Watch this presentation. It'll really help you learn about what users want, and will help you learn how to get more users. I think Kevin Rose has it right on the money in terms of how to get more users and how to get thm to do what you want to do.
Summary of Kevin Rose's talk is that, your users will stay and keep using your service if they feel that they are promoting themselves and/or are being promoted. Everything is about personalization, having their own personal touch that they can share, and just simply boosting their ego.
Here's are the 10 points, but I'd still recommend you to watch it :)
EGO
- Does your feature increase your users self-worth or stroke their EGO?
SIMPLICITY
- Stop overbuilding, make it simple for your users
- do 2-3 things incredibly well, don't overbuild things.
BUILD & RELEASE
- Stop thinking you understand your users, see what they actually do
HACK THE PRESS
- Simple tips and tricks like “Invite Only” for bloggers
- Go for the most junior blogger on a big publication
- Go to the after party (because events are to expensive). Make a list of the people you want to meet and prepare your demo on a laptop or ipad.
CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
- Do podcasts
- Throw launch parties and personally invite the press. Don't reserve the bar, just show up, and in advance tell them you're doing a birthday party there with like 20 people. Show up with 75 people. Do it around conferences so that everyone is in town. Be active in your own community of course.
ADVISORS
– Leverage advisers particularly in areas where you are not strong.
LEVERAGE YOUR USER BASE TO SPREAD THE WORD
- Get users to come back by making it seem like your friends helped you with something (like in Farmville where your friends give you gifts and entice you to go back). Someone's helped you, so you feel in debt to go back.
- Require a certain number of friends or contacts before you can do something.
- In a tweet, put in a special personalized touch so they can identify with it so they will tweet it out.
- Show up a popup to ask them to join, and show them how many friends they already have on your platform.
DOES YOUR PRODUCT PROVIDE VALUE FOR 3rd PARTY SITES
- For instance the digg buttons help blogs get their articles to more people
ANALYZE YOUR SITE TRAFFIC
INTEGRATE THE ENTIRE PICTURE (The steps above)
