Is BetaList still effective for finding early users?
The last time I launched a product was a few years back and I remember posting it on BetaList. The results were okay but not as great as I expected.
I'm planning to launch a new product soon so I'm wondering what your experience has been with BetaList if you've posted there recently.
Trending on Indie Hackers
I'd say yes, it's reasonably successful. Our latest app, JumpOn.io, was featured end of last week and we're getting a modest number of sign ups from BetaList visitors (same for BetaPage visitors). We have a limited number of early access slots, so I'm more than happy, but if you are looking for 1,000s of signups quickly from BetaList - maybe those days are in the past.
How many sign ups did you receive?
I love your landing page btw 👍
Across first 4 days, we had 60 referrals and 10 sign ups. Useful, although not huge. From previous attempts, there is usually quite a long tail – referrals continue for a while after launch.
Thanks for the landing page feedback 🔥
You need 15-20 users digging around in your early prototypes to get enough data to decide if there's a glimmer of something.
Exactly. Which is why I want to begin finding beta users from now instead of waiting until my product is ready.
BetaList takes six weeks to approve and publish your site. To get the maximum advantage you should submit to Betalist as early as possible.
I wrote more detailed about this stuff at Zero To Founder
I recommend it but don't expect too much from it.
Yea, I’m not expecting much sign ups but it might be an effective acquisition channel for finding early users.
Submitted my startup on 3rd May and Betalist featured it on 4th August. Took 3 months from listing to publishing.
Got a few new followers on Twitter because of the feature. Doesn't hurt to list there - it only takes a few minutes.
Wow, that’s too long. Is the paid listing faster?
I think so. You may want to list your startups in other directories too - most have a shorter wait time.
I built saasbudha.com for an angel investor. It is a SaaS directory. Feel free to list there and get feedback on your landing page if you are building a SaaS.
Betalist works with startups that haven't gone public yet
So, another 2 years later... what do you think about betalist now?
We got launched with SKILLFIRE yesterday and have after 24hrs: 415 impressions on X and a handful of signups.
I have used BetaList for a few of my projects. It definitely doesn't hurt to list there. Of course, BetaList takes over a month to approve your listing, so don't expect much. That's why I built Bootstrapped Mastery Curated Resources, a database of great places to find first users and early adopters.
I've used it back in 2011 and it really helped us getting first traction back then. I've also tried it in 2022 and the result was pretty much zero. I don't think it's betalist's fault though, I think we're just oversaturated when it comes to "new apps".
You may consider submitting on prelaunchers also. Not really big at the moment but it's growing quiet well everyday 🙂 You can check about its growth on Product Hunt and on Indie Hackers
Interesting, will check it out
I have submitted my product two weeks ago and not yet published. I think they focus more on paid postings. I submitted in free plan.
It takes time to get your project published, both with the free and paid plans.
I would recommend doing so. It never hurts to spread the word far and wide.
Yea, makes sense.