

A viral "launching soon" form - hiroprot
http://blog.forkly.com/a-viral-launching-soon-form

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psuedonym
It's an interesting ploy, but the success is going to be based entirely on
what type of beta tester you're trying to attract.

Personally, as an introverted tech, I'd be interested in signing up, poking
around, and filing bug reports, but requiring me to spam my friends list for
an invite isn't something I'm willing to do.

~~~
hiroprot
You make a good point. We've been thinking about other ways for people to move
up in the line that involve some of those things.

We don't _require_ you to spam your friends list for an invite, but if you
share the link with your friends, you'll get it earlier :)

~~~
atomical
For me personally I wouldn't share things with my friends that are an unknown
quality unless they themselves traffic in things that are of an unknown
quality. Most of the people on my friend's list are not interested in beta
testing.

~~~
tapp
Same. Anyone know why they already changed it back?

~~~
steveklabnik
It's still the 'viral' one for me. Home page asks for the email, then gives me
<http://fork.ly/6KYLWf> .

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ryanwaggoner
StackExchange did something similar with their private beta where they asked
you to embed an image and link to their site somewhere on the web. Clever SEO
hack...

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greglockwood
Kind of reminds me of Dropbox's viral referral program. The spam-ish aspect
can get annoying at a point, but the interesting thing is that it's not the
website that's spamming you, it's your friends, so you can't really be mad at
the website.

This makes me think the viral referral model still has some untapped
potential.

~~~
marknutter
It doesn't need to be spammy. If it were me, I would just feel a little more
incentive to post about it on Twitter/FB and other places than I would
otherwise. Brilliant idea.

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aberkowitz
As a one time idea, this is unique and clever.

Unfortunately, I foresee many "me too" companies that will make this a tired
paradigm.

~~~
melvinram
I disagree. I could see this working over and over if executed well.

Imagine a brand new site called Hulu that promises free TV shows in a legal
way. To get on the beta, you do the normal list sign up but they tell you that
you could get first access if you referred 3 people. Would you dig out 3
people to refer? My response is "Hell ya!" if I think my friends will like it.

How you get people to want the service bad enough that they'll invite others
to get on a priority list will likely be the thing that people will need to
focus on.

~~~
aberkowitz
If I was desperate to get an account, I would create fake e-personas to sign
up as well. I would be embarrassed to spam my friends for my benefit.

~~~
melvinram
"if I think my friends will like it."

~~~
aberkowitz
So, through this process, your early access is restricted to sites your
friends like?

~~~
melvinram
If I like something, I'm sure I'll know 3 people who will likely like the same
thing.

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neurotech1
I think for the "viral" launch page, there should be some vague information
about what the site/product is about.

This was covered on HN previously, although misleading title. "Wordpress
Themes for Launching your Minimum Viable Product"
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1697302>

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yarone
If this works, someone should productize this: a "launching soon" widget that
anyone can use.

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esornoso
It reminds me of Living Social referral program:

After you buy the deal, you'll get a unique link to share. If three people buy
the deal using your link, then your deal is free.

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DeusExMachina
What if this idea is changed to some sort of competition? Something like the
top 10 people who refer the most friends will get a free subscription as a
prize.

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petermarks
This has worked well for us at <http://feastery.com>. No issues with the
quality of the invitees.

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weel
They already changed it to the standard system...

~~~
simonk
No, you put in your email and then get the link.

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confuzatron
Spam friends; obtain bauble.

It's not _that_ new an idea. I tend to lose a teeny bit of respect for people
who fall for it.

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DevX101
Site's down

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martinkallstrom
Museo logotype FTW

