Joined Product Hunt few months ago, barely showed up. How do I earn trust here before launching?
I made my Product Hunt account a few months back. Apart from a quick intro post, I didn't really do much here.
I'm an early solo founder from India. I've built several products before, but I never felt confident enough in any of them to put them out properly. This one is different. I actually believe in it, and I want to launch it here in the coming weeks.
The honest problem: I don't have an audience. No big following, no newsletter, no crowd I can bring with me. So instead of showing up on launch day asking for support, I'd rather spend the time before being part of this community.
A few things I'd love to hear from you:
1. If you were starting from zero here, what would your first month look like?
2. What actually earns trust on PH? Comments, forum threads, trying other people's products, something else?
3. If you launched without an audience, what worked for you?
Happy to hear what worked, and also what didn't. Thanks in advance 🙏
Replies
I've been in almost exactly this spot, so here's what I'd do! For the first month, comment on a handful of threads you actually care about instead of chasing the big ones. Small thoughtful replies are what people remember, and makers notice who showed up before launch day. Trust here comes from trying other people's products and leaving feedback that is specific, like the one screen that confused you, rather than just "cool product, congrats!" When I launched without an audience, the people I had talked to beforehand were what carried the day for me. Forum threads like this one are honestly underrated compared to the front page. You are asking exactly the right questions, good luck with the launch! 🙏
@neerajnathany Thanks a lot, this is really helpful! I'll take your advice and try to give specific and valuable feedback on threads. Really appreciate you taking the time 🙏
I was in your exact spot a month ago, so here is what I measured rather than what I believe. I spent about five weeks before my launch writing one forum comment a day here, then launched an invoicing tool on 29 September: 3 points, day rank 139, and the product page had 2 followers that morning.
On your second question: comments did earn something, a few makers here know my name and answer me. But it is reputation, not reach. A thread goes out to the followers of whoever started it. I started one and it got 6 views, while a well followed maker in the same forum on the same day got 56. So a fast, specific answer on a thread that is a few hours old is worth more than a thread of your own, until you have followers.
For your first month, the one thing I would do differently: ask the people you talk to here to follow your product page. That is allowed, unlike asking for upvotes, and it is the only number that turns into a crowd in the first hour. I never asked, and comments alone did not move it.
On the third question: with no audience, the launch still sent 44 real visitors by my server log the next day. Two opened the sign-up page and nobody signed up. So test the page people land on before the date, because a quiet launch still sends people, and you get one launch per domain every six months.