[mwetz]

What worked for us in the beginning was asking people for their advice. Something like "I'm really interested in your work and would really appreciate a chance to ask you some questions and get your advice." Then you can have a phone call, or even better, an in person meeting over coffee. This gives you an opportunity to learn a lot about them and what they need, and potentially tell them about your product in a very customized way.

PS: Try doing this at scale rather than relying on those 20. For example, twitter follow a few hundred people in the target market and then DM the ones that follow you back, asking for their advice.