Acquiring Your First 100 Users

Entrepreneur Advice, Marketing, Mobile Apps, Nerdy Talk

April 19, 2017

No matter how great your app idea is if you don’t have users you don’t have a sustainable business. We understand that the ability to come up with a new app doesn’t automatically mean you can successfully reel in user downloads. So, how do you go about getting others to recognize the value of your new app?

Every app startup business faces the challenge of acquiring its first users. However, don’t throw all your energy into attaining thousands of users within the first round of launching. Realistically, very few startups hit the market fully stacked with every feature working correctly. As a result, your initial launch isn’t the best time to try to drive massive growth. Focus on who these first 100 users are and what they mean for your company.

While finding the first 100 customers may seem like the most difficult thing to accomplish, with a little strategy, you can thoroughly find your first 100 users, and eventually, convert them into loyal customers.

At this point, you’re only trying to reach 100 people. Do you know how quickly you can reach that number by just pushing out a few emails to family and friends, and watch as the chatter spreads like wildfire through their circles? It really doesn’t make a difference if you expend a lot of effort trying to do it. That’s the beauty of small-scale marketing.

Use personalization as a tool in the early stages of your app business. Send personalized emails, message friends on Facebook, call your contacts, etc. Personalization is powerful for finding primary users.

Some websites are specifically geared towards early-stage startups looking for initial users. BetaList and StartUpLift are both ideal for this. Some are paid, and some are free, but sites like these are perfect for getting initial feedback on your MVP from beta users dedicated to offering useful feedback. Another powerful platform is Product Hunt. This is a community based entirely around finding new products, which is perfect if you’re launching an app.

Using these strategies is a great start towards gathering users and getting your app off the ground.