A quick Google search for "bootstrap marketing" brings up a bunch of useless nonsense. The results are either in the form of "Top 10 Bootstrap Marketing Tips" or "Bootstrap Marketing 101" guides. They're outdated and uninformative — full of obvious suggestions such as: "you should blog" and "use Twitter to get the word out." Not to mention that all the ads are hurting my eyes. So here are some things you can do that won't cost you a penny and will hopefully give you an "aha" moment.
There follows an excellent list of atypical "bootstrap marketing" approaches that aren't usually covered by other blog posts on the topic:
- Let your users market for you (in other words, make your application viral)
- Give paid accounts away for free
- Issue refunds when you have to (note: I actually believe that if a customer isn't satisfied, I don't want their money, so I will always refund on request)
- Provide great customer service
- Show that the website is active
- Build your reputation as a founder
Great read, as usual from Spencer.