How did the product get the first batch of seed users

The hardest thing for a lot of internet companies to start with is not product development, but how to develop the first batch of valuable users, the seed users. This group of people is the closest product positioning, and the product of the future Word-of-mouth spread and the impact of radiation range is very large, and, more importantly, may They are the Community platform class product quality content of the main provider. In the case of Dropbox, in Digg, where avid fans gather, their boss has released a geek-coded "egg" video, which is the first in the Digg rankings. As a result,when the beta version of D Ropbox was not released, 75,000 users had been lined up on the waiting list--it could be said to have been done without effort.

What about the other companies?

Community Products

1. Know: First to the professional to send an invitation code, "fully closed" after the open registration

Know that founder Zhou Yuan first adopted the "King" strategy, e-mail to invite friends. In the first two weeks of the 2010 launch, they invited about 200 users, most of whom were friends or colleagues of the founding team, almost all from the IT Business Circle, many of whom were media or industry commentators, and the coterie began to ask each other. But it is very difficult to get the invitation code, it is almost completely closed in the initial stage.

When you know a little bit of open registration, until the number of users reached 2000 people, there will be Lei, Kai-Fu Lee and other it celebrities, they contributed a variety of high-quality answers; they also because of the purity of the community, preferred to know as a sound platform. It is understood that in the first two years of development, the professionalism of the community has been maintained in the form of an invitation to register, thus forming the first batch of seed users. It was only after the opening of the Register in March 2013 that there was greater development in the broader topic area.

The practice of sending an invitation code is also being used by many entrepreneurial teams. Like a "bubble noodle bar" of the following online programming teaching Web site (similar to "Codecademy"), they are mainly in the relevant forums to find seed users, the first beta phase of the invitation code only 500, but then because of strong demand, quickly increased to 2000, 4,000 ...

2. MySpace and watercress: From the perspective of "literature and Art", "like-minded"

Some people think that when MySpace is on the line, the rapid growth of the user base through viral transmission is not the case. Its first users were the founder's offline band Resources, initially accumulating their fan users.

In fact, from the full of literary and artistic flavor of the user group to start in China also has a case. For example, watercress from the book to get the first batch of users. This group of users can be regarded as "slightly higher taste", not only can contribute to higher quality content, but also let watercress around the book, literature, fresh and other labels gradually enhance the scope of attraction.

3. Sina Weibo: High price please big V Bai

Sina Blog Development in the early days through the media relations to attract a large number of opinion leaders, celebrities, especially the entertainment Circle star to open blog posts, and even pay high prices, other portals have followed. And this scene in the microblogging era again.

4. Tiger sniffing: Accumulate seed users in media circles

Tiger Sniff started off as it is now, releasing only one boutique article a day (with a handful of other articles) and streamlining key information and posting it on Weibo. The beginning of the tiger-sniffing users for the invited media circles, in the content received praise and forwarding, Tiger Sniff gradually accumulated the first batch of readers and authors to contribute.

Tools Products

5. Face Meng: Apply store recommendation, encourage sharing to get word-of-mouth spread

Six months ago, face Meng app officially online. The major application stores at that time gave a recommendation, such as the App Store boutique recommended, but face Meng did not hot. After two months of critical period, the user breakthrough million. The real fire is then three months later, Renren, friends and Weibo began to appear brush screen phenomenon. Users through the replacement of the Avatar and released Meng map, the major social networking sites have been face Meng brush screen, forming a "Meng Feng." Data showed that the number of face-sprouting downloads began to climb rapidly from the end of May, with about 1.2 million downloads in iOS and Androd platforms within four days. User spontaneous viral transmission in a short period of time to help face Meng formation of great influence, but the first face Meng user accumulation comes from the application store recommendations.

It's similar to the face-sprouting game. Also, we have introduced another "" "App" selection, which also relies on the freshness of the product and the interesting name of the distribution market recommendations, and then by encouraging sharing to get more users.

6. Tick a taxi: Burn money + smart push

Taxi Software as a platform, the need to gather drivers and passengers both resources, and in the taxi application of the initial rush to rob the market, compared to passengers, draw the driver end of the resources more urgent.

The practice of taxi use is usually to push and burn money. But tick-tock as a backward person in the market, at first both of these difficulties. At that time shook the car once swept the monopoly of the promotion of the airport market, and tick only in the vicinity of West station Rob driver resources.

On top of that, Cheng Wei, the founder of the taxi, said that he had been working with several rental companies, everyone said that there is no "red", afraid to dispatch taxis illegal, then tick-tock finally found a rental company in the suburbs of Beijing willing to cooperate, but those who rented master need hands-on teaching, only slowly from 10 to 100 people. Then he spent tens of thousands of yuan on an ad: The driver simply texted to 12114 to get the download link, which also helped beep the first batch of driver users.

Social Products

7. Contacts: Ma Yunqiang Push, the staff of everyone to contribute

Alibaba's deep pockets, however, are still struggling to find a way to develop the shadow of the micro-faith, especially the story of the first batch of users, to see that even the Giants are not doing anything so easy (the world is fair). October 2013 one day, Ma Yun in the company intranet on the public stance, Alibaba staff to become a product promoter of the article, and the challenge to the micro-letter as a "war", he issued a death order-Ali in November before the end of the 100 companies outside the user, as the same as the waiver of red envelopes. "Of course there are 100+ may not have red envelopes, no 100 is certainly no red envelopes." ”

In this magnitude of the spur, these two days, Ali employees in micro-bo, QQ, micro-letters and friends in the circle launched a massive "showmanship" of the mass movement.

Of course, this approach to the target from the promotion of the policy is not the original Ma Yun. Overseas LinkedIn in the search for the seed user phase, the entrepreneurial team each has 50 indicators, the online invitation to high-quality business users, the CEO is responsible for 100.

8. Tencent Department: Large user base, mutual diversion is terrible enough

Tencent family products, to QQ for the soil, QQ space, Tencent Weibo, QQ mailbox and other products, at the beginning of the development of users, have taken advantage of the user had to see the trump card, forced to push links, guide users to use. This operation has been very mature, not only direct flow import, mutual recommendation, as well as QQ killer "upgrade speed" and "lighting icon" to promote the method. This technique in the promotion of QQ products are tried, quickly improve the market share.

QQ How to get the first batch of users, have a netizen to share said: 97 before, the significant IM communication software only Israel's ICQ, at that time the surfer almost all have an ICQ number, the daily most communication also on ICQ; 99 years or so, the Internet gradually in the domestic popularization, a large number of companies, Individuals and organizations have launched instant Messaging software, but have not been able to shake the creation of a strong relationship between users of ICQ. But 1999 National Day, Yahoo, ICQ servers in foreign countries have been wall, OICQ itself and ICQ similar, and is the original Chinese interface, so took advantage of.