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  • Hi Ryan, I am a young, businesswoman looking for more experience to start my non-profit organization. Is there any advice you could give me to gain more experience before I launch?

    • Ryan Kelly

      Sorry, I don’t have much experience with non-profits. In the software/product world, it’s usually a good idea to NOT launch (read Eric Ries). Why? Well, basically the chances are you haven’t fully baked your product yet, so “launching” and getting it in front of lots of users could backfire on you. This is precisely what happened to us when we launched our first version of our software. Looking back on it now, we were no where near ready. This is why you see companies doing “private betas” so they can work the kinks out privately before putting it in front of the masses. And even then, they are still in “beta” until they perfect their UI, pricing and more.

      about 1 year ago

  • What metrics/analytics do you need to track when you open to betas?

    • Ryan Kelly

      Signups and engagement. You could look at engagement in terms of the # of features used, and the number of logins over a 30 day period.

      6 months ago

  • Ryan, how do I get targeted traffic to my landing page without having to spend $$ on ads?

    • Ryan Kelly

      I think there are many answers in Sprouter for this, but there are a few tactics you could try.

      1. If you have a product in beta, post something on HackerNews to let them test it out before anyone else. They love that.
      2. If the product is ready, try to pitch it to TechCrunch or Mashable, or similar.
      3. If (2) doesn’t work, write up a press release and send it out through one of several wire services.
      4. If you know a friend in the PR space, ask them if they have a subscription to Barron’s and see if they could export a list of writers/bloggers/contacts in your field. Contact them all individually to see if they would be interested in writing about your product.
      5. Start your SEO campaign by determining which keywords you will target, and build an editorial or content calendar around that. Write, write, write.
      6. Commission a designer to build a way-cool infographic about your industry.

      There are more, but I’m out of space now.

      6 months ago