Is It Still Worth Launching On Product Hunt?

If you're considering whether to launch your app on Product Hunt, you're in good company. We recently gave it a shot with our Atlassian marketplace app, Released… and we learned a thing or two. Here’s a detailed account of our experience, along with actionable tips and insights to help you decide if it’s worth your time and effort.

What we launched

We launched Released on Product Hunt on July 2nd, 2024. Released is an Atlassian marketplace app that transforms your Jira tickets into comprehensive release notes. Our launch content was pretty straightforward: a solid product video, engaging images, and as a bonus, an Arcade demo.

Standard advice on how to launch on PH

Launching on Product Hunt isn’t just about having a great product. It involves a lot of preparation, strategic planning, and community engagement. Here’s what we learned from our experience, along with some key takeaways from industry experts:

Set the right goals

First things first, set clear goals. Focus on business KPIs like website visits, new signups, and trial conversions. While aiming for the top spot is great, what truly matters are the metrics that will drive your growth.

Warm up your audience

Launching without giving your audience a heads-up is like planning a surprise party but forgetting to invite the guests. Begin generating excitement at least a month before your launch. Keep your community in the loop about your upcoming Product Hunt release and let them know you'll be counting on their support. Encourage your network to create Product Hunt accounts well ahead of time so they're ready to engage when the big day arrives.

Leverage your audience for an early lead

I've read advice that "Spreading your votes throughout the day is crucial". However, based on my experience, the first 4 hours are most crucial to the success of your launch. Ensure you launch at 12:01 a.m. PT and leverage your network to engage with your launch during those first few hours.

Maintaining momentum throughout the day is important, but as the chart below illustrates, products that gain an early lead in the first few hours tend to extend that lead throughout the day, benefiting from position bias.

Pick the right day of the week

Choosing the right day can make a big difference. Mondays and Fridays are less competitive, while Tuesdays to Thursdays have higher traffic but stiffer competition. Weekends are best for aiming at the top spot with less traffic. Pick your day based on your goals.

Invest in the right assets

Your launch assets are crucial. Focus on a compelling tagline, high-quality images, a relatable product video, and a well-crafted maker’s comment that shares your origin story and value proposition. Your tagline should be clear and compelling. Ensure your visuals are high-resolution and clearly communicate your product’s value proposition. A simple product walkthrough video can be very effective. Your maker’s comment is where you reel the audience in. Share your origin story, what makes your product unique, and how people can get started with it.

Engage beyond upvotes

Genuine feedback and engaging comments can significantly increase your conversion rate from Product Hunt to your website. Many users will check out the review section to see what others think. The quality of these reviews will have a big impact on how many people will click through to your website and sign up.

Our results

By the end of the day, we garnered 207 upvotes and 34 comments.

We also saw a 117% spike in website visits compared to the previous period. However, this did not translate into a significant increase in evaluations directly linked to the launch.

What we learned

Let’s be honest, our launch didn’t go as well as we hoped. Here are are some lessons we learned that most blogs don't really talk about.

Not getting "featured" by Product Hunt hurts

Despite our efforts, we weren’t featured initially. Product Hunt hand-picks about 20 apps to feature daily, and the rest land in the "All" tab. The problem is that nobody clicks on the "All" tab. Even worse, that section is not accessible at all on the mobile app. After some persistence, we managed to get featured, but it was a learning curve. If you're not featured, immediately contact Product Hunt support and request a review.

Tip: Get as many votes as you can in the firs 4 hours. 

Be selective with communities

We posted in 25+ communities with little success. It was a massive time sink with little to show for. It makes sense, no community wants to see an influx of people who join just to ask for an upvote, and disappear.

Joining and engaging in relevant communities well before your launch can make a difference. But don’t join communities just to promote your product. Engage genuinely and build relationships first.

Tip: If you want to leverage communities, find the right ones that are close to your target market. Join and engage in that community well ahead of your launch. Then you aren't a strange asking them to vote on that random app. 

Buying Votes

Post-launch, we were bombarded with SPAM, including offers to buy votes.

There's an entire underground market for purchasing Product Hunt votes that rarely gets mentioned. After your launch, you may be approached by individuals offering votes for prices ranging from $0.50 to $1 per vote. These sellers typically manage a network—or what you could call a voting farm—of people who are instructed to vote once payment is received.

Deciding whether to buy votes is entirely up to you. There wouldn't be so many people offering it, if there wasn't a market. While it might give your launch a small boost, be aware that if Product Hunt discovers you’ve purchased votes, you risk getting banned. This gamification and the underground market for votes certainly made me a lot more skeptical about Product Hunt as a marketing channel.

Tip: Be ready to handle a lot of incoming SPAM

Ranking in the Top 3 Requires (A Lot of) Effort

To rank highly, be prepared to invest 50 to 120 hours in your launch. This includes preparing assets, engaging communities, and leveraging your network.

Even prominent apps like ChatGPT for Mac won't rank highly without significant promotional effort. Despite their reputation, they only garnered 130 votes during their launch.

Conclusion

So, is it worth launching a marketplace app on Product Hunt? We believe it is, even if it’s just for the backlink. However, aiming for a top 3 ranking requires a lot of effort. For us, with a niche product like Released targeting Jira customers, the hurdles were higher. But for apps with broader appeal, the potential for success is greater.

So if you have a marketplace app—whether it's on the Atlassian Marketplace, Shopify, or Salesforce—it's worth testing the waters, but don't expect stellar results from your initial launch.

Remember, this is based on our first-hand experience. Others with more launches under their belt might have additional tips and insights.

Happy launching!