When
building your startup, you have two options; raise funds or bootstrap. The
business plan way of raising money for your venture still has its place.
However, intense competition among startups makes raising funds a long shot for
most entrepreneurs.
For the most part, you will be better off
bootstrapping your startup until you have some traction to raise the eyebrows
of keen investors. Marketing can make or break your startup.
Establish Networks & Connect
Prepare
a list of professionals to connect with them, dig-out your full resources to
get a contact detail of professionals. The best source is internet where you
will find bunch of professionals. Join relevant groups on LinkedIn, YCombinator,
and Reddit to connect with people that can help you. Conferences are
also great; just attend the right ones.
Get Customer Input
Get feedback for your product before you build it. Interview your
prospective customers to determine their problems. Then, provide different
solutions and identify the ones the prospects seem to favor. Finally, ask the
prospects if they will be willing to pay for the solution.
Listen to Customers
Listen to the needs of your customers. Use your customers to
determine what to provide and how to provide it. Before you make a full offer,
test the waters with your customers and let them drive your offer and marketing
strategy.
Use Partnerships
Use partnerships to grow your business. When promoting your
startup or product, identify other people in your space that can help you get
the word out. Partnering with an established company can help to build
credibility for your startup.
Use Influencers
Identify a number of key influencers in your industry and form a
good relationship with them. Focus your efforts in building a relationship with
influencers that have followers and that can market your startup to the right
audience.
Trending Topics
Generate buzz for your startup by riding on the coattails of a
currently trending “hot topic.” 99designs used this strategy to create buzz on
their startup. When GAP unveiled a logo design, which was heavily criticized on
the web, 99 designs took advantage of the happening with a crowdsourcing
competition to show what its community can deliver.
Use Email
Use email to reach your prospects. There are many cost-effective
email solutions that will work for your startup. MailChimp has a free plan that
allows sending emails to up to 12,000 subscribers per month. If you can invest
in paid email solutions, you can set up autoresponders and run more elaborate
email campaigns.
Use Video
Many startups tend to forget the power of video. YouTube is a must
if you are bootstrapping your business. Video can not only build your brand,
but also get subscribers and visitors to your website. Sevenly.org leveraged
YouTube to generate over 40,000 unique visitors in less than 30 days.
Focus on Benefits
People always buy the benefit, not the feature. Do not lose sight
of your business value proposition. You do not have to be better, different or
expensive in the market. What matters is how you frame the differences in terms
of the benefits, associated risks and value that resonate with your customers.
Cold Calling
Do not be afraid to do cold calling. If you have a great product
that will be useful to your target market, call people and ask them to use it.
Liam Martin got initial traction for his business through cold calling.
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