Audience building is the most overrated advice ever. Here’s what to do instead.

Most advice for founders starts with "build an audience first". It's not bad advice, but it's not the only path. And unless you're building specifically for other indie hackers, your customers probably aren't hanging out on Twitter anyway. Here are some strategies that worked for me to land my first users without an audience.

First, do the customary launch post on Twitter, LinkedIn and Reddit. 98% chance nobody sees it and nothing happens. 2% chance it could blow up. Always worth taking the shot.

Next, launch your product in smaller startup directories like Uneed, TinyStartups, Launchday etc. They see steady traffic with only a handful of daily launches, which means you’re competing with products at your level and have a better chance of getting visitors.

Before driving too much traffic, make sure your feedback loops are in place. Add live chat, error tracking and a web analytics tool (with heatmaps and session replays) like Posthog or Hotjar. Also add an exit survey to learn why people bounce. I cannot believe I did not have any of these setup when I launched. I learned more from 10 session replays and exit survey responses than from hundreds of anonymous visits. That kind of insight is what helps you refine messaging, positioning, and fix early friction.

Once you're confident with your product, go for a Product Hunt launch. Engage with everyone who comments and start discussions to learn more about the niche and what their ideal product looks like. You'll get visibility and customer insights at the same time. Even if none of these things happen, you end up with a high quality backlink.

In the first couple of months, user acquisition matters more than revenue. Offer generous early-bird discounts, but charge something. Paid user feedback is 10x more valuable than free user feedback.

Don’t be scared of LTDs and platforms like Appsumo, Saaszilla. Yes, their revenue cut is predatory (30–70%), but LTDs aren't just about cash, they're distribution. You'll suddenly have hundreds of users posting about you on socials, leaving reviews, and creating word of mouth. That wall of testimonials makes the buying decision so much easier when you move to subscription pricing. Think of it as paid marketing that also builds your reputation. I was initially skeptical about LTDs too, but I went through with it and it ended up being the best thing ever.

Next, focus on content. SEO still works and there's GEO now. Create comparison pages, free tools, and try to put out at least one blog post a week. If you don’t have the time, use an AI content generation tool (although the results are mixed)

If you're B2B, sales outreach with tools like Apollo can work really well, provided your positioning is sharp and you're contacting the right businesses.

And finally, consider ads. For B2B, Google search ads usually perform better than Meta ads. But you need to spend at least $500–$1000/month so the algorithm can learn. Anything less is just burning money.

👉 What other channels have worked for you to get your first users?