Basecamp: A Tale of Building Buzz

37signals has an interesting article about how they successfully launched a product to their target market after building up a strong base of fans. It serves as an market compass on how to transition from design to market. The article continues:

We built up an audience that turned out to be an invaluable headstart when we eventually launched Basecamp. It’s a lot easier to market a product when you already have thousands of fans — ones who are the perfect target market for what you’re trying to sell.