How to launch a startup on Product Hunt

Among the 21 products I launched, 13 got the Top Product badge and one ranked #2 Product of the Month.

I also got the Maker of the Year 2023 award.

Here’s everything I learned about Product Hunt — as a solopreneur competing against VC-backed startups.

Estimated reading time: 6 min 13 sec

But first… Is Product Hunt dying?

This is a recurring question on Twitter, and unfortunately, there’s some truth to it — Product Hunt isn’t as big as it used to be.

But it remains one of the best places to launch a startup:

• 4M monthly high-quality visitors

• One of the biggest tech newsletter

• Massive media coverage

Unlike any other platform, if you work on the launch, you’ll get predictable traffic and grow your customer base.

Let’s get some upvotes.

Inbound upvotes 

There are 2 ways to get upvotes.

Inbound upvotes are given by Product Hunt users who casually browse the site. Your listing should be on point:

• Your startup name should be crystal clear. I wrote about making names people remember. 

• Your tagline should be short, straight to the point, and possibly trigger an emotional reaction. You can use trendy tech words like GPT-4 but don’t go too deep. Designers, product managers, and marketers must understand your tagline.

• Animate your logo as a GIF, it’s such an easy way to get attention because few are doing it

• Images in the gallery should be extremely concise, like a YouTube thumbnail. One feature per image. Zoom on the feature until you can’t before taking the screenshot.

When your listing is scheduled, write the first comment.

You’re a solopreneur, not a VC startup — this is inspiring, so write about it. Explain why you came up with the idea.

The comment section supports markdown. Add a link to your product name to maximize traffic. I also recommend plugging your Twitter to build an audience and make the next launches easier.

Finally, if you learned anything valuable when building your startup, create a Product Hunt conversation on the day of the launch. Plug your launch link at the end. People are already browsing the site, it’s an easy upvote.

Outbound upvotes 

You’ll compete against VC startups, so you need help from outside Product Hunt — outbound upvotes.

1. Twitter 

Twitter is the biggest source of outbound upvotes you can get because our community is big and very supportive.

Within the first 4 hours after the beginning of the launch, make a tweet to announce it, and include the link.

There are more makers than ever, so your tweet will need to stand out. I always add a launch video: Each tweet would get 300+ likes and my startup gets a Product Hunt badge — even when I had 1,000 followers. I made LaunchViral to help you replicate this.

Retweet the launch tweet a few hours later. 

I also schedule 2 or 3 tweets later in the day — not related to the launch — so that hopefully one goes viral and newcomers discover my profile (don’t forget to pin your launch tweet). 

2. Website badge

Add a Product Hunt-branded badge to your landing page which links back to your launch page.

Then launch your product on other sites like Indie Hackers, Reddit, and Hacker News.

If one of your posts goes well, you’ll upvotes from your landing page badge.

When should I launch?

Monday to Friday are busier. More traffic, but more competition.

If you’re chasing for the badge, launch on Sunday.
If you want traffic, launch on Monday (VC startups don’t work on Monday 0:01 AM)

Is it time to launch?

Get social proof first. Ask a few customers/users and add their testimonials to your landing page.

Then, launch as soon as possible, especially if you’re getting started,

The first Product Hunt launch is unlikely to be a big hit. And that’s OK. It’s a learning process.

You can re-launch a few months later after adding new features. You can also launch free tools promoting your product to sharpen your skills.

Meanwhile, you build an audience and each launch will be easier.