Hi!I’m an “independent” developer who loves executing my own ideas. I typically will scope out a minimal feature set and run full force to build something in a short period of time. Once I’m done, it’s very natural to feel the need to “get it out there”.
When I worked on my original vision of Cupid’s Lab in 2006 (an online matchmaking/introduction system), I was very eager to get the word out to the world. I was able to grow the service to a few hundred users through my own network of friends, but I was really eager to expand further. I wanted to get the word out there.
I worked with a small boutique PR firm to write a press and shot it out through PR Web. Over the next few days I got a few reviews & write-ups from technology related blogs like Mashable.
At the time I felt the release worked well. Within a few weeks I had grown to a few thousand users and things seemed great, but it wasn’t long until the buzz died off. With that I also felt the urge to want and send out another release to try and drum up some more buzz. Thankfully I resisted the urge. The process was exhilarating and intoxicating, but I realized that the results were short lived and I wasn’t doing anything sustain the momentum within the application.
Had I known then what I now know, I would have held off on the initial press release. I feel very strongly that you need to consider your press very strategically. You may want to get the word out there, but be VERY meaningful about how you intend to execute your press and make sure that you meticulously measure the results.
For me with Plan.FM I’m working towards building a press worthy product, but at this stage I know I’m not “ready”.
When I am ready I need to answer the question: “What is the reason to do a press release?”
As a very new product/company, there are two primary reasons that I will focus on. Those reasons are User Acquisition and Financing Round. There are many other reasons, but realistically these will be the first two I will focus on.
Before I send out a release that focuses is on User Acquisition I need to make sure my product optimally converts anonymous visitors into registered users and successfully engages users to use the application on a consistent basis. Furthermore I need to make sure I can dilute my user acquisition costs by making sure that my users have the ability to refer other users to the service. All of these things should be in place before any release goes out.
When it comes to starting a conversation about a Financing Round, I feel a press release can help a lot. However you need to do it very carefully.
Let’s take one of the companies I’ve been watching in the event space, Plancast.com. (DISCLOSURE: although they seem like a competitor to Plan.FM, I feel that Plan.FM is actually a compliment to their service). They initiated their press on Tech Crunch with a glowing review (it doesn’t hurt to be a Tech Crunch Alumni either). You can read their press here: http://techcrunch.com/2009/11/30/plancast/
One thing to note is a the following paragraph:
The Facebook integration is key for Plancast. The service was borne out of Facebook’s fbFund ‘09 initial winners (its codename was Magellen at that point), and they’ve received a micro-seed round from that so far. The next step is to raise a proper seed round, Hendrickson says.
Four months later Plancast.com closed an $800k seed round with a stellar group of angel investors (http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/08/plancast-funding/).
The press was strategically initiated to handle both User Acquisition and Financing Round in a single shot. And it worked.
So if you’re eager to get your product out there and spread the word, think first about how you can benefit from the release. Do not do it just to get your product’s name out there. Do it purposefully, make it meaningful, and make sure you are set up measure the results.
