Launching a new product or update? Definitely consider using Product Hunt.
With History Search I went through the phases of Early Idea To Revenue.
Product Hunt has become an essential component for me, that’s why I’ve trimmed several months of preparation and notes into a few easy to understand key-points:
1. What is Product Hunt about
2. How to Build an Early Beta Audience
3. How Do You Know What’s the Right Time to Launch — on Product Hunt
4. How to Get Your Launch Story Right — with a clear message
5. How to Leverage Your Launch to Get Press Coverage
Also included are lessons learned about:
-What type of content do you need and how to align your messages
-Tips and facts about small things that could break or make your launch (for example OG images and file sizes)
- How to structure and plan the launch day (I’ve included an Airtable with our examples and planning—for you to copy and reuse)
- Most importantly, how you can use your launch to think together with hundreds if not thousands of people.
- Finally I cover the 3 things I found most valuable, and will try to focus on even more in the future.
I'm adding a link because it contains a lot of images and gifs — and copying them over would be a bit of a nuisance. The article mentions and is focussed around a product I created and launched myself. You'll notice it's not a promotion but serves the purpose of giving real-life examples.
In the article you'll also find the link to an Airtable I used to plan our launch with real-life examples.
Hope you guys like it, put in a lot of effort to make it useful. Feel free to ask any question below, I'm ready to answer share things I learned.
See: https://medium.com/swlh/product-hunt-101-how-to-launch-your-...
1. "Upvotes don’t give you anything unless they are from the people who are really interested in what you are offering."
Such a great point! Your goal isn't to game the upvote system, it's to get your product in front of interested people. All tactics you choose along the way have to keep this goal in mind, first and foremost.
2. This tip was fantastic: "If journalists don’t reply to your email 3–5 days after you pitch, it doesn’t mean they’re not going to cover you. I recommend sending a follow-up email in the evening of your launch — not the same pitch — with the result. You could even do it the next day so that you don’t bombard the journalist with the same press release over and over."
It sounds simple, but it's often overlooked. Follow up with journalists and media outlets (even if they didn't respond to your initial outreach) soon after your launch to brief them on your launch results.
Again, excellent post. Thanks for sharing it.