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Ask HN: How Can I Quickly Launch My Web Product and Attract Target Users?

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Re: Ask HN: How Can I Quickly Launch My Web Product and Attract Target Users?

#11

Post by tomhallett »

PeterHuber wrote: post #4
jasonturley wrote: post #3

For quick user feedback, maybe give the product away for free in exchange for testimonials. Reach out to friends and family. Implement the changes they suggest. Once you have some solid testimonials built up, you can raise the price of the product. Rinse and repeat. I recommend watching some Alex Hormozi videos on how to effectively market and sell.

But where can I get the initial traffic? I don't even have any early users right now.

1) read “the mom test”

2) I hear that you scratched your own itch. When you had the itch/problem, what did you do to see if someone else had solved it before you started building? If you “only” did a quick google search, then you can try to rank for the phrase you searched for (which might be super hard). Did you post on Reddit/slack-group - if so, build a presence there so that when other people ask that same question, you can be there to help (and mention your solution)

3) try to meet people in real life who might have this same itch/problem, and talk to them

Re: Ask HN: How Can I Quickly Launch My Web Product and Attract Target Users?

#13

Post by dc_rog »

PeterHuber wrote: post #4
jasonturley wrote: post #3

For quick user feedback, maybe give the product away for free in exchange for testimonials. Reach out to friends and family. Implement the changes they suggest. Once you have some solid testimonials built up, you can raise the price of the product. Rinse and repeat. I recommend watching some Alex Hormozi videos on how to effectively market and sell.

But where can I get the initial traffic? I don't even have any early users right now.

Start telling your story about why you built it in the first place. Tell it on any community that you think people who are in a similar need will be. Get narrow, try a few small niches. Stick with it for a month and then see who is following along. That is your audience. Start to tease out features based on outcomes that those people will achieve once they are helped by your product. Let your audience tell you what they want.

Paid ads, etc, will very likely not yield good results at this early stage because you don’t know your ideal customer profile well enough and no one knows you or your product well enough to trust you. This will build over time.

Re: Ask HN: How Can I Quickly Launch My Web Product and Attract Target Users?

#14

Post by joenot443 »

PeterHuber wrote: post #5
bruce511 wrote: post #2

It's a bit late here for my advice to be helpful to you but IMO these are questions to ask, and answer before you build the web app, not after. The short answer to your question is "identify who your customer is, find out where they hang out (online or IRL), join that community, add value (not just your offering), demonstrate your usefulness and build credibility. From that, you can sell product in a meaningful, sust…

You're absolutely right. It's essential to identify the specific needs of your target audience first. My motivation for creating this product was to solve my own problem, and I believe there are others who might have similar needs. That's why I want to promote it.

You'd get a lot better responses if you explained to us what your product _is_ and also had a link to where it can be demoed or purchased.

Re: Ask HN: How Can I Quickly Launch My Web Product and Attract Target Users?

#15

Post by PeterHuber »

ta12653421 wrote: post #9

Read the book: "Getting real" from 37signals, its free on their website: https://basecamp.com/gettingreal The book is now aging 18yo, but its still valid. And it is very inspiring.

Great, thanks for recommending the book! I'll take a look at it later.

Re: Ask HN: How Can I Quickly Launch My Web Product and Attract Target Users?

#16

Post by PeterHuber »

joenot443 wrote: post #14
PeterHuber wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're absolutely right. It's essential to identify the specific needs of your target audience first. My motivation for creating this product was to solve my own problem, and I believe there are others who might have similar needs. That's why I want to promote it.

You'd get a lot better responses if you explained to us what your product _is_ and also had a link to where it can be demoed or purchased.

Thank you for your reply. I'm currently working on two projects: AI image generation and an image splitter. I've just started independent development, and I'm still refining more features for the products.

Re: Ask HN: How Can I Quickly Launch My Web Product and Attract Target Users?

#17

Post by PeterHuber »

spacebacon wrote: post #10
PeterHuber wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely, everything needs to start somewhere. The beginning is always the hardest part, but every small step counts!

What’s your product?

Thank you for your reply. I'm currently working on two projects: AI image generation and an image splitter.

Re: Ask HN: How Can I Quickly Launch My Web Product and Attract Target Users?

#18

Post by PeterHuber »

denizener wrote: post #8
PeterHuber wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But where can I get the initial traffic? I don't even have any early users right now.

Personally, I would have to hire someone do to do sales/marketing. Its just not an area I am going to be anything but bad in. I have many talents but sales/marketing is not one of them. Maybe you can learn to be good in this area but I have tried and it would be a mistake for me.

It’s true that it’s best to work with experts, but my personal project might not be that big. I’m thinking about putting in some effort to change it myself.

Re: Ask HN: How Can I Quickly Launch My Web Product and Attract Target Users?

#19

Post by PeterHuber »

dc_rog wrote: post #13
PeterHuber wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But where can I get the initial traffic? I don't even have any early users right now.

Start telling your story about why you built it in the first place. Tell it on any community that you think people who are in a similar need will be. Get narrow, try a few small niches. Stick with it for a month and then see who is following along. That is your audience. Start to tease out features based on outcomes that those people will achieve once they are helped by your product. Let your audience tell you what t…

Thank you for your answers; I've learned a lot. I should summarize the purpose of my product and the development process, clearly outline the pain points it addresses, and promote it on various platforms. However, I'm a bit worried because those larger platforms may not be very friendly to new users, and it feels like the content I post might not get much visibility.
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