Most founders struggle with how to acquire their first 100 beta sign ups for a new idea.
I’ve done it for 2 products in the last few months (one has 1500+ beta sign ups and the other has 500+) without even going on @ProductHunt
Here’s how I did it:
(a thread)
I’ve done it for 2 products in the last few months (one has 1500+ beta sign ups and the other has 500+) without even going on @ProductHunt
Here’s how I did it:

(a thread)

Start with a waitlist 
A lot of founders make the mistake of directly unveiling their product to public w/o creating any buzz around the launch
Never open to a vague general audience
Set up a waitlist & let people opt-in so you have a focused audience

A lot of founders make the mistake of directly unveiling their product to public w/o creating any buzz around the launch
Never open to a vague general audience
Set up a waitlist & let people opt-in so you have a focused audience
Build a viral loop to Twitter 
After people sign up on your waitlist, don’t give instant access
Give them a way to share their excitement on Twitter and bring friends to be bumped up to “priority access” to the beta
This step’s going to show you who’s really serious

After people sign up on your waitlist, don’t give instant access
Give them a way to share their excitement on Twitter and bring friends to be bumped up to “priority access” to the beta
This step’s going to show you who’s really serious

Make it easy to share 
I always have pre-composed tweets behind most buttons
It’s the little things - people love editing the copy and just hitting tweet than thinking from scratch

I always have pre-composed tweets behind most buttons
It’s the little things - people love editing the copy and just hitting tweet than thinking from scratch
Treat super fans like royalty
The small percentage of super fans who went thru the hoops for you have to be absolutely thanked and recognized
Among your waitlist, these are your most passionate audience
Give them more value, tweet at them, slide into DMs, show love

The small percentage of super fans who went thru the hoops for you have to be absolutely thanked and recognized
Among your waitlist, these are your most passionate audience
Give them more value, tweet at them, slide into DMs, show love

Build in public
Let people know what you are building way before you have an MVP
Use a landing page to share your thesis & attract the right users
Make it clean, easy to digest and just high-level
Here are my tips on building effective landing pages: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_/status/1285550612256628736

Let people know what you are building way before you have an MVP
Use a landing page to share your thesis & attract the right users
Make it clean, easy to digest and just high-level
Here are my tips on building effective landing pages: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_/status/1285550612256628736
Roll out invites in batches 
My playbook is:
I share v1 w/ my group @zerotoonemakers and a handful of founder friends I trust
I iterate on their feedback & within a week, launch it to super fans on the waitlist
The full waitlist
My Twitter
ProductHunt

My playbook is:





Build audience each day 
I may not be shipping each day but I’m always sharing the story of what I’m building to get people excited — either in private or public
My default assumption is no one cares about my idea — it keeps me humble & reminds me to share stories

I may not be shipping each day but I’m always sharing the story of what I’m building to get people excited — either in private or public
My default assumption is no one cares about my idea — it keeps me humble & reminds me to share stories
Treat beta seriously
A beta launch is as important as a real public launch
I do my best to build community from the 1st user - listen to them, reply to their emails/tweets, understand how they’re using the product
Not easy but rewarding because it boosts word of mouth

A beta launch is as important as a real public launch
I do my best to build community from the 1st user - listen to them, reply to their emails/tweets, understand how they’re using the product
Not easy but rewarding because it boosts word of mouth

Use one channel effectively 
I share my updates on IndieHackers too but somehow a lot of the users for my projects come from Twitter
http://LetterDrop.io grew to 505 beta ups & Cuppa is 1600+
Find a channel that works for you & stay focused in the early days

I share my updates on IndieHackers too but somehow a lot of the users for my projects come from Twitter
http://LetterDrop.io grew to 505 beta ups & Cuppa is 1600+
Find a channel that works for you & stay focused in the early days
These are some lessons I’ve learned from direct experience. Be aware that these are largely relevant for B2C products.. I’m not an expert on B2B launches 
Hope this was helpful!
If you loved this thread, please RT for reach & reply for questions :)
Thanks for reading!

Hope this was helpful!
If you loved this thread, please RT for reach & reply for questions :)
Thanks for reading!
