Launching on Product Hunt Next Week... and Honestly, I'm Nervous

I recently saw a marketer with 10k+ followers launch and finish 6th with 348 upvotes. They followed a proper pre-launch and post-launch plan, did everything “right,” and still the outcome felt unpredictable.

Now I’m launching @Curatora next week.

I’m not a marketer. I have a little over 1k followers. Of course, asking for support helps. But I also keep hearing that a large part of the Product Hunt community shows up mainly for their own launch, then goes quiet until the next one.

That makes me wonder: how much of success here is strategy, and how much is timing and network effect?

If you’ve launched on Product Hunt before, I’d genuinely love to hear:
• What surprised you the most?
• What actually moved the needle?
• What would you do differently?

Trying to go in prepared, not just hopeful.