From code to crickets: My struggle to market Logfolio after launch
As a software developer, I always found the building phase fun and relatively straightforward. I recently launched my first product, logfolio.com, a tool designed to help developers and professionals log their daily work, generate AI-powered summaries for performance reviews, and even create tailored cover letters based on their accomplishments and resumes.
That’s where the challenge started.
Engaging people with my product has been way harder than expected. Despite having a finished product, the buzz just didn’t happen, and I’m now facing the tough question of whether to pivot or drop the project altogether. It’s difficult to keep pushing when you’re not seeing the traction you hoped for.
Right now, I’m planning to hire someone to edit a cool product video in hopes that better marketing might change things. My goal is to see how social media responds to a more polished look.
Has anyone here gone through something similar? What did you do to overcome this, or are you still in the same boat?
I know the feeling all too well.
I was in the same situation a year ago and realized I had built a ‘key’ and was trying to find a lock that fit it. In other words, I created an app/tool, did all the marketing (SEO, videos, etc.), but it still didn’t take off. After three years, I decided to shut it down.
What I learned is that most advice focuses on ‘how to do things,’ but even perfect execution won’t help if you’re chasing something that doesn’t lead anywhere (nobody wants to use or pay for your app).
I set milestones and budgets for myself, and when I missed those milestones or went over budget with my personal money, I had to make a choice.
My advice is that 'hope and emotions' are not a strategy, you got to make a rational decision before it cause you financial problems. But failing is part of the journey, that's how you learn.
Thanks for the great advice! I’m facing a similar challenge and agree that it's key to balance passion with rational decisions. I’m committed to exploring my project but staying mindful of milestones and when to pivot. Failing and learning is part of the process, and I’m already thinking about what’s next while keeping expectations realistic.
my last two cents - you probably build something first without having an audience and the building an audience part is super hard to tell you the truth. If it helps you, here is a real life guide on building an audience but you need to manage expectations, these things take a lot of time and effort, https://notesaboutstartups.com/blog/strategies-for-building-an-audience
Thanks!! I’ll check it out!
Building an audience is definitely the hard part.
Two things:
I’ve been really focused on another idea at the moment, so I’m pausing this for now. But thanks so much for your input, it’s super valuable.
I can relate as well. Please stay encouraged.
What marketing tactics have you tried so far?
i've shared across PH, reddit, twitter and linkedIn, but focusing on polishing the product before ramping up marketing.
what's been the response? like, actual crickets ie no response at all?
'focusing on polishing the product before ramping up marketing'... is a curious choice, considering your experience so far
the response to the app has been minimal so far. few people signed up but haven’t really engaged. I think the product lacks a clear focus and might expect users to have a logging habit already, which makes adoption challenging.
so, why persist? just curious
could put it on a link tree/Indie page kind of place and move onto the next thing...
i may have suggested I was persisting with the idea, but it’s more like i’ve put it on hold indefinitely since i’m already building something else. right now, i’m just using it as part of my portfolio tbh.
sounds like this is a very sensible way to go.
I'm roasting product ideas and GTM at the moment, if you're interested
I’ve just launched so I can relate to the feeling.
I had no audience, Newsletter list, influencer friends..nothing. But I’ve started building in public and people seem to relate.
Before launching there where crickets. Now people try to help me. It’s amazing once you let go your fear of putting yourself out there.
Patience is all I can tell you. It will take time but your efforts today will pay off in the future.
Next launch will start you from a better position. More trust. Bigger audience. And so on.
Keep going. And enjoy the journey.
Jonathan
aiselfi.es
thanks for the insights!
I completely relate. I spent the last 3 years building a side project, never focusing on the marketing. I have less than a hundred users and only one paying customer.
Last month, I invested in a marketing professional, but it didn't work as much as I hoped.
I considered plenty of times to just drop the project and move to something else, but you know, sunk-cost fallacy...
Your idea does seem great though, and I wanted to try it, but I see I need to buy credits? Maybe it would be interesting for you to offer a free version to get more users.
Hey! Thanks for sharing your experience, I totally get it. It's a real challenge balancing development with marketing, and I've had my fair share of ups and downs with it too.
Actually, I do offer 5 free credits for new users to give them a chance to try out the tool. But it might not be clear enough, so I’ll look into making it more obvious on the site.
Thanks for the feedback, it’s super helpful!
Let me know if you give it a try. I’d love to hear what you think.
Congrats on launching Logfolio! That’s a great idea. I worked as an engineering manager, and I think this tool could have helped some developers. Keep going; you’re making something valuable!
Thank you! That means a lot coming from someone with experience managing devs. I’m hoping Logfolio can make it easier for people to show off their hard work. Appreciate the support!
🔥
Code to crickets.... sounds very familiar to me! My current project is actually designed to try to address this. The basic idea is that every product will have a week to compete against similar products to see if it's better. The premise is every product gets 'it's shot'. Ironically, I'm having trouble getting attention to it :-)
I feel you! Getting traction is no joke, even when you build something to help with exactly that. Your idea sounds solid, a chance for every product to have its spotlight! Keep pushing friend, sometimes the right audience just takes a bit to find.
Same case, I launched my very first product last day, still posting staff but did not get any traction. Feeling the same as you are.
but I believe this stage is common for all tech entrepreneurs, cause few people are that skilled in-build. most of them leaning on the way of their journey, so we need to have more patience and do more
I feel you, traction can be slow at first, but it’s all part of the journey. Staying patient, focused, and staying open to new ideas will pay off in time!
I've talked to over 30 founders and almost everyone goes through this.
The few people who get traction really fast tend to make it seem easy. Well, it's hard. A lot of things need to be in place, some posts or one video or any other small effort usually doesn't cut it.
Having said that, it's not the end of the world - Airbnb launched 3 times, and countless more examples out there. That's why I created Unstuckd, so founders can talk to verified marketers and just ask/solve/rant you know.
Like a 60 min marketing therapy session.
Your business can get so much value from just talking with the people that do marketing for a living. 100x better than buying courses or youtube videos, because it's generic. It doesn't tailor to your business, or your thoughts.
I hope you stay at it, there's a business to be made bud! Best of luck :)
Thanks! Most founders go through this exact same thing - the ones who "made it" just don't talk about their rough starts enough. Love that Airbnb example, took them 3 tries to get it right!
I totally relate to that... I faced a similar challenge with a recent project. Did you try Product Hunt? For me the most difficult was to find the niche communities to share my product ad for free. So I decided to build Spread Out AI, a tool that can help anyone finding their niche communities through social media groups and get some traction for free. Maybe looking into some app competition sites or targeted groups could help you too.
Good luck with the video making!
Thanks for sharing your experience! My Product Hunt launch didn’t go as well as I hoped, likely due to my lack of marketing strategies, but as a first-time launch, I really enjoyed the process and learned a lot. Spread Out AI sounds like an amazing tool, and I’ll definitely be checking it out. Appreciate the suggestion!
I still haven't mastered marketing. Right now, I'm slowly building up an audience on YouTube. Having an audience of people already interested in what you say & do certainly helps.
The general advice is to find a market you want to serve before starting. This includes finding out where that market hangs out and gets their information from. I've made the mistake of building something, and then discovering that I don't know how to reach the target market.
I wish you all the best with your product. Getting little interest in something you've built is a tough place to be.
Youtube is fun once you get the hang of it. Just be careful with music copyrights etc. Good luck.
I’m in a similar spot, marketing isn’t my thing. I’ve made the mistake of building something without knowing how to reach the right people too. But i learned a lot of things! Best of luck with your product
I have also just finished building my MVP yesterday. Now I am ready to test the water by putting the MVP in the front of real users. I hope it will gain traction, otherwise I will also face similar situation as your.
Congrats on finishing your MVP! Getting it in front of real users is a big step. Fingers crossed for traction!
What marketing activities did you try? Have you tried all possible channels, an more than once? If you haven't, you didn't do marketing at all, so why you are so surprised that there is no line up for your product? People just don't know about it. Personally, I never heard.
And creating content, or cool videos, or blog posts != marketing.
Marketing is an activity to tell people about it, the content itself can't do this work for you.
I appreciate the input. I’ve been exploring different approaches and learning as I go. Thanks for sharing your perspective!
Interesting,I had an idea similar to this because I found keeping a log helped me keep focus, not forget ideas I had and being able to look back at what I had done to get me over the humps of feeling like an procrastinating imposter... (I'm very critical of myself)
That being said, I currently use a Google doc.
I like the name tho!
Thanks! I completely agree, logging really helps with staying focused and keeping track of ideas. I built Logfolio to make the process a bit more organized, but if Google Docs works for you, that’s great too! Glad you like the name!
For me, marketing starts long before the launch. Even a year before, we were already conducting marketing research to understand customers' needs, training employees, developing promotion materials, develop partnerships, etc. Sometimes things take longer than anticipated though, doesn't mean it wont happen :)
As a technical person, I am more inclined towards validation through MVP to get real users and real feedback. Market research through other methods are just estimates. In most cases people don’t even know what problems they had and what solutions they need.
That's a good one too :)
Totally agree! Laying the groundwork early with research, partnerships, and preparations makes all the difference. Sometimes things take longer than expected, but that’s all part of the process.
Exactly! All the best. :)
Hi Bruno, Have you considered leveraging SEO AI? It can help optimize your website for search engines, improving visibility and attracting the right audience. Plus, it analyzes your content and suggests keywords to enhance engagement. Sometimes a strategic push can turn things around!
Thank you for the suggestion! I haven’t explored SEO AI much yet, but it sounds like a valuable tool for improving visibility and engagement.
devs are usually the hardest to sell to, I am building Loadmycode, the uptake is painfully slow though people seem to like the product once they see it.
on your product, Video would definitely help, I can't seem to understand how your product would benefit me. how is it different than echo "my log line" >> /dropbox/file.txt
you’re right, there are plenty of ways to keep logs, like echoing into a file or writing in a journal. many people do this, and it works well for them. with logfolio, I tried to make the process easier by offering a centralized place to track your logs, with added tools like AI to help summarize them for things like performance reviews or interview prep.
that said, logging does require forming a habit, and I know it’s not for everyone. the goal is to make it more accessible and useful, but I agree it’s all about whether people see the value in adopting it.