Product Hunt

I have a spicy rule for startup growth: Never run paid ads—until you nail organic social. People called me stupid for this because they think you should always be running ads, but I don't think you're ready until you've maxed out the free stuff. "Startups die when they're addicted to paid ads," explains Andrew Chen. He's 100% right. You get complacent with lower profit margins. People who are addicted to buying ads think they have a good business—but their profits margins could be MUCH HIGHER if they took the time to nail organic first! Imagine if you didn't have to spend that $10k/mo on Meta ads! How much more valuable would your business be? This is why I only work with startups on organic content. It's creates much more meaningful value in the long term. 🤑 Also it's way more fun! I only write about organic marketing for startups, follow me Jason Levin ✏️

I want people to build better software. I want people to use the best software possible. This is why we built Shoutouts at Product Hunt It's a simple feature that lets launchers shoutout the tools they used to build their products. You can see the best of the best right here.

a16z's Andrew Chen on viral products then vs. viral products now:

Notion just hit 100M users and it all started on Product Hunt 😻

The trick to building products people want: “Shut up and listen” - Jeff Weinstein Jeff builds products at Stripe (a fintech unicorn) and this is his advice. People will literally tell you about their 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲. But only if you stop pitching them. I built my best product ideas not by doing shrooms at Burning Man—but rather by listening to my community of marketers talk about their problems. Too many times I get on the phone with early-stage founders working on marketing software and it’s all pitch, no questions about my needs. Take Jeff’s advice: Stop yapping, start listening.

Bootstrappers for the win Only raise VC when you NEED it 🚨 (h/t Elad Gil)

I’m the CEO at Product Hunt 😼 I've also launched on Product Hunt 7x Here are the 6 BIGGEST mistakes I see in launch: 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. - Create a buzz before launching. - Give your audience a sneak peek at what you're cooking up. - Build authentic connections that go beyond just promoting your product. - (This is why the Build-In-Public movement is so powerful) 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆. - Well-crafted writing is your best weapon. - Don’t leave this task for launch day. - Take the time to craft your tagline, description, and maker story to convert onlookers into customers. - Clear > Clever 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆. - Schedule your launch at 12:01 AM PST to stay visible all day. - Use the ‘Coming Soon’ section to set it up. 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀. - Shoutouts are one of our newest features! - Adding a shoutout gives you more visibility plus gives people an insight into how you built your product 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. - Our community is a goldmine of feedback and potential customers. - Don’t leave them hanging! - Respond to questions and thank those who check out your product. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲. - People want to know the humans behind the product. - If your profile is empty, you're missing a chance to connect with users outside of the platform. Want more Product Hunt tips? Follow me!

Build products for communities you love. Our Head of Growth Jason Levin ✏️ cooked with this one 🧑🍳

Web design tool Framer is valued at $100M . And they found PMF through Product Hunt launches 😸 Here's how: In 2022, Framer became a hit as one of the top no-code tools. It almost looked like an overnight success. Except it wasn’t. If you didn't know, Framer started back in 2014 as a JavaScript library that turned code into prototypes. After several launches and over 25K upvotes later, Framer finally found its groove and evolved into the powerhouse no-code tool we use today. How did they pave their way into product-market fit through launches? Simple: they know where their audience lurks. Product Hunt is full of makers and builders on the hunt for the best tools for their projects, and a product like Framer fits right in. One of Framer's main metrics for every launch is the number of new sign-ups, and Product Hunt is the perfect place for them. Here's what Framer’s Head of Marketing, Jurre H., has to say: "What we're mostly after now is people that haven't heard about Framer yet because the space for website-building is so much bigger than what Framer was before. And I think Product Hunt is a great place to find those people." Each new signup helps speed up the feedback loop for every new iteration until they reach product market fit. If your startup is still searching for product-market fit, don’t be afraid to just ship first and iterate. Launch early, launch often. Launching on Product Hunt can be the first step. We'll be right there with you along the way 😸

At Product Hunt I see 100s of launch videos Here's 5 tips to make your launch vid pop! 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿 > 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. A low-budget video where you tell your story is 10x more effective than a flashy video that says nothing. Seriously, a 2-minute low-budget Loom from the founder is better than most animation videos we see. Show how your product works, use real screenshots, and tell your story. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗸. Start your video with a compelling hook. This is short-form video 101. You gotta grab the viewer's attention within the first 10 seconds. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝟯 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘅. Longer videos can lose viewer engagement. Plus a shorter video also forces you to create a tighter script. 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Don’t be afraid to break some rules to make your video stand out. Our Maker of the Year Marc Lou parodied CSI Miami for ShipFast, and it was a hit! Marc now makes $130,000 /month from products he launched on Product Hunt. He's living proof you can have fun with your products and make a ton of money. I'm Head of Growth @ Product Hunt 😸 Follow me Jason Levin ✏️ for more Product Hunt hacks and early-stage growth tips