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Reward Early Users
You’ve soft-launched your .
A few users have joined, poked around, and maybe even sent feedback.
Awesome!
But here’s the million-dollar question:
How do you turn early users into loyal fans and growth engines?
Welcome to one of the most underrated growth strategies: making your earliest users feel like insiders.
Meet Miguel
Miguel launched his SaaS and landed 50 early users.
It felt like momentum was building.
But then… nothing happened.
No referrals. No word-of-mouth. Just polite silence.
What changed?
He started treating those 50 users like VIPs—and they became his biggest growth drivers.
Step 1: Give Early Adopters the Red-Carpet Experience
People don’t stick around for your roadmap—they stick around because they feel seen.
Here’s how to reward them:
- Lifetime deals or deeply discounted "" pricing
- Direct access to you (the founder) via Slack, Discord, or email
- Feature their feedback in public changelogs and updates
- Name features after top users or contributors
- Give credit when you implement their ideas
Step 2: Build a Tiny VIP Community
You don’t need thousands of users—you need 25 users who care.
Create a space where early adopters feel like insiders:
- Set up a private Discord, Slack, or Circle group
- Host monthly roadmap calls and idea jam sessions
- Spotlight users who give helpful feedback or share cool use cases
- Let them shape the future by voting on features or testing betas
Step 3: Turn Users Into Co-Creators
When users feel like they helped build your product, they’re 10x more likely to promote it.
Simple ways to involve them:
- Ask for feedback before building new features
- Share their success stories on your blog or Twitter
- Give early access to new features
- Highlight users who contributed to specific features or ideas
Step 4: Use Lightweight Referral Systems
You don’t need fancy software to get people sharing:
- Give each user a personal invite link
- Offer small rewards (free credits, extended trials, swag)
- Add a public leaderboard for fun, low-stakes competition
- Personally thank anyone who refers others (DMs go a long way!)
Early users who feel valued don’t just stay.
They invite their friends, support you in public, and become your loudest advocates.
Recap
Miguel didn’t change his product. He changed how he treated his users.
The takeaway?
Early users aren’t just testers.
They’re your co-founders in the shadows.
Treat them like partners, and they’ll market your product better than any ad ever could.
Up Next: Gather Actionable Customer Feedback
You’ve built momentum and deepened your user relationships.
Next, we’ll learn how to extract high-signal feedback that actually improves your product—without wasting time on vague or polite answers.
0 Comments
How do I remove the blur effect from my CSS?
I removed but the blur is still there. Any ideas?
filter: blur(5px);
Does work for removing blur from modals?
backdrop-filter: none;
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