Bootstrapped founders - how are you handling distribution with no marketing budget?
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I am realising pretty quickly that building was the easy part. Curious how other bootstrapped founders are approaching distribution when paid ads aren't an option yet. What's actually worked for you?
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This is something MANY of us can relate to!
Without a marketing budget, you'll have to get more creative and think outside the proverbial box. PLus, give yourself time to build a community before the launch.
That's what I'm doing - my launch isn't until Sept. 9th but I've been sharing since June. You need a good runway.
PH is a great platform to test your product and get feedback. For your product, you won't find your users here, but it is a place to be seen and found. That's not a real strategy, though.
LinkedIn is definitely a better place to find your users - the place is crawling with HR folks! One of the best strategies I've found is to follow some key players in your industry and see who's in their comments - THOSE are your people.
You could look at asking some of those key people to take your product for a spin as well.
Have you heard of DisruptHR?
They have chapters all over - I had a friend recently give a presentation at one of the chapters and had great success.
Distribution without a budget is really a sequencing problem. The founders I've seen crack it early pick one channel they can do manually and do it annoyingly well.. IH posts, cold DMs, niche communities ...this is before trying to systematize anything. The trap is spreading thin across 4 channels with no feedback loop on any of them. What channel are you leaning toward right now?