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Ask HN: What kind of give aways work best for pre-launch buzz?
On a launch-rock type pre-launch page what types of giveaways work best for encouraging people to share with their friends? I'm building a social site and was offering free dinner anywhere and it didn't move conversions at all.
- airzuck 15y agoI had the same problem with an iPad giveaway. Didn't move the needle.
- haploid 15y agoStrange. We did an iPad giveaway last year and the response was significant, to say the least.
- thetrumanshow 15y agoTrendsetter badge. I would care more about Facebook and Twitter if all my friends could easily tell that I was there long before any of them. The point is, I think early adopters take pride in being the first one in their social group to try something new, and they might invite their friends just so everyone would know they were first.
- barryglenn 15y agogood thought, thanks.
- abbasmehdi 15y agowhat's the site? would love to see the implementation and hear about the results.:)
- bglenn09 15y agohi, it's http://snapplans.com http://snapplans.com. Let me know what you think.
- abbasmehdi 15y agoLet me be an a-hole, because I want to be helpful not pander: 1) Your page assumes too much (it assumes I know about the product). It does not speak to me directly. EVERYBODY and their donkey makes plans, but who, what, how why will use you? For example, if this was for travel plans, I'd say "Taking the next trip, let us be your assistant (the value prop is not a place to write - a paper and pen can do that - it’s the benefits of having an assistant)." 2) That image makes it look difficult/techy product to use. You’re saying I will be using the tools NASA scientists use, that makes it not easy for me to do. 3) Your round logo makes you look old, not you age wise, but it makes your company look like something from the 80s. Like a soap bar logo. Look at the top 10 companies your customers like or use, and take hints from their logos. Honestly, I don't know why companies need a logo, just use a short form of your company name in its colors (hint: look at the top left corner of this page). 4) I said I wouldn’t pander but I can't help but say that your blog is awesome! 5) Inviting people to the launch party? That’s the benefit? But you’re not desirable enough (yet) for me to give up my email address for the opportunity to hang out with you. 6) For enticing people to sign up, I’d say do this: Give a solid value prop in your landing page so anyone who reads it wants it immediately! Then offer your service free for a limited time or something. This will do 2 things, first it will force you to sell your product/service in a sentence, second it will keep out people looking to get something free off you instead it will entice get people who are actually excited about using your service to try and get in - they will be your word-of-mouth army. 7) Add a descending counter (15 invites left) etc. to create a sense of urgency. May you have great success!
- bglenn09 15y agoThanks for the comments. We are in the process of completely changing the page and definitely need to articulate the value prop better. We don't have a blog up yet, so I'm not sure what you're referring to - maybe the about us/more detail page we put up?
- zck 15y agoOne method that seems to be gaining in popularity is to order the people you let into the site by how many people they invited signed up. So someone who shares your site with their friends gets in before someone who didn't. Of course, this only works for a site that can let people in at a trickle.
- corin_ 15y agoThe thing with something like a free dinner is that most people's reaction is "I'm unlikely to win" (they're correct), so they're usually not that bothered. Look for something that all users can get, such as thetrumanshow's suggestion of a "trendsetter badge", or something that a lot of people can get, such as "one out of every ten people to sign up will get a voucher to..."
- gallamine 15y agoPersonally, I'm always hesitant to promote a product I've never used, especially if I know my promotion is helping me win something. I vote for more, smaller, promos rather than large one. Something like a free sticker that anyone can get seems more accessible.
- jacobwyke 15y agoI'm more likely to share if I get early access..so have a signup followed by a "Share with 5 friends to get access first".
- triviatise 15y agoWe gave away ipads and got about 150 people for each ipad (i.e. very expensive). One of our customers gave away ebooks and got about 200 users for each ebook, but everyone who entered got one. Small items that are guaranteed might be a better bet. We are still testing this out. :)
- bglenn09 15y agoGood data, thanks. What kind of small items are you using if you don't mind me asking?
- triviatise 15y agowell we dont have anything up right now, but one of our beta customers that we are working on is giving away 250 dog toothbrushes. But they sell dog products. We are at a conference right now and instead of an ipad we are trying out 40 $10 amazon gift cards.
- humj 15y agoA few people here mentioned that their online giveaways didn't convert well. You may think, "who wouldn't try out my cool new app for a chance to win an ipad right?" But consider how this may read to your potential new users, "So they want me to enter my information into an unknown service, without any concrete return? and wait, is this one of those... try out any one of these services for a free ipad scams?" remember that your potential new users have no idea who you are, and people are still generally suspicious of new things on the internet, and rightfully so.
- kongqiu 15y agoWe're in the middle of running an iPad giveaway and it's hitting all the targets we set. Prior to the iPad, we've tested various types of giveaways to incent various actions and found that the best responses came from either big prizes or small, guaranteed prizes. YMMV.