Launching on Product Hunt is a huge moment for any startup. We’ll be launching General Collaboration on Product Hunt on October 8th, so ahead of our launch, I recently sat down with two experts who have it down to an art form.
Leo Bosuener heads up Social Growth Labs, they specialize in helping startups find their first thousand users through Product Hunt. Joining him is Tomás Hernando Kofman, co-founder of Not Diamond. Their AI tool for selecting LLM models was recently top dog on Product Hunt, racking up over 600 upvotes.
Our conversation covered the full spectrum of Product Hunt, from nailing your launch day to building long-term momentum. What really stood out was the scope of how they use Product Hunt – it's not just about one big day, but a platform for ongoing growth and connection with users.
Leo and Tomás shared strategies for crafting an irresistible tagline and timing your launch for peak impact. We also dug into how you can leverage your initial success and how to approach multiple launches over time.
Whether it’s your first launch or you’re looking to refine your approach, there's great stuff here for everyone. Check out the full episode here:
And follow along with General Collaboration’s Product Hunt launch here: https://www.producthunt.com/products/general-collaboration
Now let’s walk through some of my favorite takeaways from this week’s episode:
Here's a trick Not Diamond used for their launch - instead of going all-in on one day, they spread things out. Tomás broke it down for us:
We spread our launch over a week. We launched our API and announced our raise on Tuesday. The next day, developers who had built things on our API launched their projects, and we amplified those. Then on Thursday, we launched our chatbot on Product Hunt.
By doing this, they kept popping up in people's feeds all week. They showed off different parts of what they do - from the techy API stuff to the things people were building with it, and finally, their user-friendly chatbot. It's a great way to build interest and show that your product isn't a one-trick pony.
Alright, so launch day arrives. Time to kick back and watch the upvotes roll in, right? Nope! Leo says it's time to get chatty:
Set aside time to engage with the community on launch day. Clear your calendar and make sure you have one or two team members who can jump into the comments, be helpful, and engage with the community.
Launch day is when you really want to be present. Jump into those comments, answer questions, get excited with people. You need to turn your launch into a conversation. You might learn stuff about how people see your product that you never realized. Plus, people love seeing that there are real humans behind a product, not just some faceless company.
The Product Hunt tagline may seem like a minor detail to some, but Leo says it's a big deal:
The tagline is literally the most important asset you can work on to increase the conversion rate from the Product Hunt homepage to your launch page.
When people are scrolling through Product Hunt, your tagline is your one shot to make them stop and say, "Huh, what's this?" Coming up with a good one is tough - you've got to be clear about what you do, but also stand out from the crowd. It's a bit of an art, finding that sweet spot between explaining your product and getting people curious enough to click. You’ll also want to balance speaking about the product as it stands with your vision for how it develops in the future.
Okay so you’ve nailed the tagline, you’re active in the comments, and you stretched out your launch over multiple days. You’re far from done though! Leo explains:
Be proactive about your launch day success. Reach out to investors, influencers, or bloggers in your field, leveraging your Product Hunt success as social proof and credibility to get additional features.
Tomás chimed in to give an example of how he kept the momentum going:
We added the badge to our website, which I think helps. But then we also generally have tried to stay active both on the discussion and reviews that have been coming in post launch day on Product Hunt.
Your Product Hunt success is a stamp of approval from the tech community. Use it everywhere - on your website, in pitch decks, when reaching out to potential partners or investors. Also, keep engaging with the Product Hunt community after your launch. Respond to reviews, jump into discussions, and show you're listening to feedback. This ongoing interaction helps turn that initial burst of interest into a steady stream of users.
After you've leveraged your initial Product Hunt success, there's another strategy to consider for long-term growth. Leo shared this approach:
We do have a few clients we work with either every quarter or every half a year, depending on how frequently they ship new updates or products in order to introduce them to the Product Hunt community again.
This strategy keeps your product fresh in the minds of the Product Hunt community and shows your product's evolution over time. Each relaunch is a chance to showcase new features, gather fresh feedback, and tap into the Product Hunt audience again. Plus, it shows that you're actively improving and responding to user needs, which can be a big draw for both potential users and investors.
