I released the first version of dbdesc as soon as it was useful. It was only a command-line utility to document databases but, although it was still far from the product I would like to create, it had the core functionality ready. I followed the ‘release early, release often’ strategy and it was a good move; it allowed me to “test the waters” early.

In order to get people to start downloading the app, I set up a very modest Google campaign. People started downloading dbdesc and the first orders came in. Cool!

I concentrate in improving the product, releasing a new version every ¾ weeks. My conversion rate was about 2%, which I think is not a bad figure. However I did not increase the Google campaign budget then and I did little effort to promote the product, if any.

Once I released version 1.3 (December), I started to dedicate more time and money to marketing. I played a bit with Google AdWords campaigns, submitted dbdesc to be listed on download.com and other directory sites and you know what… downloads started to go up together with sales. Indeed, now I have a little bit over 2%.

More downloads also means more user feedback. So the next version of dbdesc will have more features based on user feedback, which I think is key to build a successful product.

What I’ve learned is that you should start promoting your product as soon as possible. Prior to the first release: set up a blog, participate in forums, launch a beta, etc. and once your app is released, spend some money to bring targeted users to download your product, even if the product still lacks the most exciting features.