How to acquire your first users for $0?
I’ve noticed that many developers don’t really understand marketing and don’t know how to promote their products. They often choose to find a marketing partner to solve this, but that approach is inefficient—and in many cases, you also have to pay the partner a high fee.
So I built a marketing tool designed especially for indie developers. It’s very low-cost to use, but it can help you get results quickly.
Here’s how it works:
1.Click the link below and log in.
2.Enter your product’s website URL.
3.Get a complete marketing plan (just like one created by a marketing partner).
4.Choose to execute the plan or modify it.
5.Monitor the results in the dashboard and see how many people start visiting your website.
🔗 https://amplift.ai/?utm_source=indiehackers&utm_campaign=post_dec
You can use it for free now by logging in.
Of course, since the tool is still in its early stages of development, I've assembled a team with extensive marketing experience and we also offer early-stage growth services. Simply provide us with the product you want to grow and the growth services you need, and we can give you a quote.
Starting at just $20 per month!
If you're feeling lost about how to grow your product and don't know where to start, you can tell me about your product type, its current stage, and your growth budget. My team will provide you with a satisfactory solution.
If you are interested in this, please send an email to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!
（$69 is the price for our product and services, which include a wide range of tools such as GEO targeting, influencer marketing, and social media content.
$20 is the price for our newly launched growth service, which is entirely managed by a real marketing team. You can customize the type of growth you need, and even purchase the desired level of exposure among your target audience.）
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Thanks for sharing this. I appreciate that you highlight how many marketing partners charge high fees and that your tool aims to give indie makers a low‑cost framework for getting those first users. I'm curious which channels your marketing plans most often recommend for early‑stage products (e.g., content, communities, outreach) and how you ensure the suggestions aren't generic templates. Also, for the $20 paid growth service you mention, what kind of deliverables or ongoing support do customers receive?
I built an MVP to visualize ideas from text + images — where does it confuse you?
I think the tricky part with “$0 acquisition” is usually not the plan, but the execution.
I’ve tried a few tools that generated decent strategies on paper, but I still struggled to actually follow through consistently.
Curious — for early users, which step tends to move the needle the most in your experience?
I relate. Most developers I’m aware of, early on, overestimate the extent to which planning moves the needle and underestimate distribution. ~
To begin with, a statement separate “strategy” from “proof.
Strategy feels nice. Faster but uglier proof.
I like this simple frame.
single channel
Single message.
7 days.
If nothing gets moved, you learn and switch.
When it comes to first users at $0, direct conversations (DMs, replies, comments) have led to far more traction than dashboards or plans.
When people follow a generated plan, what’s the first action that generates traffic? Where do you believe most people get stuck executing?
Interested. I'm curious about this thing. This generated by AI?
Yes
I'll have a look into it then at some point. Thank you!
I've just built my own website and am planning to get into marketing; it might just be what I need.
Amplift can help you a lot. Feel free to give it a try.
Real talk - getting first users isn't about the tool, it's about showing up where people already are and just being helpful.
I got my first users for Ascend by answering questions in founder communities. No pitch. Just genuinely helped people think through their monetization problems.
When people saw I actually knew what I was talking about, a few reached out asking what I was building.
The "marketing plan" approach can work, but honestly most founders I know just need to talk to more people. That's free and way more effective than any tool.
This looks great, thanks for your effort and sharing
Interested
New here and like this community salute!
One thing I’ve seen with early products is that the messaging never sticks on first contact so users bounce before they understand anything. A few teams I’ve worked with added a short branded song to their welcome flow literally a 10 to 15 second audio that states the promise in plain language. It sounds odd but it works because users remember it instantly and they understand the product faster which makes every growth experiment hit harder.
Interested
Interested
Thank you for providing this to up and coming developer with shoestring budgets. I am interested.
Interested
The challenge I've seen is that most marketing tools still assume you have a product ready to show. For early-stage stuff, I've found that just talking in communities like this, Reddit, or HN works better than any tool.
What's worked for me so far: being helpful first, not selling. People check your profile if they find your comments useful.
Curious how your tool handles products that are still in the pre-launch phase?
Good take. Getting the first users is usually less about tools and more about direct conversations. Talking to people where the problem already exists gives faster signal than any automated plan. Curious how your tool adapts when the target niche is still unclear.
The product looks solid and elegant @ingtwanhey, and I think tools like this can definitely help once you already know who you’re building for.
That said, in my experience, the real bottleneck isn’t creating a plan or defining acquisition tactics. The hardest part comes much earlier: finding a real niche and a real pain that actually exists. This tool helps you with that?
Most founders (especially devs Like me) can execute once the target or pain is clear. The real challenge is identifying where to aim in the first place. Without a strong, validated niche, even the best growth plan becomes generic or short-lived.
For me, the highest value isn’t in “how to get users”, but in learning how to reliably discover problems worth solving. That’s the part I still find the hardest — and probably the most important piece of any sustainable business.
Curious how you think about niche discovery versus marketing execution. Do you see your product more as a post-validation tool, or something that can help before that stage? Thanks, Iker
Gain your first users for free by leveraging personal networks, social media, communities, referrals, content sharing, direct outreach, feedback loops, and consistent engagement.
Interested
You can use it for free now by logging in.
Additionally, we offer initial growth services; for a very low price, you can acquire your first batch of users. If you're interested, please contact [email protected].
(Please specify the product you want to promote, your maximum promotion budget, and the number of users you need to acquire initially in your email.)
Great compilation! One thing I've found incredibly effective for $0 acquisition: going where your potential users are already asking questions.
Instead of broadcasting content and hoping someone sees it, find communities (Reddit threads, Quora questions, niche forums) where people are actively describing the problem you solve. A single thoughtful reply to someone's specific pain point converts way better than a generic post to thousands.
The key is being genuinely helpful first - answer their question, share insights, add value. If your product is relevant, it comes up naturally. Most founders spend hours creating content nobody asked for when they could spend that time helping people who are literally raising their hand.
What's your experience - which channel has been most effective for initial traction?
Marketing tools can generate strategies — but do users actually understand what to do with them? There's a gap between "here's a plan" and "I know exactly what this means for my product."
Most founders get stuck not on finding tactics, but on translating strategy into action. The real challenge isn't the marketing plan itself — it's making it obvious how to execute without confusion.
We're building voice agents that guide users through products in real-time (https://demogod.me) — essentially turning strategy documents into instant, conversational clarity. Instead of reading a plan and wondering "wait, what does this mean for me?", users get guided through it step-by-step.
Quick question: When users get your marketing plan, do they immediately know what to do next, or do they need to interpret it first?
Yes interested, for two of my SaaS that I just floated.
You can use it for free now by logging in.
Additionally, we offer initial growth services; for a very low price, you can acquire your first batch of users. If you're interested, please contact [email protected].
(Please specify the product you want to promote, your maximum promotion budget, and the number of users you need to acquire initially in your email.)
这是否就是在AI时代做搜索的方式，GEO模式？我刚才尝试了GEO，但没有成功，请问是还没有准备好吗？
Normally it should be usable, but there might be some minor issues. Could you please specify which function is not working? Is the onboarding page failing to load, or is the data not being displayed?
hey Ingtwanhey, I am interesting about your plan, plz share to me, thank you
I would really recommend that website, it is absolutely amazing lol
Interested. As a dev its always easy to build things but understanding how to actually get it out there in front of your users is probably one of the hardest things to do yourself without any marketing knowledge!
You can use it for free now by logging in.
Additionally, we offer initial growth services; for a very low price, you can acquire your first batch of users. If you're interested, please contact [email protected].
(Please specify the product you want to promote, your maximum promotion budget, and the number of users you need to acquire initially in your email.)
The problem is that a downloaded standard strategy won't always be effective for EVERY product. Even if they're similar and even if they solve the same problem. In business, there are many more criteria than the value a product brings to customers, the market, the price...
Yes, it might work for a while, but it won't scale.
Love the product very smart! Only thing I would say is typically the marketing part is not the problem or the only problem. The larger problem with devs is sales which is substantially more important then marketing. If there is a way to integrate that in or do something along that. Its a home run.
Love your energy and focus! It's really Amazing!
I’m also working on something that might help with exactly the challenge you mentioned about finding early users and monitoring conversations.
I built a Chrome extension called PulseOfReddit it tracks Reddit keywords and alerts you when relevant discussions pop up. It’s already helped me catch early conversations and validate ideas faster. I’m giving free access for the first 10 users if you want to try it.
Website:
pulseofredditcom