Article · guide / multi-page

Product Hunt Launch Guide

Product Hunt Free Beginner

The official, primary-source guide straight from Product Hunt, it dispels myths and sets realistic expectations, unlike the sea of SEO 'PH hack' blogspam.

  • Launching is 100% free; company accounts are not allowed.
  • 12:01am Pacific Time is the standard best time to launch.
  • Prepare assets and warm up your community well in advance.
  • Use the launch to fuel organic community growth beyond launch day.
Open on producthunt.com ↗

It answers 8 questions

  1. My launch flopped and nobody cared, did I mess it up?
  2. How do I actually launch on Product Hunt and not embarrass myself?
  3. What's the best channel to launch on, Product Hunt, Reddit, Hacker News, or LinkedIn?
  4. How often should I be launching, is once a quarter too much?
  5. My first launch went okay but the second felt embarrassing, like 'why are they back again already?' Is relaunch fatigue real?
  6. Should I try to close my first 10 customers one by one, or run a small launch to get them all at once?
  7. I'm a solo non-technical founder with no audience. How do I launch when I have zero followers to post to?
  8. Every launch I ask friends to upvote and share. Is leaning on my network for each launch going to burn it out?

Read with it

  1. The definitive talk that reframes launching from a one-shot event into a repeatable tactic, exactly this category's thesis. YC... YC Startup Library Video · ~25 min How to Launch (Again and Again) Kat Manalac (Y Combinator)
  2. The permission slip to recruit users by hand, do things manually, and deliver 'insanely great' experiences to your first few... paulgraham.com Essay · ~15 min read Do Things That Don't Scale Paul Graham
  3. A YC partner and ex-Airbnb growth lead gives a tactical, no-fluff talk on landing early customers for both B2B and B2C. It's... YC Startup Library Video · ~30 min video How to Get Your First Customers Gustaf Alstromer (Y Combinator)
  4. From the founder of CMX and author of The Business of Belonging, a practical framework for deciding whether to build community... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~25 min read A Founder's Guide to Community David Spinks
  5. This is the canonical argument that you do not need a mass market to build something real, you need a small number of people... The Technium (kk.org) Essay · ~15 min read 1,000 True Fans Kevin Kelly
  6. The other side of the question, honestly told, including when a coordinated launch is actually the wrong move. It shows how... Lenny's Newsletter Article · 15 min read How to Successfully Launch on Product Hunt (When It's Right for Your Startup) Leo Bosuener
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