We recently build a small platform for coupons and deals, so that every user can create a coupon or a deal and can share it on their or someone else’s website.<p>We are now in a process of getting users, so we want to know:<p>What was your strategy for getting first 1,000 users?<p>BTW you can find our platform at www.smart-ad.com
I think strategy/tactics for getting initial users depends on what you're selling and who you're selling to.<p>Best advice I can give would be to figure out who needs this the most, find someone like that in your area, and start a dialogue with them. 1-on-1 selling definitely isn't scalable, but you can ask them things like 'how do you find out about new services you can use for your business', 'what blogs/news sources do you read', 'who's an influential person in your line of business' etc... Once you have this info it will be obvious (hopefully) where you should be focusing your attention.<p>Reading up on lean startup methodology (if you haven't already) would help get you up to speed on this sort of process. Good luck!
Make it easy to sign up, post on reddit, whore it out on facebook, drop it on pinterest.<p>If what you have is good, bam, 10k users.<p>If what you have is not appealing, you still get 500 users and plenty of good feedback.
I have no idea if it will help, but there ar some links on chicken and egg problems and community building here: <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2126209" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2126209</a>