

Ask HN: Ok... I just dev'd & shipped my web app. Now what? - MrMike

It's there. It feels great to have shipped. It's my own creation on my own time. It's mine. I'm proud. But, now what? How do I get people to use it? I've implemented all the best practices for viral growth via social sharing. How do I get the initial 100 users? 1000 users? How do I get it written about in the big blogs, publications, etc.? Bonus question: If the answer is different for mobile apps, what about for those?<p>* I left out the url on purpose. I want to spur a discussion on best practices <i>after</i> releasing.
======
prawn
Best way to promote your web app: <http://news.ycombinator.org/item?id=341138>

Getting PR for your startup: [http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/8/jason-
calacanis-on-how...](http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/8/jason-calacanis-on-
how-to-get-pr-for-your-startup-fire-your-pr-company)

Preparing for launch: [http://blogs.balsamiq.com/product/2008/04/18/preparing-
for-l...](http://blogs.balsamiq.com/product/2008/04/18/preparing-for-launch/)

Startup marketing advice:
[http://blogs.balsamiq.com/product/2008/08/05/startup-
marketi...](http://blogs.balsamiq.com/product/2008/08/05/startup-marketing-
advice-from-balsamiq-studios/)

~~~
MrMike
Thanks

------
damoncali
Submit to the good directories. Killer Startups, FeedMyApp, and probably a few
more I can't remember. They'll give you a few hundred visitors for relatively
little effort.

Get involved with local events. Things like demos and barcamps can be quite
valuable. Doesn't matter how small - someone is listening and might write
about it. Plus, you get some solid feedback and possibly a lead or two.

Use AdWords if you can make the math work.

If you have a market that will oblige, cold calling bloggers will get some
links. This is tough with technical products, but can be very productive with
a less web-savvy audience. (If someone knows how to get tech/development blogs
to pay attention, please let me know - we're a tough nut to crack).

If you want to hit the BIG blogs/media outlets, hire a good PR guy with
connections to those blogs. It does work, but costs a fortune.

SEOMoz and Hubspot (among others) have some pretty nice SEO tools that will
help drive the content you need to write and the links you need to target.
Expect a multi-thousand dollar investment here, though.

Find trade groups and tell their members about your product.

Then you just do it over and over. Think opportunistically, and be patient.
Just before it starts working, you will probably want to quit. Don't.

------
creativeone
Write articles for blogs. Get those articles published. If its israeli. I can
get something published for you

