Ask HN: Thoughts on Product Hunt? + My experience with it

[dividendport]

A few weeks ago, we launched on Product Hunt.

Actually, we had also launched our Beta version for the first time last summer, but that was just a "submit and forget" type of launch. As you can expect, we got zero traffic from that. So if you launch on Product Hunt, don’t do that.

I knew the audience probably wasn't the right fit for us (we are building a platform for investors), but we decided to try it again anyway to see if it could give our product a boost. Also, I thought it might be a good backlink for us if we got a few reviews.

Here are our stats (in 24 hours): - Spot in the featured section - Position: #8 - Sign-ups: +65 - Website visitors: +300 - Upvotes: +259

In the first few hours, it seems very critical to get that featured spot. We didn’t get it until 4 hours after the launch had started, and it was difficult to catch up at that point.

Later on, we also got a spot in the newsletter and were awarded number 4 in fintech for the month. Despite the newsletter and awards, 90% of the traffic came within that 24-hour time period.

If you are bootstrapping a project, be prepared that many use paid hunters for their products and can reach a high number of upvotes quickly. So, set reasonable targets you want to hit if you have limited resources like us.

Overall, the experience was positive. Is Product Hunt still a viable launch pad for software products? I think so, though I wouldn’t put too much pressure on it or invest too much time unless the audience there is exactly your target.

I would like to hear your experiences and what you think of Product Hunt. Did the PH launch help you? Can Product Hunt stats be used in pitch decks, or are VCs even interested in those?

If anyone is interested in our product, it’s stockle.app.

[_xivi]

Congrats on the launch

> Actually, we had also launched our Beta version for the first time last summer, but that was just a "submit and forget" type of launch. As you can expect, we got zero traffic from that.

You shared the results achieved from the second launch but it's not clear from the post what you did differently this time

[dividendport → _xivi]

Good question! Let me add to that.

During last summer, we did not yet have any audience on any of the social platforms. The biggest difference now is actually having some sort of audience and user base. If anyone is thinking about launching soon, I would encourage you to build up your user base a bit and have your social media accounts set up and active.

In addition to your product's social media accounts, it's easier to build an audience if you are active on social platforms yourself. That's why having your own profiles linked to your product is a great way to build trust.

Secondly, most of the upvotes and engagement come from the existing Product Hunt community. Not everyone wants to sign up for a service just to leave an upvote or comment. Some do, yes, but also focus on commenting, posting, and connecting on Product Hunt. This feels forced, I know, but it's how Product Hunt works.