[lazyjones]

For a CSE (comparison shopping engine) for computer hardware it was simple:

- talked to friends on IRC about the website (1996-1997)

- e-mailed the scraped shops and asked for permission, some became users too

When it's obvious what the product does and how useful its benefits are, and the target audience is large, getting to 100 users is really easy.

It's also an advantage if there is a compelling and logical reason to visit the website frequently, so it stays fresh in memory and becomes a habit. In my case it had up-to-date prices collected from shops, so visiting often helped people find good deals and let them observe dropping prices until they could afford a purchase.