Startups Stack Exchange Archive

Preparing to launch one app: what I really need?

I’m a developer and I’ve been preparing for some time to develop and launch one cloud application. As a developer, I know what I need in order to make the product, that is, to build the application itself. I know, however there are another things that must be taken care of, like marketing and finances.

In that case, is there a good checklits of things needed in order to launch an app successfully? Of course, if I owned a big company this could involve many other things, but I’m asking about when we start from scratch, preferably alone or with just a cofounder.

What are other things than the development itself that must be taken care and tackled in order to have success when launching the app?

Answer 3675

In order to launch an app “successfully”, as in with a big bang, you need things like:

  1. A product that is useful and desirable for a niche audience.
  2. Good marketing copy on your site that describes the problem you solve and for who.
  3. eBooks, webinars, demo videos, or whatever else may apply to back the latter.
  4. A mailing list with subscribers who expressed interest in your product before it got released.
  5. Affiliates who are eager to promote your product in exchange for a commission.
  6. A list of sites and user groups you want to get in touch with upon releasing.
  7. A line up of journalists who are awaiting your go-for-it to talk about you.
  8. Tracking in place to understand what lead generation channels are working best.

The above list is non-exhaustive. An advertisement strategy can make sense if you’ve some kind of budget to allocate for that. As could an opening day or what have you if you’re an offline business. The point here is that the specifics depend on who your target audience and what your sales channels are.

The bad news is that, if your question is anything to go by, you’re worrying about this too late. Doing the above properly is lots of full-time marketing prep work. How much exactly depends on who you’re targeting and how viral your pre-launch efforts can be.

The good news is that you don’t necessarily need to launch with a big bang. So go a head and soft-launch. You’ll probably release to crickets, but don’t let that discourage you. Then go through the above items and others that may apply to you.

Answer 3676

Here is a basic startup algorithm

  1. Have an idea
  2. Ask users if its a need. If not go to step 1
  3. If its a need make MVP and publish it
  4. Show users your product and ask them what they want
  5. Implement the ones that look most important
  6. Go to step 4

Try to make a few number of users love your product. After you make a few number of users happy you should think about other needs. Don't skip steps. Do things that don't scale

Check out this post by Paul Graham.

The main thing you should do is LAUNCH YOUR PRODUCT FAST.

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