

Ask HN: Best ways to spread the word about your web app - bfig

Hi everyone. I built a beautiful project and task management tool and am now struggling to spread the word about it. Would be interesting to know from who went the same path if you have any pointers for me. Seems to be incredibly hard to push through all the noise out there.
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webstartupper
Step 1: Define your customer segment. Who is hiveflux for? bootstrapped,
startups, remote teams, specific industry? If you are not sure yet, look at
who your competition is targeting. Niche it down. You can always expand
horizontally later.

Step 2: Once you know your customer segment, change the copy on your website
to drive the value proposition home for that specific segment.

Step 3: Find out where your target customers hang out. People from specific
niche industries hang out at specific niche forums. Hang out at these forums
and ask questions and contribute. If you are strapped for time, you could
advertise directly on the forums - a lot of them allow you to open paid sales
threads.

Step 4: Build a community from the early adopters you find from these forums
and then get them to spread the word.

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bfig
Thank you for the awesome pointers :)

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v_ignatyev
Hi. I recommend to set up proper social accounts, make them containing clean
one-liner/tagline of your web app and link to the page. Then post few tweets
with hashtags somehow related to the problem your product solve. Then try to
follow 50-100 guys in Twitter who could be your prospectives. Try to get
follow backs. Post again. Look for forums and threads where people discuss
tools like yours.

To support this campaign, try to write press release and send it to bloggers
and magazines popping up on your key search request, set up links with them
and ask to post on some date, then buy some targeted Ads in Facebook and
Google.

More aggresive you will, more prospectives you engage. The better way is to
make natural links on forums and boards related to your product. Better to
make it the part of viral loop or even better part of user daily workflow.

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bfig
Thank you for the valuable info.

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nkangoh
You built a beautiful project and task management tool, make a post about it,
yet fail to show us what it is (e.g. link)? That's pretty much your problem
right there. You need to advertise the service.

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bfig
Sorry, didn't want the post to sound like an advert.

Here: wwww.hiveflux.com

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dllthomas
... link?

Word of mouth, for a quality tool, is significantly better than nothing
(though probably _not_ where you should stop... others will have more ideas).

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bfig
www.hiveflux.com

