The entrepreneur community has been buzzing with the story of Yahoo acquiring Tumblr.
The Internet giant purchased the site founder David Karp launched from his mother’s Manhattan apartment for $1.1 billion. At only 26-years-old, Karp is expected to receive up to $220 million from the deal. Though he eventually took venture funding, Karp launched his hugely successful social blogging platform from a simple idea.
His story is an inspiration to others seeking to start the next
big thing. Here are 10 tips from the business blogging community for
creating the next big startup success story, from a simple idea:
Start with a great product. - Erica.Biz
Twitter and similar Silicon Valley startups gained momentum with support from the so-called “digerati.” However, you don’t need the support of top tech bloggers or trend setters to launch a great startup.
All you need is a really great product or service and a customer base
that loves it. Blogger Erica Douglass gives us a look at the “Macklemore Effect” and how it can rocket your startup to success.
Pick the right startup name. - Entrepreneur
Picking the right name for your startup is also important. Gary Backaus and Justin Dobbs of Memphis-based ad agency Archer>Malmo
gave a presentation earlier this year at the South By Southwest
Interactive Conference. The presentation looked at how to pick the best
name for your startup. Here are their five best suggestions for picking a business name that will take you from startup to success.
Pay attention to your business plan. - SBA.gov
Entrepreneurs may differ on the importance of a business plan or on
what form it should take. But a good business plan is key to startup
success. Here are five fundamental principals of good business planning
from business planning expert and startup founder Tim Berry. Look at
Berry’s suggestions as a best practices list to aspire to when creating
the business plan for your startup.
Make sure the price is right. - Startup Professionals Musings
Investor and blogger Martin Zwilling gives us an overview of the kinds of pricing decisions startups
must make. These are not simply decisions about how to price a product
or service competitively. They are also decisions about the kind of
pricing model, for example, free product or service monetized by ads, freemium service et cetera.
Change your approach to recruiting. - The Verge
Startups have been evolving their approach to recruiting for quite
some time. Plain old want-ads were replaced by online job boards and
replaced by recruitment via LinkedIn. Now there’s yet another way to
hire workers. TaskRabbit, a site dedicated to contractors, is moving
toward offering more long-term work.
Make your startup an attractive acquisition target. - Business Insider
Tumblr wasn’t the only Yahoo acquisition last week. The company also bought online gaming company PlayerScale
for a price not yet disclosed. Sometimes the key to success is to build
a company, product or service other businesses can use. Create
something other companies could build into their model then sell it to
the highest bidder.
Generate some buzz. - Small Biz Viewpoints
This is basically the art of getting people talking about your brand, and it’s not confined to the Internet. Consultant Harry Vaishnav
offers 15 creative suggestions including everything from placing ads on
billboards to giving away some of your products. Don’t stop with these
suggestions. Come up with some creative ideas yourself.
Learn two simple tips for viral marketing. - Small Business Trends
Viral marketing has become the holy grail for those seeking to get
their message out and have it spread. But once you create
an infographic or other piece of content that goes viral, what’s your
next step? Tech and social media blogger Drew Hendricks teaches us how
to capitalize on that initial success. Create infographics and videos
that pick up where your initial viral marketing message left off.
Understand social media marketing — for real. - Social Steve’s Blog
Social media and social media marketing are not the same things, says social marketing director Steve Goldner. Just because you have a Facebook or Twitter account you update regularly, does not make you a social media marketer. Goldner
outlines a list of considerations that go into real social media
marketing. Have you developed a serious social media marketing campaign
for your startup?
Think about your mobile customers - About Us
No matter what kind of startup you are launching,
getting your message to mobile customers is more important than ever. In
this post, Simon Phillips discusses some of the questions you should
ask when thinking about your mobile presence. A website is no longer
enough unless it can be viewed easily on mobile devices, for example.
How might the mobile revolution affect your startup?
