Open on XInvestors looking for deal flow
("we're raising" OR "raising our pre-seed" OR "raising a seed round")Open on X("looking for angels" OR "looking for angel investors" OR "intros to investors")Open on X("just launched" OR "launching today") (startup OR beta) min_faves:20Open on XSwap the SaaS placeholders for your real category and competitors. The investor searches flip it round: founders are asking for capital.
Filtering out job boards, spam and other freelancers
Any search for “designer” also finds three kinds of noise.
- Job boards and recruiters. They post the same words (“looking for a designer”) with “apply”, “job alert” or a hashtag, and almost always a link. Exclude the words. If they still flood the results, add
-filter:links. It also removes posts with images, so don’t leave it on all the time. - Other freelancers pitching. Sellers write “available for”, “open for work”, “DM me for”, “my portfolio”, “taking on clients”. Exclude those phrases. You can also exclude your field’s sales words, like
-"I design"or-"I build". - Engagement bait and spam. “Looking for a designer, comment below” from a big account is usually farming replies. The profile check below catches it.
Clean enough to scan in five minutes is the goal, not perfect.
How to read the results in five minutes
Scroll the Latest tab and give each post about ten seconds. Ask four questions:
Found by Hunter: “Anyone know a product designer who gets B2B onboarding? Budget ready.”
- Who
- Co-founder at Orbitly, customer onboarding for B2B SaaS.
- Why now
- Asked for help this morning, with a budget, and 14 people have replied so far. Early is better.
Hi Olivia, saw your post about B2B onboarding. Happy to share how we cut setup time in half for a similar product. Want the short version here?
- Is it fresh? Today or yesterday is ideal. A week old is the limit.
- Is it a real buyer? Tap the profile. Founder, marketing lead, small business owner or creator with a product: good. Recruiter, student or someone selling the same thing: skip.
- Is it still open? If it already has 40 replies and they’ve said “thanks, found someone”, move on.
- Can you actually help? If not, skip it.
Sort what’s left into reply now, check tomorrow and skip. Most days, two to five are worth a reply.
Reply in public or DM?
Do what the post asks for:
- “Drop recommendations below” or a plain question → reply in public. That’s where they’re looking.
- “DM me” or “send me your rates” → send a short DM. Keep it to one detail and one question. Our guide to the first DM on X has 40 openers.
- You can’t DM them (they don’t follow you and their DMs are closed) → reply in public.
- Not sure → reply in public first. Other readers of the thread see it too.
Whatever you do, write it yourself, for that one person. X’s automation rules say “sending automated replies to posts based on keyword searches alone is not permitted” (checked Oct 19, 2026). That’s exactly this situation, so no bots.
What a good public reply looks like
A good reply helps even if they never hire you. It doesn’t pitch, it doesn’t link to your site, and it doesn’t say “DM me”. Your profile does the selling. If the reply is useful, they’ll tap your name.
Example post (illustrative): “Our Shopify store’s product pages are slow and I don’t know where to start. Anyone know a good Shopify dev?”
Weak reply: “Hey! I’m a Shopify developer with 8 years’ experience. Check out my portfolio [link] or DM me!”
Good reply (example): “Before you hire anyone, run one product page through PageSpeed Insights and check the image sizes first. On most stores I’ve looked at, oversized images and two or three unused apps are the bulk of it. Happy to look at the report if you share it.”
It gives one specific step, shows you know the problem, and ends with a small, optional offer. If they answer, keep helping, and move to DMs only when the conversation gets there.
A daily 10-minute routine
- Minutes 0–2: open your three best searches (bookmarked, see below) on the Latest tab.
- Minutes 2–5: do the five-minute read above, faster. Sort into reply now, tomorrow, skip.
- Minutes 5–9: write two or three replies or DMs. Proper ones, one person at a time.
- Minute 9–10: jot down who you replied to, in a note or spreadsheet, so you can check back in a day or two. If they reply and then go quiet, our free follow-up writer helps with what to say next.
Once a week, drop the searches that only find noise and try a new phrase. The best phrases often come from posts you’ve already found.
Saving your searches
X’s help center still explains how to save a search: run it, open the overflow (•••) menu on the results page and choose Save. Saved searches then show up when you tap the search box (X Help: How to save searches, checked Oct 19, 2026; the page covers desktop and Android).
In March 2026, though, some users reported that the Save option had disappeared on the web and Android app (Roboin, Mar 26, 2026), and X hasn’t announced a change. So if you see Save, use it. Either way, do this too: run the search, copy the URL from the address bar, and bookmark it in a folder called “X leads”. The bookmark keeps every operator, and one click reruns the search.
How Hunter does this for you
Running eight searches and checking every profile is the part people drop after a week. We built Hunter, one of the agents in Monty, your AI sales team for X, for exactly that.
You tell Monty what you sell. Every weekday on Pro (twice a week on Solo), Hunter runs searches like the ones above across the last 7 days of X posts, skips reposts and replies, and drops job boards, recruiters and people selling the same thing. You get a short list of people who are actually asking, and each one comes with the post Hunter found them by, so you can see the request in their own words before deciding anything.
Hunter only reads. Monty never posts, likes, follows or DMs on X. You read the post, you write the reply, you press send. If you’d like to start closer to home, the free Lead Finder reads your 25 newest followers once and shows which of them look like buyers for what you do.
For the full process, from first reply to first call, see our guide on how to get clients from your X followers.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find people asking for recommendations on X?
Search for the exact phrases people use when they ask, in quotes, joined with OR: for example ("looking for a designer" OR "recommend a designer"). Add -filter:replies -filter:retweets to cut the noise, then open the Latest tab so the newest posts come first.
Do I need X Premium to use advanced search?
X’s help page on advanced search doesn’t list Premium as a requirement. You do need to be logged in to search on X. Typing operators straight into the search box works on the web and in the app; the full advanced search form is easiest on a desktop browser.
Which X search operators still work in 2026?
X’s own advanced search page covers exact phrases, any of these words, excluded words, hashtags, language, from, to and mentions, and date ranges (its example links use lang:, since: and until:). Operators such as -filter:replies, -filter:retweets, min_faves: and within_time: aren’t on that page. They’re community-documented and still appear in 2026 guides. Test any search before you rely on it.
Can I save searches on X?
X’s help center still describes saving a search from the results page (overflow menu, then Save) on desktop and Android. In March 2026 some users reported that the Save option had disappeared, and X hasn’t announced anything either way. The dependable way is to bookmark the search results URL in your browser.
How do I filter out job posts and other freelancers?
Exclude the words job boards and sellers use: -"we're hiring" -"apply" -"job alert" -"#hiring" -"my portfolio" -"available for" -"open for". Job boards nearly always include a link, so adding -filter:links removes most of them. It also drops posts with images, so use it only when the results are flooded.
Should I reply in public or send a DM?
Do what the post asks. If they say “drop recommendations below”, reply in public. If they say “DM me”, send a short DM. If you can’t DM them, reply in public. Either way, help first, keep it short, and don’t put a link or a pitch in the first message.
How far back should I search?
About a week. Most requests are answered or settled within days, so a post from last month is usually too late. Use since: with a date, or the community-known within_time:7d, and read the Latest tab.
How many of these leads should I contact a day?
Two or three good replies a day is plenty for most people. A handful of thoughtful replies to people with a real need beats dozens of quick ones, and it keeps you inside X’s rules on automated or bulk replies.
Sources
All checked Oct 19, 2026.
- X Help Center, How to use advanced search
- X Help Center, How to save searches
- X Help Center, How to use X search
- X Help Center, Automation rules
- Igor Brigadir, Advanced search operators reference (community reference; most entries last checked 2022–2024)
- Tweet Archivist, Twitter advanced search guide (2026) (updated Oct 15, 2026)
- Unfollr, X advanced search guide (Apr 8, 2026)
- Roboin, X may have removed saved searches (Mar 26, 2026)
- Oldroyd, McElheran and Elkington, The Short Life of Online Sales Leads, Harvard Business Review, March 2011; summary by CrankWheel
