If you're looking to introduce your new product or startup to an engaged audience of tech enthusiasts, Product Hunt is one of the best places to do it. As a platform specialized in discovering and promoting new products, Product Hunt receives millions of visitors each month who are actively seeking out interesting things to use.
Getting featured on Product Hunt offers huge opportunities for exposure, traffic, and new users. But it also means competing against many other exciting launches each day for limited attention. So how do you stand out from the crowd and earn those all-important upvotes that can catapult your product to the top?
Marc Louvion is uniquely qualified to provide insights. As a developer and solopreneur, he's launched an impressive 21 products on Product Hunt over the years. 13 of those achieved the coveted "Top Product" badge and one even ranked as the #2 Product of the Month. On top of that success, Marc was awarded "Maker of the Year 2023" by Product Hunt.
In this article, Marc shares his proven strategies on how to launch on Product Hunt as a solo founder competing against well-funded startups. He'll cover everything from listing optimization and generating early upvotes to promoting your launch on other platforms and timing it for maximum impact. By following Marc's approach, you can give your new product the best possible chance of standing out on Product Hunt.
Marc Louvion
Is Product Hunt still relevant?
Before diving into launch strategies, it's worth addressing a common concern - whether Product Hunt is past its prime as a platform. While its meteoric early growth may have leveled off, Product Hunt remains incredibly active and influential. It still attracts around 4 million visitors every month actively browsing for new products and services.
For founders and solo creators especially, Product Hunt offers benefits that are difficult to find elsewhere. Beyond the engaged audience, launching on Product Hunt provides opportunities for media coverage, inclusion in popular tech newsletters, and networking with other members of the products community.
When you consider these factors, Product Hunt continues to be one of the best platforms for getting your new product or startup discovered. With the right launch strategies, you can drive valuable traffic, gain new users, and generate interest that carries forward beyond your Product Hunt debut.
Preparing your Product Hunt listing
To generate those all-important early upvotes from casual Product Hunt users browsing the site, your listing needs to stand out visually and communicate your value proposition clearly at a glance. Here are Marc's tips:
- Choose a crystal-clear startup name that's immediately understandable. Consider using descriptive words relevant to your product's purpose or functionality.
- Craft a compelling tagline in 10 words or less that captures attention and conveys what problem your product solves. Use benefits over features to emotionally connect.
- Include an animated logo GIF if possible. Very few listings have them, so it's an easy way to make yours more eye-catching.
- Curate 1-2 screenshots or images that showcase your core value or product highlight in a clean, visual way without needing explanation.
- When scheduling your launch, be the first to comment on your own listing with an inspiring intro about your background and motivation for creating the product.
It's also important to make your listing text scannable and easily digestible. Format it attractively with headers, bullets, and whitespace to guide visitors through the most important information painlessly. Focus on benefits over features and use language your target audience can relate to.
Generating early upvotes
While inbound upvotes from casual Product Hunt users are important, they won't be enough to compete with well-funded startups. You'll need to mobilize outside help:
- On launch day, tweet to announce your Product Hunt listing with an attention-grabbing message and embedded link. Consider including a launch video.
- Retweet your launch tweet a few hours later for increased visibility after new followers join your feed.
- Add a catchy Product Hunt badge to your website linking directly to your listing for increased inbound upvotes over time.
- Share your launch on relevant communities on Reddit, Hacker News, Indie Hackers, and other relevant discussion platforms. Ask for upvotes only after genuinely participating in the communities.
Carefully time your launch day tweets, shares, and comments to spread across the earliest hours while Product Hunt traffic is peaked. And engage helpfully with any discussions about your product to build goodwill.
Timing your product launch
When it comes to launch timing, Marc recommends:
- Monday-Friday will see the most Product Hunt activity and upvote potential, but also more competition from others launching.
- Sunday tends to see fewer concurrent launches and may give you an edge for visibility and earning a "Top Product" badge.
- Avoid long weekends and the weeks surrounding Christmas/New Year's when attention spans are lowest.
- Make sure the necessary features are complete, but it's fine to keep improving iteratively after launch. Your first listing is a learning experience.
- Promote any early user testimonials or case studies on your website for "social proof" before launching to boost credibility.
Following these proven strategies from Marc's many successful launches means optimizing every element in your control to introduce your product to an engaged Product Hunt audience. With the right combination of on-platform efforts and external promotion, you can give your new offering the best chance of breaking through the noise.
