I was facing the same question with my website. I decided the best way is to put a minimum viable product out there with minimum investment to see if it is getting any traction.
I'm watching a startup right now that is doing the opposite. They are marketing vaporware while trying to build the entire feature set for launch. We'll see how it works out, though history says that this is normally the wrong way to do it.
We did an MVP as well, but we also learned a lot from a quick 5 questions survey. We got 60 answers from our target market, identified and confirmed pain points and got our initial beta testers this way. We just asked people to fill it out and spread the word on FB and Twitter.
Would be great if you could share the outline of the survey (or the survey directly) - I've been having a hard time nailing the right type of questions.
You did some research and concluded that your idea is promising. But do you trust your idea? If so, build your product, and stick with it, and push it for as long as you can. It may not take off right away, so you need to have a great deal of optimism to keep things moving. Maybe your product will eventually become successful, or maybe it will bring you other profitable opportunities.
So, do you trust your idea, or you need others to convince you to trust it?
My point is that if you don't fully believe in the potential of your product or idea you're gonna have a hard time.
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 26.3 ms ] threadThere is no guarantee that anything you make will take off but chances are you're not alone and some people are enough like you to buy your product.
Unless you're Homer Simpson and are thinking of making a new car that is.
All I know is that my preferred domain is skill acquisition / coaching / e-learning / personal development.
Free ideas 'r' us: http://ideashower.posterous.com