Notes from a failed Product Hunt launch
Last April after hours of best practice reading, crafting the perfect assets and assembling a bulletproof plan we were ready to launch our newsletter reader on Product Hunt! We worked so hard and envisioned hundreds of new sign ups and being crowned the best product of the day.
Obviously that didn’t happen - the reality was very different. We experienced a tiny boost to sign ups and grinded to a halt at around 200 votes, finishing in 6th place behind a food blender…
The good news is the story didn’t end there. Today we launched our web version of Meco on Product Hunt and although we put in way less time and effort the results were a LOT better. Our launch today is on pace to finish 2nd (fingers crossed) and we are seeing a lot more new users.
Here are my takeaways after experiencing both success and failure with PH launches:
- Make your own luck. In the first launch we were ‘unlucky’ to come up against some really strong products (Figma, Newsletter Operating System by Janel and many more). In reality we should have chosen a traditionally less competitive day (like Monday, Saturday or Sunday) if our goal was to finish in the top three
- Be clear & concise when describing your product. We forgot the basics on our first rodeo as we did a rubbish job explaining what Meco is and why we made it. This time we stayed clear of buzzwords and just simplified it
- Show some personality. So many people asked us to tell us how we started Meco and it makes sense - people like to understand who is behind the product and why they care about it so much. This time round we included this in our first comment
- You can launch more than once. We were so so nervous on our first launch, we truly believed we had one shot. But it is so common for people to do more launches down the line for new features and product upgrades - don’t overthink it you’ll get more chances!
- The winners and losers are made in the first few hours. If you don’t get social proof early upvotes you can get lost among the many many products available (most people give the top few products the most attention and ignore the rest). Be prepared to push hard from the very very start.
Would love to hear what works for you on Product Hunt - hopefully there is something above that can help you with any future launches! Also you can check out our latest launch.
Thanks for sharing your story. I had a similiar experience also in April.
My pleasure @seoathome
Thanks for the insight. The first time I realised you can launch more than once I started laughing. Like "Why didn't I think of that before?"
Just gave you an upvote, well done on the product.
Haha same - can't believe I didn't think of it sooner!
Thanks for the upvote @OscarFromThisapp appreciate it
Thanks a lot for sharing this tips !
My pleasure, thanks for reading
Thank you! It is really motivating, our search library "Tantivy" had some great traction from the start, so I believe it really matters "not to be lost among many products". Thnx a lot for sharing it!
My pleasure! Tantivy looks cool - nice job!
You make a good point about an early boost being needed to provide social proof. Did you have a strategy to get those early votes in? An email blast or social?
Hey @HeyItsEthan - we did have a strategy for early votes:
We identified our reach out groups included: -General friends & family -User telegram group -Our newsletter email list -Twitter followers -Community slack groups -Startup network (Linkedin)
On launch day I started will the people I know will support us right away and then work my way through the rest. We also held back our email newsletter until later in the day to give us a final boost if momentum slowed
Thanks for the insight!
My pleasure :)
That's really great advice, thank you. Particularly the point on doing multiple launches as you release new major features. We've been thinking of PH being a "one shot" opportunity for our product, which puts a lot more pressure on getting the launch right, so it's interesting to hear about the potential to do multiple "launches" on PH.
My pleasure!
Check out the launches from the LeaveMeAlone team - they have done an amazing job of being successful multiple times!
Congrats @SeanJoshua! Very cool product.
We’re gearing up for the launch of Outdone V2 on PH later this summer. We placed 5th last December — which we were super proud of because we had virtually no audience at the time.
Curious to hear your best practices for getting those early upvotes. Do you have a community that you were able to lean on? Do you have an email list of your own built up from last launch?
Hi @Outdone_Jon
5th is awesome with no audience well done!
Good question - this time we did have a more of a community to lean on which really helps. Our reach out groups included: -General friends & family -User telegram group -Our newsletter email list -Twitter followers -Community slack groups -Startup network (Linkedin)
On the day I start will the people I know will support us right away and then work my way through the rest. We also held back our email newsletter until later in the day to give us a final boost if momentum slowed
Good luck with V2!
Awesome insight. Thanks for sharing! And congrats on the latest launch.
Any advice on strategies for timing a PH launch or how to build momentum leading up to it?
Hi @scassdy32
On timing - it really depends on your goal! If your goal is to place in the top 3 go for a day on the weekend, However if your goal is more sign ups go for a weekday (probs Tuesday, Thursday).
On building momentum - I would recommend joining as many maker communities as possible and engaging/connecting with other peoples PH launches leading up to the launch
Good luck!
Gj Sean!
Thanks Denis! :)