Comment by vineetch | Hacker News Reader

Comment by vineetch | Hacker News Reader

To get more users, have you tried approaching bloggers in different niches with different article ideas? The use cases for your app are different for different sets of people. Just write a one paragraph abstract about your app and email bloggers and editors to see if they'll cover your just released app.

Some headline and abstract ideas when you approach bloggers:

1) Tech/Business -- Popcorn: The hot new app to network at tech conferences

2) Student Websites/Newspapers -- The messaging app you need when a zombie apocalypse happens at SDSU (insert campus here)

3) Dating Blogs -- The newest app for singles: Popcorn lets you chat with others in high density bar areas

4) General -- When disasters strike, Popcorn lets you talk to others in your vicinity

5) Social media bloggers -- What are young teens using if not Facebook? Apps like Popcorn: hyper-local and addictive

6) Music -- Perfect for Coachella and SXSW: Popcorn lets you chat with others at music festivals

7) City Websites/Local -- New app "Popcorn" lets neighbors stay connected on what's happening on the block

8) Gaming -- Popcorn, the app you need to coordinate your next LAN party

If you get a bunch of these articles and blog posts up in the next week or two, it can help push that 1,000 number up higher.

Writing as an ex-editor gone data-wrangling, I can only second this. I wrote for a student-paper and I would have loved the press release with the "zombie apocalypse". I then got to writing for a website. And there, I could have used some of these as well.

BUT: Most press-releases were discarded, without being read. They came in the normal pool-mail-address. And all the spam was there too. My advice would be, to take a little bit time, try to get hold of an editors real email-address and contact him/her that way.

You will dodge the gate-keeping troll, who's job for the day is to clean out the pool-mail-inbox.

DUUUUDE! my mind just got blown. I haven't tried this. Great idea. And no way, you even wrote the headlines?!

> 2) Student Websites/Newspapers -- The messaging app you need when a zombie apocalypse happens at SDSU (insert campus here)

hahaha that would be a hit.

seems like you got your future head of marketing over here!

This advice is posted to HN quite a bit, this is the same reason websites have press kits available. Long story short, journalists are lazy, just like the rest of us, and they have deadlines, just like the rest of us. Exploit them to your advantage and help them out at the same time, and if you are especially different, they will love to be the first to report.

Speaking of that, be careful about who you send what when, a lot of people will break your story before you officially release something just to say they were first, and then your site will be offline and all that traffic will be for naught.

Good luck. If manually emailing editors is taking too long, you can try doing a press release for a few $XXX through prnewswire, businesswire or prleap as well. Might not have the same success as personalized emails, but it's an option if you're busy.

Hi there, very insightful comment. Is there a way I could contact you in private?

twitter: #someconference - @popcorn is where the real chat's at today!

^ We've got a growth hacker over here.

Have you tried this tactic before? It sounds like it would be potentially very effective.

this

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