Ask HN: How do you reach out to customers without being spammy | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do you reach out to customers without being spammy

6 pointslittlegiantcap3 comments

Hey all, so we started a site called Seedlauncher which is a crowdfunding site for local, small businesses. We have a semi open beta, and are trying to reach out to small businesses in the area where we live (Colorado), but we've run into a bit of a roadblock. So to get critical mass we want to reach out to a specific niche small businesses community that's really passionate and expand out from there. We've talked about it, and decided that Micro-brewers/distillers would be awesome. The questions become though how do you reach out to these groups without comming across as spammy. I don't want to just put stuff all over homebrewer forums and piss people off, but I also am not sure how to get the word out. Maybe go to meetups and pass out info? Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance for all your help guys.

I think too many people think internet is enough. Like facebookers who post a picture of a starving kid and then blame Suckerberg for not doing anything.

I think if you host events around areas where home brewing is really popular and sort of in the eye of the public, like a park or what not and invite cops or firefighters to get them come down you could get a lot of people to come. Plan it on a weekend or a holiday. Organize it like a potluck or something similar. But center it around home brewers exchanging ideas and flavors.

I think you could get quite a bit to come. Cops and firefighters have a real close knit bond, I'm sure they would get their buddies to come. Then you can pitch your ideas to people who care enough for others to taste their art or at least interested in hearing about other craftsmen's ideas.

Just my two cents.

I would look for vendors who supply equipment/materials for micro-brewers, and tell them what you're trying to do. It's in their interest to help their customers get funded so they can become better customers. You could give them something to hand out, ask them to make a referral, etc. If you found an online vendor, you might be able to negotiate a banner on their site.

There are usually people who already have an audience (bloggers etc) and who can be convinced to carry your message to their audience (they'll be happy if you succeed in funding breweries, so it's just a matter of having a good story.)

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