
Any ideas on how to create buzz before launching a startup. Need advice as I am about to launch http://www.onista.com in summer timeframe. - JoeEntrepreneur

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lucas
I would say that a lot depends upon the type of product that you're building.
For example, if it's a web-based social networking app, send your beta
announcement mail to, say, 10 people or 50 people and track views and signups
for 2-3 weeks. See what kind of network effect you get. Pick your initial
invitees wisely. If you want users, then you want them to be the so-called
influencers.

I also have this question. I am a little reticent, though, because I'm
concerned about scalability. In my case, I am writing the front end in typical
database-backed fashion, but the backend is several custom C++ components. So
while I want users, I'm not sure how much I want them on day one. Everything I
read says, "get users, figure out your weaknesses, and scale as needed."
That's reassuring. Nevertheless, the unknowns that we face can still be
daunting.

Larger companies and people who have been around the block will often use a PR
firm or will simply file a press release themselves. It costs about $1000,
from what I understand.

I think from the standpoint of your average bootstrapper, guerilla tactics are
in order. I plan on using Google Analytics. I haven't tried it yet, but I plan
to. It will, for example, show hits based on geographic location. You can use
that to target local advertising in the markets where you're getting some
initial traction. I don't think there is really a set approach. When you're a
guerilla, anything is possible.

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goodgoblin
Google Analytics is great. They provide an amazing amount of user info. I just
started using it a week ago and I am completely addicted to it. I have a day
job and have to control the constant urge to check it. I'm thinking of getting
a palm computer or something like that so I can ssh in and sneak a peek at the
stats.

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pg
I don't think creating buzz prior to launch is that necessary for most
startups. The question is more how to get a lot of people to the site after
there's something to do there.

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JoeEntrepreneur
You are right. But in order to get the first users, don't you think people
need to know that there is something called Onista that exists?

~~~
python_kiss
Bad publicity is not as good as good publicity, but it is better than no
publicity at all. As Seth Godin often points out "Being safe is risky".

If you wish to make a pre-launch buzz, try it in a controlled environment. A
strategy I used was to aim for foreign startup blogs (mandarin, spanish,
french, etc) instead of western ones. Their reviews gave me a leg up on the
feedback I should anticipate from western bloggers.

Since the initial buzz I generated centered around foreign bloggers, I did not
risk losing my reputation in front of the big name Web 2.0 startup bloggers. I
took my startup to the west only after I was satisified with the feedback.

~~~
JoeEntrepreneur
That shoulds like a good idea. Can you please point me to any foreign startup
blogs those you know of? Appreciate it.

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Harj
creating buzz is not necessarily a good thing. the first product you launch
will be bad because it hasn't had user input (nothing compares to real users
using your site). it will become incrementally better as more people tell you
how they actually want it to work.

taking the pre-launch buzz approach is high risk. take powerset for example -
they have generated so much buzz that their product had better be a google
killer from day one or they're in trouble.

~~~
JoeEntrepreneur
Same thing happened to www.riya.com as well I guess. I signed up for their
Release, and was waiting for them to release. When they released, I noticed
that it sucked. So I never used it again.

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JoeEntrepreneur
Well Onista (http://www.onista.com) is a social marketplace where anybody can
buy or sell anything and also socialize, create friends and never worry about
paying any listing fees, commission, auctions. It would be very simple.

I was reading this article about "8 Simple Steps to Build Traffic For Your
Internet Startup" @ http://www.scoreboard-media.com/internet-startup-traffic/
and was trying to understand, but some of the stuff I could not really follow.
Like "What is defensible traffic". Also it says "Build links". But then how to
build links? I do not mind spending money on having Press Release, but I do
not know when is the right time to have one, and also who can assist me in
writing a press-release. (My Written English sucks more than MC Hammer's
accountant).

When you said, "end your beta announcement mail to, say, 10 people or 50
people". Should those be my friends and contacts or I can buy email list from
somewhere. No Idea. I already sent email to my friends and contacts and so far
29 ppl have signed up to see when I release the product.

~~~
lucas
I was giving the initial email idea as an example. I think it's an interesting
way to launch a social networking site. It gives you an early way to measure
the appeal of the site and the effectiveness of one of the social networking
aspects.

I don't think I would bother with a press release, unless you're launching
something huge and you have the capital to back it up (e.g., a scalable system
and people ready to go). I was just putting that out there. It sort of goes
against the web model, anyway.

Having people give email addresses is one approach, but that realy only serves
to give you a way to make a targeted announcement. Good, but not great. Having
the site up and running is the crucial step. By the 80-20 rule, the last 20%
of the features takes 80% of the time. Getting a product out the door is hard.

Once it's up, people will judge it pretty quickly, I think. They will look at
it, judge it cool and come back, or judge it harshly and never come back
again. Sometimes you get a second chance. If the product can be rapidly
improved and you can maintain some buzz, then those lost users may see a
reference to it and give it another try.

~~~
JoeEntrepreneur
Thanks Lucas. You have been very helpful.

I guess I shall see when I launch it about what happens. Onista is HUGE
application and I do not want to release it with any less features than
originally planned. Just my UI Mockup is 200 pages. (just giving you idea on
how big the application is). Onista being huge application, it has lot many
features, so I believe that users will and will not like some features, but
they will have lots of them to choose from.

Thanks again.

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JoeEntrepreneur
Someone signed up using email address
"you_craigslist_wannabe_will_fail@badly_publically...." Funny... Very funny.
Good that I'm not developing Onista anything like or even close to Cragslist.
No connection.

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dfranke
If he thinks it'll fail publically I'd take that as a compliment. If you last
long enough to be in the public eye, you're well ahead of the curve.

~~~
JoeEntrepreneur
Yeah, Same thought came to my mind as well. Thanks for supporting comment.

