I'll go ahead and take a stab at the 10 steps here:
1. Come up with an idea
I described my idea in a previous post, but it's still evolving. Don't get wed (or welded) to one idea too much. You don't know enough about your customers yet to know what they want. Don't presume. Put your idea out there and listen. This whole 10 step program is designed to listen. If it doesn't seem viable after the first month, you don't necessarily have to scrap it and go back to the drawing board. If you're still interested but no one else is after a month, pivot. Try a new angle or approach. Scale back your idea, or narrow your market. You can always expand once you gain traction.
You don't want to be thinking about pricing points and long term strategy at this point. It's ok to dream, but not to set anything in stone. I like the idea of one month part time. It's short enough to allow you to focus, but long enough to let you find out if it was just a passing fancy or really something you'd be interested in pursuing.
2. Decide upon with a name & register a domain
This is fairly straightforward, but can be tricky, especially with finding a domain name. At this stage don't worry too much though, you can always change it. And don't worry about getting a .com. A .biz or .info should work well enough and might be better than an extra long .com (like appleblossomlearning.com) for things like business cards and tweets. But be aware if you think, I'll buy a good domain later that you might end up having to spend from $10,000-$1 million to get it.
Have fun with it, but be aware that your name is your first branding decision. Don't stress too much, but it's an important one. Luckily, it's an easy one to change at this stage.
3. Set up hosting and configure DNS to point your domain so you can see www.yourdomain.com
Shared hosting can be had for under $10/month, but I'd make sure you don't get locked into a year contract (or more.) After a month or two of market research, you'll want to start developing your app. I wouldn't set my sites on heavy load, but you'll want to be able to host a webpage, a blog, as well as at least a development & production (beta) version of your app. You might also want to do credit card processing, have a database, email, and business apps, all though these usually be purchased as third party services.
If you have an existing server laying around (like I happen to, this is ideal, because it allows you to grow without worrying) although I'll be setting up a new environment for production.
4. Set up email so you can send and receive for you@yourdomain.com
You're not looking to send spam, but you are looking to communicate with people as your business. Set up yourname@yourdomain.com as well as a couple other aliases like info@yourdomain.com. It goes a long way towards showing you're real, and helps for setting up other accounts without having to use your personal email.
Google apps is great for this, but you might want to use a paid email service if you plan on having several users, sending newsletters, etc. Of course there's also a paid google apps that does this too.
5. Create a logo
I used 99designs, but if you find a local designer you feel confident with use them. 99 designs is great for coming up with a concept if you can't picture one yourself, but it's also great for finding someone with more artistic skill than you to turn your napkin sketch into a real graphic design. I've done both and been pleased with the results for each.
A nice logo is the first real investment in your brand (A domain costs less than $10), and it cements your name, and becomes the face of your company. It's not necessary to have the perfect logo up front, but you want to look professional.
6. Write some good copy describing your idea to potential users
This is the hardest thing for me. Probably because I'm so wordy. And I hate bad marketing copy. I think the best strategy here is to be straightforward, honest, and personal. But if you're a terrible writer, finding a copy writer might be a good idea. Just don't be satisfied with putting something up that you don't like the sound of (read it aloud to someone else) because you paid for it or because you think that's what everyone else puts up.
The important thing is to stand out, but don't get too weird to scare people off (please let me know if I'm doing that.)
I have a web page for my consulting business that is a horribly eggregious violator of everything I just said. I was thinking about hiring a copy writer for One Shore (that's my consulting business) when I came up with the Apple Blossom idea.
7. Put up a basic site that looks polished, describes your product clearly, and allows people to register
This is putting everything together that you've been working on so far, the domain, the hosting, the logo, and the copy. The ability to receive feedback is important, and it shouldn't just be an email link or contact form (although you can have one of those too.) It should be a call to action right in the middle of your landing page. it's your "buy now" button at this point, and the real test of your idea as a business.
If you can't get people to give you their email address, you'll have an even harder time getting them to give you their credit card number.
8. Do some market research, ask friends and family for feedback, and find out your competition.
Homework time. Maybe you should have done this further, before putting out $350 for a logo, $400 for a basic web design, and $50 for a domain, hosting, email, etc.
But don't let it dissuade you. If you still feel good about your idea, tell them all to take a hike, put your money where your mouth is and walk away knowing for sure that your sister in law was right that it was a dumb idea that no one was interested; that your co-worker was right that there are 100 other businesses just like it with big pockets, better graphic designs, and a big head start; or that your best friend was right and it wasn't something you'd want to stick with.
But, if you find out that everyone thinks it's a dumb idea, there's too much competition, or no one will pay for it, consider thinking of another idea, or at least refining this one.
9. Run a limited Google Adwords campaign to test the viability of your product.
Your ads shouldn't be deceptive or vague. You're not trying to get traffic here, you're trying to determine the viability of your product. You're essentially using advertising dollars to take a poll of potential customers.
You're measuring hits but even more importantly, registrations. You don't have to contact people who register, and you probably shouldn't at this point. What you're trying to do is gauge who is interested enough in your idea that they're willing to part with their email address. If they're not willing to give you their email address, they're not likely to give you their credit card number either.
10. Create a social media presence.
Blog about your idea, and about your product. But don't make your blog look like a brochure with daily updates. Describe feature ideas, or your plans (like me.) You want to build content that can be searched and direct people to your site, but you don't want content for keywords sake, you want it to be interesting and something people will want to come back and read voluntarily.
Create a Twitter account, but don't start posting 140 character press releases. Instead, try to network. Find people who might know more about the subject than you and as questions.
Maybe set up a Facebook page. Personally, I'd hold off on Facebook until you can be sure to get at least 25 fans, but you might put a Facebook like button on your home page. Once you've got an idea and a several actual fans is the time to bring Facebook into the picture. And don't use friends and family for marketing. Nothing more than a "Hey mom, I have a new idea to _____. What do you think?"
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