How to attract an audience to a bot in a messenger?

Question

Marketing

Hello! Actually, the question is in the title. It is clear that when there is a lot of money, you can use any advertising tools (with low efficiency): at least advertise all day on TV, cool.

But we are talking about a free project, so we want to involve the collective mind in resolving this issue.

I look forward to any of your ideas in the comments. Well, or maybe someone already had such an experience and success-story - please share.

Answer 1

First of all, make a list of target audiences. In your case, it is unlikely that she will be alone. For example, this bot may be of interest to programmers, just to play around with someone else :)
For each target audience, determine what problem your bot solves and how it is better than other solutions, for example, "everything in one application, you don't need to install a million other applications", "technical support will help if you are afraid not to understand" and so on.
For each TA, determine where they live. Start with groups on VK, for example, young mothers, travelers, startups, and so on. With a huge number of small groups (up to 3000 people), you can negotiate for a thank you or a goodie for their users, for example "by the secret command abacabadaba you can set the greeting from the bot 'yes, my lord'".
Write a review of your bot for programmers and people who are in the subject, for example for geektimes or for another site with articles. Many newbie publics will be happy to get your content.
Use the power of weak ties ( Networking ). Well, don't forget to tell all your good friends at the same time. As Carnegie said, “The only way to influence other people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get what they want.” Yours to influence is to attract to use.
Good luck!