Is it a good thing to ask for upvotes on Product Hunt? 🔼
Business Marketing with Nika
109 replies
I get a lot of messages about upvotes every day.
Do you think this is good?
On the one hand, you can ask someone who is not at all interested in the product and give an upvote without actually trying it. There are, of course, hidden benefits.
🙂 When they vote for you, you can move up, increasing your visibility + getting into the PH newsletter and on social networks as the product of the day.
🙁 On the other hand, you may be disqualified. At least that's how some people who got "banned" presented it.
So to ask or not to ask for upvotes? 🤔
Replies
Simona O'Neill@simona_o_neill3
Launching soon!
This is a very interesting topic. How can you not ask for support and feedack? That's what all the launches are about! PR campaigns, ads, special offers and incentives... it's marketing ! Direct outreach is marketing too. The real issue though is how, who and what kind of support you're looking for. For example if I am contacted by a person who is the founder or part of the maker team looking for some eyeballs on their product, I will always go and check it out. If it's interesting or useful to me I will upvote and give my honest feedback. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. Think about it, if you launch your product and just sit there and wait to see what happens with it you will most likely never going to be featured or noticed. You can't put so much effort into building your product and then put no effort into your launch campaign. People ask for votes during th elections all over the world. People ask for support when they are fundraising. People ask for support when they need help... As long as it's done by humans in a human way I am cool with that :-).
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@simona_o_neill3 That Interesting angle of view, thanks for sharing! :) When is the ideal time to start revealing those marketing steps for launching products in DMs? :)
Launching soon!
@busmark_w_nika I personally started reaching out to people many months ago. Tell people what you're building to get some initial feedback and validation that it's a useful tool. Invite people to follow your PH page or join the beta test waitlist. Talk about your product in various forums and social media channels consistently. Then reach out to the select group of people once your product is ready for testing and ask for feedback. A week before the launch, start spreading the word that your launch will be happening on a certain date to create a bit of hipe about it and to give a bit of notice in advance. There has to be some excitement and anticipation. Then on the day of the launch drive more people to see and test your product :-)
@simona_o_neill3 @busmark_w_nika Also curious about this ^^
@simona_o_neill3 This comment is worth a bookmarking option in Product Hunt, which unfortunately is not there :)
Well, I really hope so, because I want to show everybody my first product on Product Hunt 😁
https://www.producthunt.com/post...
@diogomaiacaetano Sure, just let me know a day ahead. After all, we're hear to help each other!
@kate_ramakaieva We need to take the opportunity on any chance we have hehe thank you for the support! :)
@diogomaiacaetano Hi! Let's help each other too. HelloRAG's launching in two days. https://www.producthunt.com/prod...
Launching soon!
May be yes ;)
I think many do that. Could be good only if your product is truly practical or you return the favor in the same way!
@salar__davari Many, many, many, many people ask me for upvoting and I do understand. I think it would be great to have many circles – like creating brand awareness about what you do as a company, brand awareness of building product – what it can do + communicating upcoming launch + being in contact on a personal level with people but showcasing on a broader level. 📣 Lot of marketing, you know :D
I guess the best way is to showcase your product and bring some attention to it, and then people can decide if they want to upvote it. Though directly asking for upvotes is not against the rules, some people may find it a bit intrusive.
@yurii_holovanov yeah. My opinion is to clearly communicate the product and the whole journey of building it several months in advance. To build a personal brand on social media is not enough (or company brand). People/organizations should share their journey in public.
I don't see a problem, if it's done in a fair matter. It's like, i'm a door to door salesman trying to talk about the product i spent months building and that I believe in.
People, like me, that built their product on their free time and invest some of their savings on it need to find ways to create visibility without spending a lot, that means talking about their product on forums, ask for feedback, improve on that feedback.
For example, yesterday, we've received the feedback that there was no way to check how our website works before subscribing to a free trial, in their words "it looks like a scam", today we already deployed a better onboarding process where we explain in detail the next steps after a user registers and show some of the features with actual screenshots of the application. At the end of the week we plan to have detailed videos that go trough all the features, and they will also be shown in our homepage. It's more than receiving feedback is also on acting on it.
On the other hand, I don't like spammy stuff. It should always be about human interaction. Ask for feedback, discuss, provide feedback.
@pedrofonseca17 Yeah, but everything is about the way how you present it. Because when you show up only on the launch day like: Hey, support me! It sounds totally different when you show up 6 months before and communicate in many layers about various things to better understand a person. Yeah, this is more time-consuming and energy demanding but you are more likely to receive complex feedback.
@busmark_w_nika I agree, but i feel like it's not so black & white.
Example: 6 months ago we had no idea that we were going to launch Amigos do Miles. It started as a project for my girlfriend to have a nice portfolio project, so that she could get a job as a developer, but when she finished it we realised we could have an opportunity to actually make something more out of it.
That's why, in my case, i'm new to Product Hunt (knew it, but never actually registered), because we didn't even know we were going to try and actually launch this and we are going out of our comfort to market it.
@pedrofonseca17 This is a specific case, yeah. But as I have been here for a long time I can see many new accounts (many of them are random "bots" and it is really hard to identify who is real and really needs that help). I appreciate comments like these because they are true and you communicate your thoughts but some accounts generate AI answers only to be seen as active. And they ask for upvotes.
Yeah, definitely hard to know then, with whom should I interact and support. I need to filter somehow. 🙈🙈
I think yes, because If you don't praise yourself, no one will.
Launching soon!
I guess asking for support is much needed to get some traction, but I would definitely say no to buying upvotes
Launching soon!
Yes, I think, asking for upvotes is okay generally. After all, we are here to support each other and discover new products.
But presentation does matter. If you show up at the last minute and there are dozens of similar requests every day, it can become quite bothersome, especially for people with a large following.
@michaelshver I think you described my situation. I personally cannot handle every "ask for a favour" because I wouldn't do anything in my whole day just only upvote for products.
Launching soon!
@busmark_w_nika fair point! I believe it's manageable for most of us, but I'm sure that for top users the sheer volume of requests can be overwhelming 😅
How do you approach upvoting then, if not a secret? Do you simply choose products from the launches list or do you follow products before the launch because the idea or some form of marketing strategy was intriguing?
@michaelshver Yeah, I need to see some use-case for me. If I am interested in social media, I am more interested in tools related to social media and try to observe more about it + engage with that :)
Launching soon!
Yes. If people don't want to upvote in the end they're not going to do it
@maurizioisendoorn Totally agree, ask for votes but don't harass
@maurizioisendoorn + upvotes are only upvotes – upvoting is not equal to testing products, giving feedback and purchasing it.
Launching soon!
@busmark_w_nika True. It only helps you increase reach and therefore increase the chance to connect to your actual audience.
Asking for upvotes on Product Hunt can be a double-edged sword; it's essential to encourage genuine interest rather than just soliciting votes. A better strategy might be to share your product's unique value and story, inviting the community to support you if they genuinely believe in what you're building.
Yes, asking for votes is a natural thing as we want our product to be recognized, but don't harass people or make a deal
yes its a good thing
@amanda_silmon Can you observe also some downsides?
Launching soon!
No, I would not ask for upvotes. I think it's okay to ask if someone will look at your product and support you. But it should still be their own decision.
I always feel a bit sorry for the start-ups that don't have the capacity to write to everyone but have an excellent product and don't get the same attention as a result. So in addition to support, I always try to look at other products as well
@julia_engelsmann I try to be proactive and support those products I really like –> I am exploring the launch page... but then I have tons of messages for upvoted on LI. 😅
Launching soon!
👀👀👀
@mattisssa Are you waiting for the results? :D
Launching soon!
@busmark_w_nika, I have a skeptical perspective on this issue.
I recall that 5 years ago on Product Hunt, a product could become the "Product of the Year"
with just 300 upvotes in a day. 😁
(I launched a campaign for Capture (https://www.producthunt.com/prod...), but at the time, weird I didn't accept the maker offer, so I'm not on the list.)
However, I remember that it was a time when genuinely good products could easily gain upvotes.
Now, every launch is inundated with messages from marketing specialists with million years of experience, offering to sell you upvotes for your products.
I'm quite certain that this resembles a "farm" operation, akin to the scene in the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street," where numerous people on phones are deciding which product to "pump."
Launching soon!
@busmark_w_nika My point is that yes, Asking for help with your product is acceptable, but it becomes problematic when it leads to hysteria. Having people spam requests for upvotes without users even seeing the product.
Doesn't mean nobody should do it, just a matter of what makers are expect from the PH launch 🙃
@mattisssa BTW, do you have a LinkedIn? I would like to ask you a few things about the PH in the early stages.
Launching soon!
Launching soon!
To be honest, I often find myself missing a 'downvote' button...
@vorniches This is something you could list yesterday in the discussion. 😂 https://www.producthunt.com/disc...
I hear you on the upvotes dilemma—quality engagement really is key. Upvotes can boost visibility, but what truly counts is connecting with those who'll genuinely love and benefit from what you're launching.
For me, I aim for mutual support and collective growth, having our products gain visibility is crucial.
If you’re with me, here’s my product teaser: producthunt.com/products/checky-bear
Check it out and I’ll make sure to get notified on your launch too 🥰🔥🤝
asking for upvotes - defifntely no! ⛔
asking for feedback and support - yes, that is why we are here - to explore new products and to support the ones we like ✨
@kate_ramakaieva How would you handle 20+ messages per day for asking feedback? I try to find a solution. :D
For small enterprises like us, asking for upvotes seems to be one of the few ways to get our product exposed to a wide broad of folks. I totally understand the pain of checking your message box only to find such requests.
@busmark_w_nika why not, but it becomes more authentic and understandable when you keep the audience engaged about your product from the start. If you want someone to interact with your launch then you have to be active and responsive on their posts as well - I believe that sums up what PH is all about - supporting each other!
@mehtab__faiz To be honest, I try to be responsive but reckon that it will be tough in the future as my follower base is growing. 😅