5 Things I’d Do Again for a Strong Product Hunt Launch
As a new product in closed beta, we did surprisingly well in our debut on Product Hunt. I’ve already written about our full launch-day tactics (see previous forum post), but some founders reached out asking:
What specifically worked for Product Hunt?
Here are the 5 biggest things I will repeat as we plan a future open beta launch. I hope it helps you too!
Start Launch Planning Early
Start months before launch. I spent time connecting with other founders and regularly contributing to discussions here on Product Hunt. It’s not like LinkedIn - there are specific rules about what you can and can’t post - but that’s part of the fun of learning the ropes in any new community.
Spot & connect with adjacent products. Whenever I saw similar or complementary tools, I’d reach out and invite them to be notified about our launch. There's a LOT of cool products on here, we're already talking about integrations with some teams from our launch week cohort.
Focus on relationships, not just promotion. The goal isn’t to pitch - it’s to build genuine connections that will actually care about what you’re making.
Go Deep on Reddit (Value First)
We were highly active in relevant subreddits before, during, and after launch.
Focused on contributing insights - never just dropping links. In fact, if you drop a link, it'll likely get moderated so make sure to read the community guidelines or you'll burn a post!
Started 14 days before launch and followed up the day before, launch day, and after with our results.
Subreddits we used: r/producthunt, r/buildinpublic, r/indiehackers, r/saas, r/entrepreneurs, r/sideproject, r/students, r/socialmediamarketing, r/productivityapps, r/indiebiz, r/ideas
Example threads (notice the focus on storytelling):
LinkedIn Was Huge
Changing your role title on launch day is super algo juice.
Posted in the Product Hunt LinkedIn community and entrepreneur groups.
Hit people up directly when it was relevant, e.g. they were also a follower of the Product Hunt LinkedIn page.
Other Channels to Explore
X/Twitter: Use the Community tab - look for groups like Business Owners & Entrepreneur or Build In Public.
Engage early to avoid looking like you’re parachuting in for promo, consider every post, what is a fair exchange for their attention?
Product Hunt Founders: Check the “Coming Soon” tab and connect with other launchers via LinkedIn/email/their web contact form - build relationships before launch day. It was A LOT of looking up their info online, but since then, I am having some great discussions with them and their teams = well worth the desk research time sink.
Nail the Launch Day Itself
First 4 hours are critical - front-load outreach and momentum. We timed our product video and all personal announcement posts five minutes before midnight PST to give them a chance to circulate in feed and convert traffic by time the Product Hunt contest began.
Keep pushing PR, content, and 1:1 outreach for the full 24 hours. It's a sprint, then a marathon, my heart rate was so high all day.
Expect spam: I got 20+ LinkedIn messages offering upvotes for sale right in the middle of launch, it was distracting.
Unfortunately, you’ll notice some products getting fake engagement - bot-like comments and reviews, sudden vote jumps in the final hours. We were in 5th place most of the day, but saw sudden shifts in the top rankings that looked… suspicious.
If you’re planning your own launch, my biggest takeaway is: PH is won before launch day. Relationships, community trust and engagement, and consistently filtering what you put out online through the lens of what is a good exchange for their time/attention of reading it.
Hit me up if we can help at all and check out our page to see how we crafted our video and images, and replied to the comments all day. All boats rise with the tide, let's go!
- Dan (Chief Ting)
Replies
Great overview. I would also personally add the option to get earlier feedback/product review by top hunters or big accounts (if it is relevant to their niché) so they are more likely to support you or share the idea. It hits differently when you try it for the first). That was the case of @zaczuo and @Flowtica Scribe when he sent me a pen that I could try on my own.
Meet-Ting
@zaczuo @busmark_w_nika I saw that the pen had been seeded early for beta testing, I loved it, really smart. There’s also something really personal about sending hardware, wonder how to make the feeling of beta for software (for Meet-Ting) also feel as special and intimate.
@zaczuo @dbul It feels like Detective Gadget. :D
@busmark_w_nika @dbul I've had a few friends reach out recently for me to try their software, some as a pitch to be their hunter and others just for feedback.
Frankly, I'm always impressed by how much easier distribution is for software compared to hardware! You can create a special account or send a redemption code. All it takes is a conversation on LinkedIn to get started.
With a hardware product, it's a much longer process. You have to ask each person for their interest, collect their shipping address, and then physically pack and ship every single unit.
Compared to me shipping pens one by one, I think software products already have a huge advantage in getting feedback easily!
Meet-Ting
@busmark_w_nika @zaczuo Yes I totally see that and you’re right on scale no question, but there’s something so nice about reaching out to people, asking for an address and shipping something with a note, in a world when everthing is online. I know you’re at the crossroads of that with Flowtica 😁
@dbul @zaczuo Especially, hardware is pricy to distribute :D everybody who goes into hardware has my admiration :D
I'd like to add Hacker News to the promotion channel list. It helps getting early traction from tech-savvy audience. If the product has a developer or startup angle, the discussions there can also bring back valuable feedback.
Meet-Ting
@banglinhpham I wish I had done that. I didn’t know the best etiquette for sharing there, I did some light research, but not enough and out of time. I will do for our open beta - thank you!
Appreciate this, Dan, it's gold, especially the bit about PH being won before launch day. Curious, I've been looking for this answer for a while, how much of that early relationship-building do you think still pays off months later versus just for the launch spike?
Also, did you notice certain [kinds of] subreddits or LinkedIn groups driving way more engaged traffic than others?
Meet-Ting
@dheerajdotexe Still early for us, only a week and a half ago, but we still have PH users testing and I’m still talking to PH founders, and I think if we continue to be active here, we can grow more and find more community! I found the r/saas type communities more engaged, but think that’s due to product and customer for us.
This is gold! 🚀 Love how you’ve broken it down into actionable steps—especially the emphasis on building relationships before launch day. Too many people underestimate how much work happens before the big day. Your Reddit and LinkedIn tips are spot-on. Definitely saving this for my own Product Hunt launch prep. Thanks for sharing such a transparent breakdown!
Meet-Ting
@jamessmith110 Any time! And good luck with launch. I track my calories as part of my training so looking forward to see what you’re building! Plenty of fitness subreddits for you!