Ask HN: How can I get 100 paid users?

3 points by desouzt 12 years ago | 4 comments

Hi guys,

We run a really simple site called getinspired365.com - it dishes out daily doses of inspiration. These are in the form of pictures and quotes, or really cool videos.

We've got 2500 registered users who received a 'daily dose of inspiration' from us and we get around 1000 users coming to the site each day. We had a few people comment saying that they really liked the design of the site and that they'd like the same style template for their site.

We thought that was a cool idea and a neat way for us to try and monitise. We built this page - getinspired365.com/getyourown that lists why you may want a template from us, our different price plans and the ability to order a template.

So far we've had 7 customers without us doing an awful lot of pushing. This has come from our existing user base.

We want to really push it and try and get 100 paid users. In your opinion what are the best ways of trying to sell our template to people. Some thoughts we had was: - Contact existing user base to see who fancies a template. - Offer referrals (if you get a mate to get a template we'll give you the first months money) - Advertising

We just wondered if people had any advice on how they got users to pay for their service. We are constantly trying to improve our product so it may be a case that we really try and push it once it is in better shape. We're just after some advice!

Oh, and feel free to order a template!

thanks!

taprun 12 years ago |

Hi there. I'm looking at your site, and I don't immediately see anything that tells me why I should pay for an account. How will my life improve by giving you money? Will it bring in some dollars? Will it build my internet fame? For all I know, every single one of my needs might be solved by your product, but I won't know that if you don't tell me.

What I would suggest is that you figure out the type of person that would be an ideal customer - someone who would not only be willing to pay, but would be thrilled to pay. It might be psychologists focusing on PTSD. It might be physical therapists working with recently paralysed customers. It could be someone else entirely. Then, go out and start contacting them to a) validate your message b) get some sales.

Incidentally, it's quite difficult to compare your different plans. I'd suggest that you make it more scannable like Basecamp does: https://basecamp.com/start#prices

natdempk 12 years ago |

You could try engaging accounts on twitter that post content similar to yours. Accounts that basically post content around a theme like History in Pictures or Modern Day Stoic. No guarantees these accounts would buy anything, but there might be twitter account managers out there looking for a way to easily maintain a site alongside their twitter account.

Definitely announce this service to your existing userbase. I'm sure people there have ideas for similar sites, but lack the ability to execute on them currently. You could show them how easy it can be. Referrals could be good if its not too much of a hassle to setup, but there are probably more valuable ways to get signups.

desouzt 12 years ago | |

Thanks. That first suggestion in particular is a great idea. We'll get straight on that!

canterburry 12 years ago |

If you are selling templates, ThemeForest is the place.