Loading...
Answers
MenuWhat are some methods to limit beta roll-out where the app will rely on viral sharing via social media for it's ultimate success?
The app will be applicable globally, but initially is being built for US and Canada. We're non-developers and are outsourcing the initial development, where our objective will be to bring the IT staff in house later. We want to provide beta, but in a closed fashion. However, much of the power of the app will be from SM sharing and viral activity created from it. To not enable SM sharing, even from closed beta, simply isn't feasible.
Answers
If your product relies heavily on a successful growth-loop through social sharing, you simply *must* run the social component "live in the stream." The value of the data you will collect far outweighs any concerns over someone guessing what you're doing by the social shares.
See my answer about what makes a great technology product here on Clarity about the importance of a great growth loop.
The ultimate thing you'll be able to learn via the public test is the effective of your messaging and a general click through rate. You can bring them to a page that playfully says that the link was generated by an app in private-beta and if they want to learn more, they can sign-up. That in fact, would be another great data point.
The point is that just by making your social stream messaging and link public doesn't make your product in any way public.
And by the way, the more effective your social share is at generating click-throughs or full-blown conversions (a click on the landing page of any kind), then the higher and stronger signal you have to the fact that you're on to something.
In a call, I'd be happy to share my experiences in building MVP's with contract labor and testing growth loops via social streams.
Do you know how Mailbox App did it?
They had a closed beta but they hard a website, a landing page and an iOS Application that enabled people to register in queue waiting for a slot be to accepted into the closed beta.
People had a newsletter delivered to them and were able to share and invite others (this social actions pulled them ahead on the queue). This way people could interact, share and receive newsletters on Mailbox App even though they were not included on the closed beta. It was a successful strategy and other companies did it also with success.
Read this article to know more about it and how you may be able to do it also:
http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/01/queueing-theory-lets-any-app-offer-a-mailbox-like-reservation-system-even-if-its-just-for-building-buzz/
Related Questions
-
Is it advisable to outsource to an agency to create our MVP? Are my security concerns unfounded?
It's not unusual at all. If you do outsource, try and make sure you have a project lead that you can trust. Once revenues get up to a certain point they might want to see the project through and come on board full time OR they will have enough pride in their work to make sure a proper transition takes place. As far as security, make sure you have an airtight non-disclosure/non-compete agreement with a penalty clause that includes financial remuneration.Mike MagolnickMM
-
What are the key accomplishments for the first year of a startup?
A generalized question can only get a generalized answer. The most significant accomplishment is validating that the product you have built is a fit with your target market. This is demonstrated primarily by engagement (the people who sign-up or who previously visited, continue to return) and secondarily by growth, ideally based on word-of-mouth or viral growth but effectively converting paid traffic is a great second prize. Other significant accomplishments include: Not running out of money Recruiting and retaining great talent who believe in the founders' vision. Your loved ones not thinking you're as crazy as they thought you were a year ago. I'm happy to talk to you in a call to give you more specifics about what you want to set as your goals more specific to your startup.Tom WilliamsTW
-
What are ways to find and engage B2B beta users for a brand new application?
Find apps that are B2B and go to the review sections. Specifically going to Google's play or Chrome store and look at reviews and follow them to Google+ to engage. I took that same angle for B2C app I was building last year. Check it out. http://blendah.com/post/37331434653/lean-startup-hackTom MasieroTM
-
What are some important milestones for a bootstrapped startup?
If you haven't fully tested your app with the 100 individual accounts Apple allows you to test via TestFlight or Hockey, then I'd suggest you should test thoroughly with your email list before launching to the app store. Things to look for at this early-stage: Activation and Breakage Points: From app download to user onboarding, where are people getting lost? Your goal is not only to have them download the app, but complete whatever steps for them to become your user. Optimizing the flow to ensure maximum conversion is a key first step. Engagement: How often are they completing the tasks you deem most important based on your business model? How can you increase this number? User Understanding: How clear is the app's UI and messaging? Where are they getting lost? Virality: While true virality is hard to measure at this stage (given the constraints of pre-launch testing), you can evaluate the potential effectiveness of any distribution tactics you might employ (contacts, OAuth's etc) in terms of user opt-in and conversion issues. Real analytical data is easier to interpret than user interviews but there is a such a treasure trove of good customer development intel from customer interviews. Those first 100 people who download the app should be personally interviewed about their experience, what they like, how much it solves their problem, how much of a problem that is for them in the first place and so on. Before you go live in the app store, I highly recommend you max out your installs in a private testing environment. I'm happy to talk this through with you in more detail in a call.Tom WilliamsTW
-
Why is my landing page not converting after a thousand clicks of my FB ad?
Conversion at the page level is often impacted by who is showing up - and could be indicative of a mismatch between the ads you are running, the audience they attract, and the messaging on the landing page on arrival. You're also asking for both a phone number and an email address - while offering very little information in return - like what cities this is available in - what it costs - how long it takes, how it's different / better than other services in this same vein. Consider narrowing the focus of your ads down to a single city, and then customize the lander to include challenges specific to that city that this would eliminate (the long Saturday lines at XYZ Market - traffic on the crosstown etc) and reference brands and stores they'll know. The more you can make the landing page a reflection of your user and the problem you're hoping to solve for them - the better. Right now, it's not reflective at all - leaving most details to the imagination. Once you've dialed in on the approach in a single locale, you can expand your campaign by repeating the process (still customizing per market). I hope this helps.Ryan RutanRR
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.
