In March 2022 we did the official launch for Kairn on Product Hunt. That day took loads of preparation but we got #1 of the day and of the week despite putting close to no budget on it - with just our tiny team back then (8pp). Some stats - of the noise we made in 24H - 🐱Product of the Day, ♥️ 1150+ upvotes, ✍️ 330+ comments, 🤗 2000+ new users.

So we decided to share how we did it + include templates on Notion for you to easily get there too.

What Is Product Hunt?

Alrighty, let's dive into the wonderful world of Product Hunt (PH) - the website where new products get introduced! 🚀 Everyday, products list on PH to announce their launch. The community discovers them and upvotes product they love, or even try them out.

PH has a gigantic bustling community of tech enthusiasts, early adopters, and curious cats sniffing out the latest products. The community is mainly made of product, growth, and tech people.

In a nutshell, it's where you come to showcase your shiny new creations to acquire users, get feedback, and grow your community (of supporters, users, but also potentially investors).

Why Does Product Hunt Matter?

First off, you get exposure to thousands of tech-savvy folks. That means, potential users, a good chance for feedback, and maybe even some $$$ in.

When launching your product, getting user feedback is absolutely key. But unfortunately we're not all super stars so we don't easily get thousands of people to try our app, give us feedback, and measurable data. So getting access - for free - to this potential user base is magic.

PH also has another community sniffing products - investors. From business angels to VCs, they're on the lookout for top performing products. Indeed, a good PH launch will demonstrate your marketing skills, and potentially a hint of product market fit (at least in what you say your product does).

So rocking your launch - that means #1 spot - does matter - it might get you users / customers, and investors.

PH keeps on improving their algorithm to make sure no one tricks it. Typically they can downgrade a product that has the most number of votes of the day if they believe the votes aren't from real community users. So you'll need to be careful and craft your launch for the community - not just your friends' grandmas. (More on how PH's algorithm works).

(It's also a great place to check how your competition and market are evolving so even if you're not planning a launch, check it often).

How To Prepare For A Product Hunt Launch?

Two things to understand before we discuss preparation. PH is a platform where you can do multiple launches. So don't see it as a one off but rather as a ritual you build with your team. Planning a big launch every 6-12months will create a sense of pace (and urgency) showing everyone you're in for real.

That being said, a PH launch takes time.
In our case I'd say it took 1.5month from 2 people spending approx 60% of our time just on that.

The main time consuming points are:

1. Build your community

   Make sure you get enough votes to be #1 (target min 1,000 in 24H and preferably 1,500). We can't stress that enough but the whole PH game is to win votes - so you'll need people. There are dozens of apps listed each day and if you only rely on having the best page you might not make it to #1. You have to activate your supporters. Before that it means they need to know you're going to ask for their help, because they'll only have 24H to act. They need to understand the urgency.

   
   

2. Align your marketing on a simple and clear message

   People will check your launch for 1-3min top so you need a very clear message to get across.

   Your aim is to get votes, but beyond that it's to get users. Your value proposition absolutely needs to be simple for your launch day. If you have an octopus of a product, with legs hanging all over the places and side products etc etc, do your cooking and cut off some (at least from the path users will walk). What you'll launch needs to be simple and clear so people understand that they are the target and they'll benefit immensely in using your app. Don't forget that the PH community sees new products every day, so to get their attention you need to be smart.

   
   

3. Prepare all the assets from video / images / text

   On D-day you won't have time to create content so everything needs to be prepared before hand and for everyone (your whole team will be on it). Two things will get you votes - your community and your assets. More and more advanced products are doing launches on PH (features or side products etc). They are investing dozens of thousands of dollars for beautiful videos, interactive content, fancy user testimonials. If you're one of them - fantastic go for it. If you're a tiny new comer, don't despair - you can still totally win. Play your cards well, do a fun impactful video (some reco here). All your emails and social media posts also need to be drafted. Yup that takes a lot of time (even with ChatGPT).

Now, I believe in checklists when time is scarce 🤓. So here are our 3 templates to get a great launch day.

The to-do list of all actions to perform from 1.5month prior to your date

The page to share with your hunter - all the needed information to list your launch

The page to share with your community to engage with your launch on D-day

2 updates PH made during 1Q2023 that will impact your launch (thanks to our dear Enzo from June for the latest updates)

• you now have to optimise your # of upvote per hour so space out your marketing campaigns throughout the day. Just the total number of votes ain't enough to win - aim for 9am CET Europe

  - 3pm CET USA - 9pm CET Asia

• PH doesn't show and sort products by # of upvotes anymore in the first hours of the race. So make sure to share the exact link to YOUR PH page

How To Make The Best Of It Afterwards?

Your PH launch isn't an end, it's a beginning :). Plan what comes next. Make sure you have the needed data analytics to track new users and engage with them. Have a marketing plan for the month after the PH. It's easy to see it as a big milestone after which the whole world starts making sense. Truth is, it won't.

You'll get (hopefully) tons of new users, some feedback, maybe some investor calls. But then it's back to the norm and the growth won't subsidise unless you have built great network effect and self-serve onboarding.

Your self-serve onboarding will enable users to experience your product's value on their own - and thus stick to the product (given they're the right target). And your network effect will turn 1 user into N users, as they start inviting / sharing / referring new people. Those two aspects are key in what's called Product Led Growth - or how your product can be part of your sales funnel. If you'd like to discuss how to build and review those features - that's what I now specialise in so ping me to work together.

Hope this helps,
Have a kick ass launch,
Cheers,
Pat 🩰