How To Get Product Of The Day On Product Hunt

After 1.5 years of working on an Edutainment app for developing general erudition, we realized no one needed it.

In March 2023, the app had over 10,000 users, among them quite a few active fans of our idea. But the desired growth rates, virality, and revenue were still far away. So we made a difficult and important decision: pivot.

It took 2 months of CustDev, research, and consultations. We rebuilt our concept over and over again and came up with a variety of hypotheses. And only then did we find a possible promising niche: self-coaching and soft skills development.

Honestly, before we started preparing, we only knew that Product Hunt existed. But diving into the topic, a dozen articles and several calls with experienced makers made us realize that there is nothing supernatural about publishing on PH, and with proper preparation, it is possible to attract attention. Of course, we have yet to dream of any Product of the Day.

Going on Product Hunt became one of the ways to avoid repeating past mistakes and to check if someone needed our new idea.

Much of the success in any endeavor depends on careful preparation. As I mentioned earlier, we:

• studied articles-instructions from those who have already successfully released on PH;

• made calls with experienced makers;

• familiarized ourselves with successful cases, e.g., Golden Kitty Award was a good reference.

It is essential to realize that the PH community is, first and foremost, people. And the key to a successful launch is a combination of an excellent idea, sound implementation, and a vivid presentation (this applies to both the visual part and clear communication of the value of your product).

We redesigned the description and media 5 times, but of course, the idea and the product came first. Many people use video to demonstrate the product or make a full-fledged commercial. This was not our option because we envisioned a simple product that could be told without resorting to complex production.

The next question that came before us was the question of Hunter. A hunter is an experienced PH member who can publish a product on their page. The main benefit of posting through a hunter is its social capital on PH. Algorithms like it when old and active users vote for a product. Therefore, a hunter's subscribers who see and interact with your product can be a booster at launch.

There is no unanimous opinion on the role of the hunter. Someone is sure that you can successfully launch without a hunter. And some argue that a good hunter gives the necessary advantage.

We decided not to refuse selfless help, and on the recommendation of our colleagues, we chose Kevin.

If you want to avoid betting on a hunter, it's worth laying down a few weeks to activate your net. If you are not on your first day in the startup community, there are probably people with a PH account among your acquaintances, and their support will help you a lot at the start.

By the way, you should remember to develop your account. And it would help if you did this in advance: vote for your favorite projects, comment, and participate in discussions. This way, you will have your followers who can support you on launch day. You can look for chat rooms and startup communities, talk about your product and the launch in advance, and collect feedback and recommendations.

Voices in the early hours play the most significant role. At 4 am California time, rankings are generated. Staying at the top is more accessible than breaking through there. Because users go to the home page, see the first 4-5 positions and interact with them. Only the most interested ones go down further. So the higher your ranking, the easier it is to get additional support votes. Makers from Russia/Europe have an advantage: the day on PH starts at midnight San Francisco time, and it's 10 am Moscow time. So your network will have time to activate, and you have a few hours to remind yourself and ask for support.

What did we get from publishing on Product Hunt?

The most valuable thing we got was support and feedback. We closed a project we had been working on for 1.5 years and launched a new, even more ambitious one from scratch. In such a situation, community support is critical. And it's better if this support goes beyond the standard "great idea" and includes discussion and constructive criticism - it's worth a lot.

First, you get confirmation that the problem you're solving matters to people, that they're immersed in the topic and looking for a solution. And therefore, it makes sense to invest in the project's development. Motivation at the startup is critical.

Secondly, thanks to the openness of the startup community, you can analyze usability, get an outside view, sound advice, and ideas for further development. Team members have probably lost the ability to critically evaluate the project, which is why it is so important to get an alternative vision.

Thirdly, after hard work, the team needs a result, a feeling of some victory. This will give motivation, energy, and inspiration for further work.

In addition, it is vital to validate the idea for the outside world: investors, journalists, potential clients, and partners - for them, the "Product of the Month" award can be a reason to take a closer look at the project. Of course, it is not an Oscar in the world of technology, but it is still a real achievement and a reason to be proud.

For us, coming to PH was a tremendous motivational milestone. We were satisfied with our experience, receiving constructive feedback, Product of the Day, and #2 Education Product of the Month.