I thought building my SaaS was the hard part. Turns out, marketing is harder.

Great concept! Our products share many similarities, yet remain quite different. I'm confident your user base will grow over time since you're already putting yourself out there. That said, I did notice that many of your sites aren't fully functional. I'd recommend prioritizing the usability and stability of your public-facing pages, users tend to lose trust quickly when things don't work as expected.

Looking forward to following you in your journey :)

Same here. Thought building was hard… turns out getting users is harder. What’s helping me: picking one platform/community and focusing there instead of spreading myself thin.

Same boat. Built an AI chatbot, spent a year on it, have 0 customers. The marketing paralysis is real. What's your plan for getting your first user?

I'm trying to fix this problem right now by connecting people to micro creators. Anyone interested?

me too!!!

Totally feel this.. I’ve built a few micro-apps lately, and every single one reminds me that distribution is 10× harder than building 😅

I’m experimenting with ways to make small tools stand out (especially AI-native ones built with Avery). Curious what channels you’ve found the most traction on so far?

We’ve all been there — great product, but tough to get eyes on it.

I’m exploring a solution using micro creators to help indie projects get noticed. Anyone interested?

Been there. Launched my first thing thinking "if I build it well, they'll come." Spoiler: they don't.

What helped me: pick one channel and go deep. For me it was Reddit — found 2-3 subreddits where my users actually hung out, commented genuinely for weeks, then eventually shared what I built. Felt slow but got me my first 10-20 users who actually gave feedback.

Also, talk to users before you have them. DM people who fit your target profile and ask about their workflow. You'll learn what actually resonates vs. what you think matters.

I am in the same boat as you!!!

Yes, I agree with you.

This hit hard af. Every founder who’s ever built something great and then faced the “no users” wall can relate.

What you’re describing is exactly where a lot of the early SaaS teams we work with get stuck , the “product is done, but messaging and traction aren’t.”

One thing that’s helped our startup clients is running a micro-validation sprint right after launch — not to code more, but to test messaging, landing-page flow, and onboarding copy. It’s wild how 2–3 small UX or narrative tweaks can double conversions without spending on ads.

If you ever want to jam on quick experiments to turn early visitors into first users, happy to share what’s been working for other solo founders.

Either way, huge congrats on shipping Affly — building it is the hardest part, and you’re already ahead of 90% of people who talk about launching but never do.

Totally get this — I felt the same after launching my first SaaS. What helped was treating marketing like debugging: talk to real users, join small communities where they hang out, and share your progress publicly. Skip ads for now — just focus on real conversations. That’s how my first few users found me.dooflix for pc

Totally relatable — shipping is exciting, silence after launch is humbling.
Marketing really is another language, but once you start treating it like debugging user attention, it gets fun again. Keep going 💪

I'm working on trying to develop a user base and topic authority with my site as well.

I've found the easiest visitors come from one to two quality directories, and that's a start, you know, at least getting one or two eyes on your product.

After that it's turning those visitors into users.

You have a nice, clean site. Have you considered a short explainer video in the hero section? Have you done free beta testing for feedback and reviews on Reddit? Have you tried a micro-influencer? I've been thinking of trying SamCart when I'm ready to promote my app.

Completely agree! I’ve been working in SEO and outreach for a few years, and it’s crazy how often great products fail simply because no one knows they exist. This really hits hard, man.

Every developer goes through this exact moment. You spent months building something that works beautifully, and then realize that nobody knows it exists. The good news is you're already doing the hardest part by showing up here and being vulnerable about it. Start with the communities where your ideal users already hang out and solve their problems publicly. Share what you're learning about link tracking and analytics. The users will come from being genuinely helpful, not from perfect marketing.

Hey there!

Man, I feel this so hard—building the thing is the thrill, but marketing? It's like learning a new language overnight. I launched my first tool last year and spent weeks staring at zero users, thinking "if it's this good, why isn't anyone biting?" What finally clicked for me was just talking to people on Twitter and Reddit, sharing my own pains instead of features—got my first 10 users from genuine convos. How are you planning to test the waters with Affly—cold DMs, or starting with your network? Can't wait to hear what sticks for you!

Cheers!

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This comment was deleted 10 months ago