Getting people to use your web services

Technically speaking, launching a new web service is relatively easy compared with the incredibly hard task of getting people to actually use it.

Why are people so hard to draw to your web services?

There are a variety of reasons why getting total strangers to use your still nascent web service is the digital equivalent of moving a mountain but the following come to mind…

• just about every kind of web service already exists, elsewhere;
• similar web services are already offered at little or no cost;
• millions of nice folks stick to a severely limited selection of web services (and say they’re happy with their “online comfort zone” as it is);
• trying a new service makes most people nervous;
• language and cultural preferences issues hamper your growth.

…and countless more reasons we could add but here’s the thing, if you’re going to succeed with your new web service, you can’t even think about these things.

You actually need to focus on getting over these hurdles but that’s easier said than done as the first days, weeks or months of launching a new web service can be very hard on your self-esteem when very few people use it (compared to what you had initially envisioned).

So, you ask, are there any magic tricks to get people to use your web services?

Yes, if you’re insanely rich, you can buy your way into more mindshare with a pay-per-click campaign or a banner ad run on a complementary web site. Perhaps a banner exchange with other web developers could work well but that’s harder to do as all sites aren’t always “equal” for that kind of trade.

You may also resort to mailing lists, either bulk or fine tuned but the later take a lot of time to compile so that can be a frustrating experience.

Another path is to just add quality —and unique— content until the search engines eventually pick up your web service and make it visible to people looking for resources like the one you offer. That’s probably the surest shot among all because adding value to your web service makes it that much more appealing.

By building up your web service over time, you take it to the point where it can’t be ignored anymore because it’s completely unique and that much more useful to your target audience. That’s something anybody can but it takes both time and effort to produce a web service or destination that will be both sought and remembered.

The search engine optimization crowd will probably feel there’s not enough emphasis on “the power of search” but whatever web service you optimize, it needs a solid foundation to last at the top of seach engine results list. So SEO should come only when you web service is sufficiently mature to compete with the “Top 10″ of any market segment because that’s where most of most valuable clicks occur.

But it’s entirely true, the tech part is easy compared to turning strangers into members and freebie leechers into paying customers.

If you have other tip and tricks to get people to use your web services, please, share them with us all.