Use Google AdWords for MVP testing

Why use Google AdWords for MVP testing? 

People searching on Google are actively seeking something that will help them get a job done. You don't have to convince them they need what you are planning to build.  Also, when someone clicks on a Google ad, they don't know that your product is still under development or "coming soon." They're not telling you what they think they would do if your product existed; they are acting on their belief.

Take a look at Steve Blank's definition of an "earlyvangelist":

Someone using Google Search is already up to level 3, and you can screen potential customers for levels 4 and 5 through:

Survey customers

Once you are driving people to your landing page, gaining followers on Twitter, and getting email signups, it's time to start surveying.

What do you want to know?

• Who are the "earlyvangelists" for your product / service? These will be your first customers. Find out who they are, and then find more people like them.
• http://steveblank.com/2010/03/04/perfection-by-subtraction-the-minimum-feature-set/
• http://blog.bizelo.us/2010/10/04/getting-earlyvangelists-the-easy-way/
• What made them interested in filling out your survey or visiting your landing page?
• Find out the most important, relevant pain points for the customer
• you can then build your product and marketing around these

Where can I set up a survey?

• Wufoo
• Surveymonkey
• KISSinsights

Start test marketing immediately

You need to start testing and refining your marketing messages ASAP.

Trying to get complete strangers interested in your product will start teaching you really fast what parts of your idea are the parts people will pay for. Find out what they are and build that!

Remember: build-measure-learn!

• You've just built a landing page. But if you're not measuring how you can attract people to your idea, or how people respond to it, you're not learning! Start learning!

Getting started: Google AdWords

• There are entire books written on these topics, but here are some basic tips:
• Strive for relevance. Who has a burning need for what you're going to sell?
• If you're selling auto parts, who is more likely to buy right now? Someone who types in "auto repair," or someone who types in a part number?
• When choosing between relevance and popularity, relevance usually wins.
• You want to get people to do something on your landing page, not just visit and leave. 
• Create a "call to action" that steers people toward doing something. 
• Getting people to sign up for email updates is a good start.
• Offer something to entice people to act, like a how-to guide, checklist, or ebook.
• Consider including an interactive element, like a video or presentation.

How do I test?
Google Website Optimizer
Visual Website Optimizer
Unbounce

Create a company blog

Since people can't see a working version of your idea yet, creating a blog will help people get a better sense for your vision.  You want to post on your blog about a couple of times per week.

Places to blog (all free):

• Wordpress
• Tumblr
• Blogger

Create a landing page

What's a landing page?

• a landing page is the first page that an incoming visitor to your website will see
• traffic from Facebook, Twitter, a QR code, or web ad should hit a landing page first
• you can test and improve the landing page to improve response rates

More on that later...

For now you just want a quick webpage that describes your idea.

How do I do it?

http://unbounce.com/landing-page-articles/home/

http://unbounce.com/landing-page-examples/

Where can I create a page?

• Lots of places! Here are several choices to match your time/money budget:
• Unbounce
• Launchrock
• Instapage
• Onepager
• Wordpress
• Tumblr
• Blogger

Logo and materials

Get a logo and some business cards

Ideally, you'll want a logo to use on your pitch deck, business cards, and other materials

• start with something really basic and quick
• imagine your company name in different fonts, for example
• move up to something professional soon so that you can start to build your brand    

Create a logo first

• Ideally, you'll want your logo to appear on your pitch deck, business cards, and other materials, so if you have time and some money for a designer, start here.
• 99designs
• crowdSPRING

Business cards

• Whether you're talking to fellow entrepreneurs at a 3-day startup competition, a local business owner, or an investor who can make it rain, you'll want to give them a business card.
• personally, I like MOO
• in a rush? run to an office store like Staples and they can probably print some cards in few hours.

Start working on your pitch deck

What am I going to say?

• HBS Elevator Pitch Builder
• VentureHacks : Pitching
• Foursquare's first pitch deck

Creating the presentation:

• The 10/20/30 rule
• people want to hear you speak, not read.
• Prezi
• canvas-style presentations with a zooming visual effect for transitions. 
• SlideRocket
• fun, feature-packed presentation editor
• Google Docs
• like PowerPoint, but free and allows team editing

Most of all, practice!!

• Rehearse a few times so your presentation flows from what you know
• You'll also feel and sound more natural since you won't have to memorize as much
• Get someone to record you giving your presentation
• Make sure your body movements are in harmony with your presentation style 

Create a mockup

The Lean Startup philosophy boils down to "build, measure, learn," but you don't want to build something customers don't want!  So first, build a mockup!

For website and mobile app ideas, building a mockup can be as simple as drawings on paper, but you may want to consider these tools.  They're easy enough to use so that non-techies can build a mockup to show people, and you can create links so that people can interact with it almost like a real app.

Test your idea and design with a mockup first!

• Balsamiq
• Mockingbird 

Get a domain name

Brainstorm some domain names for your business:

• Namestation
• Bustaname
• Domainr

Ideally, the names you like are also available on Facebook and Twitter:

• Knowem
• Namechk

Once you've found a name you like that's available, buy it!

• Go Daddy
• Marcaria

Note: odds are, a lot of the domain names you might want are no longer available. In that case, you might want to consider buying it from whoever has it:

How to Buy Domain Names Like A BOSS

Want to create a startup tonight? Start here :)

This blog was created to help you get your idea off the ground fast!

All the links to resources you might need are included - just follow the steps!


Read these articles first. You don't have to do it exactly the same way, but if you make it through the steps, you'll be making progress :)
http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/29/founder-institute-how-to-launch-in-10-steps-with-less-than-2000/
http://www.portfolio.com/resources/2012/04/03/tony-navarro-on-code-free-steps-to-launch-a-business-website