What does it "cost" to build a community on Product Hunt?
Many of you sometimes write to me in DMs asking how to position yourself on Product Hunt.
From the question, I always get the feeling that people want to speed up the process, publish something quickly, get a high position in the ranking of launched products and a badge. But this is a long-term game.
When I take into account all the activities that are behind your own positioning, it is sometimes a part-time job.
You have to:
Come up with topics for the forums.
Participate in discussions in the forums if you have something to contribute.
Test people's products and give them feedback.
Support launches.
Respond to messages on other networks.
And that's every single day.
Many of these things can easily take 3 hours a day if you want to do it properly. If you did it every day for just a year, you would have over 1000 hours.
And that requires the alignment with the fact that you are willing to do it seriously long-term.
How do you try to build a community and your presence on Product Hunt, and how do you manage to maintain continuity?
Feel free to share hacks, because I know it's not easy. :)
Replies
Oh, Nika, I absolutely agree!
Most people don’t realize this is a marathon! And while on other platforms - LinkedIn, X, Instagram, you can buy followers, here you can’t. To build a name on Product Hunt, you have to be active. There’s no way to suddenly have 10k followers. You’re living proof of that. Years of consistent effort.
I can share my own tips on how to build your presence on Product Hunt:
1. Have fun.
This is a platform where, if you don’t genuinely love discovering new products and engaging in interesting discussions, you’re in the wrong place. There are hundreds of other platforms for that.
But if you love finding the newest tools and software, reading posts and updates from amazing founders and teams, this is where you belong.
2. Show up every day.
One thing that keeps me disciplined is the streak. If I miss even one day, I drop in the rankings. And I don’t want that. If I’ve been active for 400+ days, I don’t want to start over; that would kill my motivation. To reach 1000+ days (like you and a few other legends), I still have two more years to go. So I need to keep showing up for a while.
3. Upvote.
Find cool tools and try them out. There’s always a way to improve your workflow.
4. Networking.
This might be my favorite part of the platform! The incredible people I get to connect with. It’s the biggest bonus here. The more active you are, the more amazing people you’ll meet. I love it. We’re talking solopreneurs, people with 10+ startup exits. I’m not sure everyone realizes how many brilliant minds are here. You can absorb so much valuable knowledge.
5. The forums.
I’d say Product Hunt has some of the most meaningful discussions in the tech world. LinkedIn feels fake to me, and X has become the same lately. The discussions here are genuinely interesting. On other platforms, everything is monetized through content, so people post non-stop just for reach.
Here, Nika doesn’t earn a cent for what she writes. Meaning people post because they want to, not to chase hype. I love reading the amazing stories from founders. Both success and failure.
6. The competition.
If you’re a maker or a hunter, there’s always that rush “Will we get #1? Will we be featured? Or will it be a total flop with just 3 upvotes?”
@byalexai Guess consistency really is the key!
Thanks for the great advice — I’ll give it a try myself.
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@byalexai @hee323 Alex, again, threw a truth bomb!
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@byalexai As always, you bring knowledge.
One point about upvoting – sometimes I wish to have this feature more transparent, so other people can see who upvoted forums. I think it could increase the chances that friends of these people would join the discussion too!
@byalexai loved this response!
@byalexai I also love your point about forums. The discussions here feel honest in a way that’s getting harder to find elsewhere. If you treat PH as a place to learn, connect, and have fun, the followers, reputation, and even launches come as a side effect.
I actually joined this forum after a few discussions with colleagues in my community. Even in just about a week here, I’ve already had conversations that genuinely helped me while building my startup. It’s a really good platform, if you use it wisely.
Let's grow together! :D @busmark_w_nika
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@byalexai @npmitaart If you see direct impact (and positive) impact on your business, it is valuable and makes sense to be active here! :) Cheers
Scade.pro
As always, 100% true. It may take an hour a day, but it must be done consistently.
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@maria_anosova I remember when I started, sometimes it took me 1.5 hours to get across many products back then + commenting + testing + coming up with the topic. It is about practice.
I'm trying to show up every day on PH, trying to comment where I can, and also connecting with the creators on other platforms too. But it's definitely not easy. As you said, it really takes a few hours a day.
Being consistent is hard, but worth it, I guess.
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@kavyashree_s1 How much time do you spend on it?
@busmark_w_nika I spend anywhere between an hour and three hours. It usually depends on my class schedule. I scroll on PH forums for a while to check for posts that feel relevant to me and spend some more time engaging with them. Then some on LinkedIn answering a few DMs, going through posts.
I haven't started posting consistently yet, though. Currently, I'm trying to understand the platforms and familiarising myself with them. Probably should start posting more too. :)
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@kavyashree_s1 Wow, it feels like you take it seriously :D Is social media management your job?
@busmark_w_nika Haha, not a job as in full-time 9-5 or something, but I'd say social media is nothing less than a job since it requires serious efforts and commitment.
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@vadim_archugov I would recommend commenting on other people's posts. That's how you can earn authoritaty too :)
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@vadim_archugov And effective ;) LinkedIn works the same way :D One girl git 300k impressions from one comment :D
Great points! I test and support, dont post or create forum topics that much, need to do more of that.
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@giannidalerta I can recommend commenting more on other people's posts. Let's see @byalexai – he engages a lot, and his comments are sometimes more upvoted than the posts themselves.
Nika always has great info to share. That said, I'm building the platform, doing customer support, talking with my few users for hours at times, engaging my professional network, and developing my social channels from zero. Three hours, or even one hour per day on Product Hunt is time away from those activities. I'd love to chat each day on the forums, maybe if I wasn't actually building the platform itself in addition to GTM. Idk. Doing my best. 🤷♀️
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@dorothy_m_danforth I feel you! The thing is – we have only 24 hours, and if we wanna be really effective, we need to do things faster (but still in a good quality) :)
Big/small time pieces, it stacks up...eventually :)
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@rickyguo Small effort compounds over time, you said it right. 😁
For me, it’s mostly just fun to explore new products. I don’t really treat it like a grind, I just check things out when I’m curious
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@zi_woo Are you there every single day, or less frequent? :)
MultiDrive
It takes so much time - a real job! But it brings so many interesting ideas and connections. It’s worth it :)
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@tetiana_hryshmanovska Practicing it for 3 years is enought to create a habit :D
Triforce Todos
Do you think it’s better to focus on a niche or contribute broadly across topics to grow consistently?
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@abod_rehman First, I would focus on one thing. When you build a big authority and trust of people, then expand. :)