Some strategies I used to help me get to #1 Product of the Day on Product Hunt 🚀

Hey IHers,

I’ve been a long time reader, so it’s exciting to have some progress to share with the community. Hopefully my recent experience can be of help to some of the budding entrepreneurs out there!

Recently I launched my idea on the product curation site Product Hunt. It’s always a bit nerve-wracking to put your creation out to be judged by the public, but at the same time it’s incredibly exciting.

Thankfully things went pretty well:

Voted #1 Product of the Day
Over 1400 votes
Ranked #2 Product of the Week
Featured in Product Hunt’s Weekly Newsletter

Although there are many different variables that go into a successful Product Hunt launch, I would like to share a few that I believe were key drivers.

High effort, high reward - build relationships with Makers

Sometimes there’s no shortcut, but hopefully this post can help you decide where to focus your efforts. I recommend building genuine relationships with the Makers on Product Hunt. Find the people who have been submitting products on the platform and do some beta testing. Giving useful feedback to Makers opens the door to develop real relationships with them. This is something you should spend a bit of time doing every day, so when it comes time for your product to launch you have support from other users on the platform! Give and take.

Building relationships with top Hunters

Hunters are the “Key Opinion Leaders” of the Product Hunt community. They often have thousands of followers because they are known for sharing high quality content. Reaching out to top Hunters prior to release is an important way of getting feedback, as they understand which listings do well.

If one of the Top Hunters agrees to share your post at launch, you know your product is on the right track. Their followers will also see your post, which is a very useful boost in the voting momentum.

Speaking of momentum, that leads me to the next strategy…

Reach out to existing networks

Indiehackers is a great example of the community spirit that entrepreneurs seem to have. I am sure many of you have mentors, Slack communities, WhatsApp groups filled with like minded people. These networks are the perfect starting places to share your Product Hunt posting, and more often than not ‘pay it forward’ mentality usually translates to support and maybe even a few votes.

That being said, don’t go overboard and get your extended family and in-laws to create an account just to vote. The whole idea is to share the idea in communities that would appreciate it, and spark some organic interest.

Which leads me to my final word of advice…

Engage meaningfully users in the comment section

The launch day was so exciting that I barely slept a wink. I remember staying up all night instead, answering feedback in the comments section. Show your appreciation by replying personally to users who take the time to comment, and always be prepared to answer any difficult questions that come your way. This is a learning opportunity, and your goal should be to get as much feedback as possible.

The initial and subsequent traffic has been invaluable in providing data that will point me in the next direction for product development. Here are the traffic numbers from the first few days after launch:

First day - 1000 visitors
Second day - 1800 visitors
Third day - 2300 visitors
Fourth day - 1500 visitors

All in all, it was a great experience. More than anything, it was very encouraging to see positive feedback from real users. If any of you guys are thinking of launching on Product Hunt soon, I’ll be glad to answer any questions you may have.

PS.

If you ever need an icebreaker game for your remote meetings, give Brightful Meeting Games a shot!. All feedback is well appreciated. You can also view the Product Hunt listing from that page.

That’s all for today. Keep up the grind!