Getting ready for a Product Hunt Launch - what's going well, what could go better.
Today we launched lead capture forms which turn user behaviour into automated campaigns on PH and I thought I'd share a bit of the process we went through to get it ready.
What we got right, and what I think we could have done better!
Whilst you're here - we'd love any support and feedback on the launch!
What's going well:
- Adding the whole team as Makers. This does seem to help spread things further. If you're a solo founder, what about adding someone who really helped you with advice, a bit of design, or feedback?
- Focusing on comments. I'm not entirely sure what the system is but comments seem to help boost you up the rankings as much if not more than votes!
- Not using a video directly in the launch post. This might be personal choice, but I didn't like how the video overrides all your other images and forces itself to the front. If it could be the 2nd image, sure.
- And on the other hand - using a video to promote the PH launch elsewhere! Personal, chatty, this-is-why-I-made-this style videos are working really well for us on Twitter and LinkedIn to bring people to the launch.
- Focusing more on personal sharing than company sharing. Another piece of evidence for me that people follow people, not businesses.
- Giving an offer that's an extended version of the Free Tier, not a discount on a paid plan. It felt like a leap to get anyone seeing our product for the first time to commit to paying straight away, but a boosted Free Tier only valid today? Seems like a no-brainer.
What's not going so well:
- This morning was a rush. You always need more time than you think, and perhaps the last day will always feel hectic. But I wish we had started working on the launch, landing page and everything else a week earlier.
- I feel a bit nervous about asking people I know in this world for support and feedback. Something to get over I think.
What would you put in each bucket for your own launches?
B
@bethkcarter Thanks for sharing this! Just for context, I am on the same team as Beth and I admire her willingness to be open on what has been learnt and what has gone well today.
I feel like Product Hunt launches are always a scramble – it feels like with any community focused sites (Hacker News, Product Hunt, Indie Hackers itself!) the ranking and success criteria are always in flux – if they stay still for too long, then they always seem to be gamed.
V keen to hear of others who have done Product Hunt launches and what has gone well for them. A specific question / thing I am not sure about – how much (if any?) impact does getting a "celebrity" hunter to share your product have on success? And how have people here gone about doing that?