Why You Should Get Users Before You Build
Most founders build first and market later. That’s backward. If you wait until your product is ready to start finding users, you’ve wasted months. You might also find out nobody wants what you built. Getting users early validates your idea, gives you feedback, and means you have an audience ready on launch day.
Build a Waitlist Landing Page
This is the most common and most effective pre-launch tactic. Create a single page that explains what your product does and who it’s for. Add an email signup form and a clear benefit statement. Something like: ‘Get early access and 3 months free when we launch.’
You don’t need a fancy page. A simple Webflow or Carrd page works. Drive traffic to it with social posts, community sharing, and cold outreach.
Post in Communities Where Your Audience Lives
Find the forums, subreddits, Facebook groups, and Slack channels where your target users hang out. Share your idea. Ask for feedback. Be genuinely helpful. Don’t spam. One honest post in the right subreddit can bring 500 signups in a day. But only if your idea resonates with that audience.
Use Cold Outreach to Reach Your First 100
Pick your ideal customer profile. Find 100 people on LinkedIn who match it. Send them a short, personal message explaining what you’re building and why it would help them. Don’t pitch hard. Ask for feedback. People love being involved early. Many will sign up for your waitlist and become your first power users. Aim for a 10 to 20 percent response rate. That means 10 to 20 conversations from 100 messages.
Create Content Around the Problem You Solve
Start a blog or social media account around the problem your product addresses. Don’t talk about your product yet. Talk about the problem. This builds SEO and organic traffic before you launch. When your product is ready, you already have an audience that cares about the topic.
Beehiiv makes it easy to start a newsletter around your niche before your product launches.
Starting from $27.2/month
20% off for 3 months + 30-day free trial
Key Features
Customizable email newsletter templates
Advanced analytics and reporting tools
Subscriber segmentation and automation
Why We Recommend It
- Ideal for businesses and creators looking to manage and grow their email newsletters.
- Provides detailed insights through robust analytics to track performance.
- Enables targeted messaging with segmentation and automation features.
Pros & Cons
- Easy-to-use and customizable
- Excellent analytics and reporting features
- Scalable for growing email lists
- Limited features in the free plan
- Can be complex for beginners
Kit is great for managing your waitlist and sending update emails to signups.
Starting from $25/month
Start your 14-day free trial
Key Features
Email marketing automation for creators and small businesses
Customizable email templates and landing pages
Subscriber management with advanced segmentation and tagging
Why We Recommend It
Simplifies email marketing with easy automation tools designed for creators and small businesses
Provides customizable templates and landing pages to enhance engagement
Helps organize and target subscribers with advanced segmentation for more effective campaigns
Pros & Cons
- User-friendly platform with powerful automation features
- Great for creators and small businesses
- Flexible subscriber management tools for targeted campaigns
- Limited advanced features compared to some other email marketing platforms
- Higher pricing for larger email lists or advanced plans
Partner With Complementary Creators or Businesses
Find people with audiences that overlap with yours. Offer to be featured in their newsletter or podcast in exchange for promoting them to your list. Even a small partnership can add hundreds of targeted users to your waitlist.
This works best when you have something to offer in return, even if it’s just cross-promotion or a free early access slot.
