

Ask HN: What kind of give aways work best for pre-launch buzz? - barryglenn

On a launch-rock type pre-launch page what types of giveaways work best for encouraging people to share with their friends?  I'm building a social site and was offering free dinner anywhere and it didn't move conversions at all.
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thetrumanshow
Trendsetter badge.

I would care more about Facebook and Twitter if all my friends could easily
tell that I was there long before any of them. The point is, I think early
adopters take pride in being the first one in their social group to try
something new, and they might invite their friends just so everyone would know
they were first.

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barryglenn
good thought, thanks.

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abbasmehdi
what's the site? would love to see the implementation and hear about the
results.:)

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bglenn09
hi, it's <http://snapplans.com>. Let me know what you think.

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abbasmehdi
Let me be an a-hole, because I want to be helpful not pander:

1) Your page assumes too much (it assumes I know about the product). It does
not speak to me directly. EVERYBODY and their donkey makes plans, but who,
what, how why will use you? For example, if this was for _travel_ plans, I'd
say "Taking the next trip, let us be your assistant (the value prop is not a
place to write - a paper and pen can do that - it’s the benefits of having an
assistant)."

2) That image makes it look difficult/techy product to use. You’re saying I
will be using the tools NASA scientists use, that makes it not easy for me to
do.

3) Your round logo makes you look old, not you age wise, but it makes your
company look like something from the 80s. Like a soap bar logo. Look at the
top 10 companies your customers like or use, and take hints from their logos.
Honestly, I don't know why companies need a logo, just use a short form of
your company name in its colors (hint: look at the top left corner of this
page).

4) I said I wouldn’t pander but I can't help but say that your blog is
awesome!

5) Inviting people to the launch party? That’s the benefit? But you’re not
desirable enough (yet) for me to give up my email address for the opportunity
to hang out with you.

6) For enticing people to sign up, I’d say do this: Give a solid value prop in
your landing page so anyone who reads it wants it immediately! Then offer your
service free for a limited time or something. This will do 2 things, first it
will force you to sell your product/service in a sentence, second it will keep
out people looking to get something free off you instead it will entice get
people who are actually excited about using your service to try and get in -
they will be your word-of-mouth army.

7) Add a descending counter (15 invites left) etc. to create a sense of
urgency.

May you have great success!

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bglenn09
Thanks for the comments. We are in the process of completely changing the page
and definitely need to articulate the value prop better. We don't have a blog
up yet, so I'm not sure what you're referring to - maybe the about us/more
detail page we put up?

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humj
A few people here mentioned that their online giveaways didn't convert well.
You may think, "who wouldn't try out my cool new app for a chance to win an
ipad right?" But consider how this may read to your potential new users, "So
they want me to enter my information into an unknown service, without any
concrete return? and wait, is this one of those... try out any one of these
services for a free ipad scams?"

remember that your potential new users have no idea who you are, and people
are still generally suspicious of new things on the internet, and rightfully
so.

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triviatise
We gave away ipads and got about 150 people for each ipad (i.e. very
expensive). One of our customers gave away ebooks and got about 200 users for
each ebook, but everyone who entered got one.

Small items that are guaranteed might be a better bet. We are still testing
this out. :)

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bglenn09
Good data, thanks. What kind of small items are you using if you don't mind me
asking?

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triviatise
well we dont have anything up right now, but one of our beta customers that we
are working on is giving away 250 dog toothbrushes. But they sell dog
products.

We are at a conference right now and instead of an ipad we are trying out 40
$10 amazon gift cards.

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corin_
The thing with something like a free dinner is that most people's reaction is
"I'm unlikely to win" (they're correct), so they're usually not that bothered.

Look for something that all users can get, such as thetrumanshow's suggestion
of a "trendsetter badge", or something that a lot of people can get, such as
"one out of every ten people to sign up will get a voucher to..."

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zck
One method that seems to be gaining in popularity is to order the people you
let into the site by how many people they invited signed up. So someone who
shares your site with their friends gets in before someone who didn't.

Of course, this only works for a site that can let people in at a trickle.

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kongqiu
We're in the middle of running an iPad giveaway and it's hitting all the
targets we set.

Prior to the iPad, we've tested various types of giveaways to incent various
actions and found that the best responses came from either big prizes or
small, guaranteed prizes. YMMV.

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gallamine
Personally, I'm always hesitant to promote a product I've never used,
especially if I know my promotion is helping me win something. I vote for
more, smaller, promos rather than large one. Something like a free sticker
that anyone can get seems more accessible.

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airzuck
I had the same problem with an iPad giveaway. Didn't move the needle.

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jacobwyke
I'm more likely to share if I get early access..so have a signup followed by a
"Share with 5 friends to get access first".

