I was giving the initial email idea as an example. I think it's an interesting way to launch a social networking site. It gives you an early way to measure the appeal of the site and the effectiveness of one of the social networking aspects.
I don't think I would bother with a press release, unless you're launching something huge and you have the capital to back it up (e.g., a scalable system and people ready to go). I was just putting that out there. It sort of goes against the web model, anyway.
Having people give email addresses is one approach, but that realy only serves to give you a way to make a targeted announcement. Good, but not great. Having the site up and running is the crucial step. By the 80-20 rule, the last 20% of the features takes 80% of the time. Getting a product out the door is hard.
Once it's up, people will judge it pretty quickly, I think. They will look at it, judge it cool and come back, or judge it harshly and never come back again. Sometimes you get a second chance. If the product can be rapidly improved and you can maintain some buzz, then those lost users may see a reference to it and give it another try.
I would say that a lot depends upon the type of product that you're building. For example, if it's a web-based social networking app, send your beta announcement mail to, say, 10 people or 50 people and track views and signups for 2-3 weeks. See what kind of network effect you get. Pick your initial invitees wisely. If you want users, then you want them to be the so-called influencers.
I also have this question. I am a little reticent, though, because I'm concerned about scalability. In my case, I am writing the front end in typical database-backed fashion, but the backend is several custom C++ components. So while I want users, I'm not sure how much I want them on day one. Everything I read says, "get users, figure out your weaknesses, and scale as needed." That's reassuring. Nevertheless, the unknowns that we face can still be daunting.
Larger companies and people who have been around the block will often use a PR firm or will simply file a press release themselves. It costs about $1000, from what I understand.
I think from the standpoint of your average bootstrapper, guerilla tactics are in order. I plan on using Google Analytics. I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to. It will, for example, show hits based on geographic location. You can use that to target local advertising in the markets where you're getting some initial traction. I don't think there is really a set approach. When you're a guerilla, anything is possible.
I don't think I would bother with a press release, unless you're launching something huge and you have the capital to back it up (e.g., a scalable system and people ready to go). I was just putting that out there. It sort of goes against the web model, anyway.
Having people give email addresses is one approach, but that realy only serves to give you a way to make a targeted announcement. Good, but not great. Having the site up and running is the crucial step. By the 80-20 rule, the last 20% of the features takes 80% of the time. Getting a product out the door is hard.
Once it's up, people will judge it pretty quickly, I think. They will look at it, judge it cool and come back, or judge it harshly and never come back again. Sometimes you get a second chance. If the product can be rapidly improved and you can maintain some buzz, then those lost users may see a reference to it and give it another try.