Build an audience first, or launch and grow later?
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This is probably one of the most debated topics in the startup world: Should you build an audience before you launch, or is it better to launch first and grow your audience afterward?
I’ve seen both approaches work, but each comes with its own set of challenges and rewards.
- Building an audience first means you're creating buzz, validating your idea, and nurturing a community of early adopters who are invested in your success. But it takes time, patience, and a lot of effort to keep the momentum going before you even have a product to show.
- Launching first lets you hit the ground running, gather real-world feedback, and iterate quickly. But without an existing audience, you might struggle to get those initial users and traction.
So, indulge me: Which approach did you take —or are you considering taking (those who haven't launched yet)?
- Did you build an audience before launching your product, or did you launch and then focus on growth?
- What worked (or didn't work) for you?
- If you could go back, would you do it differently?
Share your story with us so we can all learn from each other. There's someone here who could benefit from your experience.
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P.S: If you're a growth-stage founder struggling with churn or stagnant customer acquisition (usually because of poor positioning and messaging), I'd love to help.
I specialize in crafting impactful marketing strategies tailored specifically to your product so you can start seeing the results you deserve.
Connect with me on LinkedIn today. Can't wait to hear from you!
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I'm build an audience first too. I think the market has changed and there's more allowance for free marketing when it comes to building and engaging potential users in your platform via social media like TikTok. I think I put it somewhere where there's a Matcha store that hasn't opened up but has had over 100k followers. Meaning the have 100k+ potential clients immediately.
@psproductperson Exactly. The number of platforms available for free marketing has grown significantly. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are all excellent for attracting an organic audience.
@kay_arkain Yes! There's so many platforms out there to attract organic and save your ad money. Or at least experiment organic ways to grow your audience so you can actually pay for ads that you know will work. And the fun part too is if you're good enough with it, you can even get another source of revenue.
@nuellaugochi I totally forgot about Pinterest! It's quite underrated, isn't it?
From your experience though, do you find that there's a formula to put your videos out there in these platforms? Because personally, I know that I'm still experimenting to increase my viewing time and engagement
@psproductperson Hey, Paola! What pre-launch products are you following currently on tiktok that you think are really killing it? I'm looking to quickly learn as much as I can before trying to build my product's brand on socials, and I'd love to follow some real world examples for inspiration! :)
Thanks!
Dan
Graphify
Great question! I think both strategies can work, but it really depends on the type of product and audience.
For Graphify, I decided to launch first and build the audience along the way. The reason? My main goal was to get real user feedback as early as possible, rather than spending months growing an audience without knowing if the product truly resonated.
That said, I can see the value in building an audience first, especially for consumer-facing products where community and pre-launch buzz can make a big difference.
Curious—what do you think is the biggest mistake founders make when building an audience pre-launch? Is it not engaging enough, or focusing too much on numbers instead of actual relationships? Would love to hear your take! 🚀
@hussein_r the biggest mistake is not building an audience at all which results in an empty room when you launch.
talk about what you're working on from the start
Graphify
@taniabell That’s a great point, Tania! Definitely realizing now how important it is to build in public early instead of waiting until launch day.
Curious—what’s been the most effective way for you to grow an audience while building? Do you focus more on sharing progress, engaging with communities, or something else?
@hussein_r i don't think there's a formula or a silver bullet tbh.
but there are a few principles that worth keeping in mind
let the world know that you're working on a thing
keep the convos going
be useful and add value to wherever you choose to engage with ppl
hope this helps
Graphify
@taniabell Yeah, thanks !
@myinsightiq get feedback as you build
I strongly agree that building an audience first is the way to go. But this audience shouldn’t just be passive viewers—they should be authentic, engaged supporters who believe in the journey.
These people will be part of the product’s evolution, focusing not on its flaws but on helping it improve. With their continued support, once the product reaches a certain stage, it can generate an even greater network effect.
I will share my approach. I don't know whether it will give me the expected results and profits.
I am a solo founder. I have very limited resources (money) so I decided to bootstrap (though I'm still unsure if it's the right approach).
As an engineer I easily implemented core functionality for my product. I decided to not work on security layer and user management, until I find my first users. I made a simple landing page to present my idea and collect email addresses to contact people for a product demo.
I wrote 2 posts on linkedIn and 2 on my fb profile. Unfortunately, not many visitors on my page. Only two close friends signed up.
My audience are office workers.
PS.
If anyone has some suggestions how to improve/to make a good marketing strategy, please text me. :)
Such a great discussion! I’ve seen both approaches work, but it really depends on the product and market.
Building an audience first is ideal if you're creating something new and need validation. But launching first and iterating fast can work better for products where early user feedback drives growth.
For us, we focused on building momentum early—we’re launching Helix on Feb 17th! Would love your thoughts—just visit my page and click ‘Try Helix for FREE’!
@nuellaugochi Thank you, looking into it immediately
This makes me think - obviously growing an audience sounds like the most logical idea, but is this equally scalable/possible for every category of product? Would love to read and learn how people in enterprise SaaS industries for example, have found success in growing a community and what parts of that playbook would be useful to starting to build a relevant community in PH.
@abesh_thakur simply post on socials about what you're working on. choose a couple of platform max, be careful to select the platform where your potential buyers are likely to hang on the most and get posting. you won't regret it
Building an audience first vs. launching and growing later—both paths have their trade-offs.
For us, we started by building a community first around LinkedIn growth, which helped shape our product and gave us a group of engaged early adopters when we launched. Having that initial support made all the difference.
That said, I’ve seen products launch first and iterate quickly based on real-world user feedback, which can work well too.
minimalist phone: creating folders
Build the audience first because if your are totally unknown and not trustworthy for some newbie people, there will be lack of trust into your product as well.
Streos
Building audience first is vital, anyone who don't get it will understand after the launch.
I’m all for growing the audience first. You can have many launches, but your audience will usually stay more or less the same.