This article is a quick run-down of the basics you need to have a successful [Show IH:] launch on IndieHackers.com
I really enjoy helping fellow IHers and giving feedback on their products. It's awesome to be able to jump on the forum when I have a free minute and help out someone who is facing similar challenges to the ones I faced a few years back.
But, in many cases, founders write the kind of [Show IH:] posts which make it really hard to be helpful. It's exceptionally rare to find a product launch on IH where both the problem and the product are well described, and I understand what you want help with/feedback on.
This is a shame, because if you've put so much effort into your product already, you may as well take a few extra seconds to craft the kind of launch post that gets you the feedback and/or early customers you're looking for.
So to help you make the most of your [Show IH:], I've put together a template (below) which covers the basics of a successful post. It's by no means the only way of doing things (and probably not even the best way) - but it's that 20% effort which will get you 80% of the way there.
The template:
- [Sentence 1]: Introduce yourself (briefly!) and explain what problem you're solving and for whom this provides value. Bonus points for explaining why it's relevant to IHers.
- [Sentence 2]: How your product/service solves this problem. Explain this briefly and in language your grandparents could understand. It's okay to be high level. Include the name of the product/service and a link.
- [Sentences 3 & 4]: Useful metrics/insights to help us understand what stage your project is currently at, plus a clear and specific request detailing exactly how you'd like the IH community to support you.
- [Sentence 5]: This is where you say thanks and provide any further information that might be helpful/interesting to the community.
That's it!
A few extra tips/comments:
- I didn't include the post title/subject in the template for a reason: I don't know what the best practices for that are. There's a difficult trade off to be made between getting lots of engagement/traffic, and getting the right kind of engagement/traffic. I'd love to hear other IHers' thoughts on this in the comments :)
- Make sure you are crystal clear on why you are posting a [Show IH:] and what you expect to get out of it, before writing your post.
- Build it and they will come doesn't work for products. And it doesn't normally work well for posts on IH, HN or Product Hunt either. Make sure to share a link to the post with friends/in related groups and chats and ask for their feedback. The average IHer is more likely to click on and respond to a post which has seen a bit of engagement already.
- If you're looking for feedback from other IHers as potential customers, make sure to be explicitly clear about that and focus on the problem you are solving. Otherwise, people tend to respond solely with technical/design/marketing advice (given their backgrounds).
Did I miss anything or get something wrong? Set the record straight in the comments below :)
And if you'd like to read more like this, check out FiveMinuteFounder - my weekly email blast full of actionable, concise advice to improve your startup/company by 1% each week. Only what you need to know, in five minutes, with examples.
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