Beyond that, web apps should be viral. If they’re good, they get popular. If not, it dies on the vine.

In my opinion, you can have the best idea in the world, but if you don’t do an awesome job at marketing it…it could very well flop. Meanwhile, someone could have a very average idea and be a genious marketer, and sell millions. So marketing is something that is always in the back of my mind. As you probably know, marketing is much more than just advertising. Everything ties to it. Product, pricing, placement, promotion. Who’s your target? How do they like their coffee (i.e. what features should I include and how advanced)? How well can they read (how to copywrite), etc. So to get it right you really should base alot of your decisions, even especially in the development stages, on your market. It’s more than just an afterthought. The trick for me has been how to stop obsessing about this stuff and focus more on the product, as you suggest. Since I’m pretty much my own target market now, it’s simplified things a bit. Now, I just have to figure out what I want…god help me.

And I should add that you may want to pump your apps out without the designer, so as to prevent that phase from gating your progress.

I suppose I could wait until the end to bring on a designer but if there’s going to be a problem, I’d just assume get it out of the way upfront. But I can see where you’re coming from as well. I guess it just depends on the project.

I think my biggest concern regarding a designer comes down to trust. How do I know I can trust them to do good work and keep it hush hush. Do I keep them hogtied in my closet? It’s going to be touch and go at first but once I find the right person, I’m going to hang onto him/her for dear life.

But by getting a prototype working right away, you can get feedback from family & friends, and see if the idea truly has legs. Plus, it’s nice to have something to actually show.

… or you may find that “getting a designer” may halt your development: finding others that you click with to work on your project can be challenging. Especially when you’re passionate & motivated, and they’re just looking for a paycheck. Not saying this is how it will be, but is very possible. So have a plan B.

Either way, IMO, that ‘marketing’ won’t be necessary until after the private beta, and just before launch.

So your enthusiasm will likely best be invested in getting your appetizer and/or main course prototypes out ASAP.

As for my larger scale app., it is a tool and is something that I would definately use. So I’m my target. It already exists in some form and has several thousand users, so evidently I’m not the only one. I think I can get my numbers much higher though with the proper feature set and marketing.

At this point I’m more about taking action and seeing what happens. I have been know to analyze and talk things to DEATH…and then nothing happens. It’s time for a new approach.