Short advice segment (YouTube) arguing that unpaid marketing forces better early decisions. Recommends reading books (e.g., The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing; 1000 True Fans; PR and Publicity) and learning storytelling, pitching, and messaging. Advises only to spend on paid acquisition after messaging and pitch are validated to avoid wasting money.
Chapters
So there's paid exposure and unpaid exposure. I like to focus on unpaid because it forces you to make better decisions in the beginning. So I would read the 22 immutable laws of marketing 1000 true fans written by Kevin Kelly. I would also read best selling book PR and Publicity I think it is by Rick Frischman. All of the techniques apply to more than books and Learn to tell the story. What are you focusing on? Are you using yourself to tell the story and then the product is associated? Is it a trend piece? Are you trying to tie what you're doing into a greater trend which is a very effective way of getting media? In which case you're going to need other examples. You need to get comfortable bringing in sort of cooperative competitors to create that trend base. Learn the art of the pitch and of messaging. Only once you have figured that out would I say then you go out and you pay to acquire people because now if your messaging is off, it's costing you money.