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So I am currently developing a web project with is SaaS, I'm committed to the project, but in order to judge the market while I work on it I was considering doing a some blogs post about the project relevant to the market I am targeting (Health IT), to see if people in the field were interested and to get alpha/beta testers - we don't plan to launch the project till around Feburary. So I was wondering is this a smart idea or are the better ways to go about this (currently I'm emailing clients who would be interested and receiving feedback from them)

Thanks,

p.s. I think I should add - the purpose of this is more to judge the market/customer issues via validation and also get testers on board.

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This is pretty much one of the startup methods espoused by the "Lean Startup" principles - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_Startup (not PR specifically, but gauging interest before building) – Ryan Oct 22 '11 at 14:11

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I'm not a big fan of the press release -- it's kinda old school and the value if it is quickly being replaced by blogs. You won't get much interest from a press release.

I think your approach of emailing clients is much better. It will also be more productive and the insights you gain will be much better.

If you really want to do a press release, do one when you launch but make sure you have built up a lot of good Social Media Content ahead of time. An effective press release will need a lot of meat behind it.

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+1 - IMHO unless you've got something really compelling to say (to others, not in your own opinion) press releases are little more than spam and a waste of time. – Ryan Oct 22 '11 at 14:12
Agreed. A press release will not be read. Instead, try to find and contact a handful of potential customers, and pitch them your (future) product. You'll gather much more valuable insight. – Alain Raynaud Oct 22 '11 at 23:00
Thanks a lot for the great explanation, definitely going to stick to emailing potential clients, seems to be working for the time being. – eWizardII Oct 24 '11 at 22:14

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