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Recently, I read an article called Making Virtual Teams Work: Ten Basic Principles. It was all about ways to improve team communication, but the 7th Principle gave me an idea for marketing my wtBoard project.

The 7th Principle: "Create A Virtual Water Cooler"

One of the great things about wtBoard is that it streamlines the conversation - instead of dividing a forum into various buckets, everyone is literally on the same page. That's a great concept for team cohesion, and I realized that I should emphasize this feature on the wtBoard marketing page.

The virtual watercooler effect works best when you foster a casual atmosphere, but it gets the best results when that casual atmosphere can lead directly into a nuanced discussion about possible feature ideas or other initiatives. wtBoard's threaded conversation model is excellent at handling scenarios like this.

It's true that wtBoard's built-in cleansing action ("rolling the board" after lots of posts) could wipe out progress on such conversations, but the powerful search and backboarding features should help offset this effect. Besides, the comforting smell of a freshly-rolled board could inspire even more ideas.

Simplify

Additionally, I've been following numerous de facto "thought leaders" in the small business and lean startup fields on Twitter. From their conversations, I've tried to embrace the ideas I think will help me best with marketing wtBoard. To that end, I've eliminated the "Lite" version of wtBoard - it just seemed to me that I wouldn't make a high enough return on the product to justify offering it, and the ad-supported model does not make sense for small communities. Frankly, it would just be annoying to everyone involved. :)

I'm particularly a fan of Amy Hoy's "30x500" model for creating income based on a simple value proposition. The simple idea - $30 of value for 500 customers creates an annual revenue of $180,000 - could be the entrepreneurial kick in the pants I've needed for quite some time. Hopefully soon I can participate in one of her workshops, so I can get more ideas and encouragement.

I fear that 500 customers of wtBoard might become difficult to manage, but as they say: that's a problem I would like to have.

In Conclusion

If you're a team leader or a member of a team with cohesion issues, maybe you should consider signing up for wtBoard!