a single source, nothing corroborates it
Get review copies out before the launch date
Sceptics arriving on launch day need somebody other than you vouching for the product, and that cannot be arranged afterwards. Send free copies to a written list of influential people about two weeks out with nothing attached, follow up asking what they thought, and ask the positive ones for permission to quote them; roughly a hundred people contacted that way mostly agreed. Give first and open with something specific that shows you follow their work, and brief the professionals who will be recommending you before you ship.
The method
- 01
Send free advance copies to a written list of influencers about two weeks out with no strings attached, follow up to ask what they thought, and ask the positive responders for permission to quote them.
- 02
Send review copies to a few well-chosen people early so reviews, quotes and testimonials are live on launch day for skeptics to read.
- 03
Earn the influencer ask by giving first, and open with something concrete that shows you follow their work rather than a generic request.
- 04
Contact the professionals who will recommend your product to its users before you release it.
What it returned
- 100
Roughly 100 people were contacted personally and most agreed to have their comments used as testimonials
- 200
200 speech language pathologists were contacted about the first release of OneVoice
He worked on the final draft until the day before launch and so launched with no third-party reviews
He used their retweets of his teardowns as an opening line; credits Ryan Delk of Gumroad for the give-before-you-ask framing
Sources
- Don’t Repeat My Product Launch MistakesNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · 6. Didn’t get product reviews before the launch · 2012-09-18
- How Samuel Hulick made over $37,000 with his self-published bookNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · The $7,500 Day, the $20,000 Week: Launching The Elements of User Onboarding · 2014-06-09
- The Story Behind OneVoiceNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Building OneVoice. · 2011-08-09
the second source
Three plays a week, for the phase you are in
No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.
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