Can a large Product Hunt community help you with a product launch?
This is something I’ll find out in just a short while, one week from now (Jan 28), as I’m about to re-launch a digital detox app. – If you want, follow, maybe you will be on watch of my steps and activities
However, that’s not the main point of this post.
I’ve been building a community for over three years, and I’m active here every day, but not every follower uses this platform actively.
That’s why I also need to prepare and execute PRE-LAUNCH, DURING LAUNCH, & POST-LAUNCH ACTIVITIES.
Relying on follower count alone is not enough.
Some tips:
Make a list of activities and tackle them step by step.
Actively communicate your launch on Product Hunt and beyond.
Warm up your audience and make sure they’re ready to support you.
Reach out to founders of similar products (or those in your industry) and honestly ask for feedback, either through reviews or comments.
P.S. Having an active Hunter also helps.
And what about your preparation?
Do you rely only on your followers and presence, or do you also take multiple tactical steps to maximise success?
(I personally believe that combining both approaches is the best way to achieve optimal results.)
Replies
MultiDrive
Nika is launching a product, that’s dangerous for everyone launching on the same day 🙂
No envy here, it’s going to be a tough battle.
You’re very active and well-known on Product Hunt, so it already feels like a win.
Good luck, happy to support your launch! 🤗
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@tetianai Thank you so much! When are you going to launch? As well 28 Jan? :)
MultiDrive
@busmark_w_nika We’ll launch a bit later 🙂
Right now we’re focused on our next release, so for now I’m just cheering and supporting other makers on Product Hunt. 🤗
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@tetianai That's a good strategy. I need to find one as well, probably reach out to people who are going to launch in the upcoming days too! :)
Great topic as always, Nika!
I would point out that on Product Hunt one of the most important things is connecting with the right people. For example, there are people on the platform whose vote carries five points/upvotes. It makes far more sense to connect with them than with friends from real life who don’t even have an account. If you convince those friends to upvote your product, there’s a very high chance you’ll get zero points from their vote, simply because Product Hunt values the votes of people who are active on the platform.
You should also be very careful with external traffic. When there is a spike of mass clicking on the link (such as sharing it in Telegram communities or WhatsApp groups) it can easily trigger Product Hunt’s bot-detection signals and even un-feature your product. That’s why I would also advise avoiding mass sharing in various Telegram, WhatsApp, or Discord groups.
Reaching out to other founders and makers in the community is a very good tactic, and I strongly recommend it. Create a list of these people and connect with them directly.
Regarding the Hunter, one of the biggest benefits is that the Hunter’s followers on Product Hunt receive a notification when your product is featured. So if the Hunter has, as in your case, 12,000 followers, that means all 12,000 of them will receive a Product Hunt notification. And sometimes even an email, depending on their profile settings. The Hunter brings visibility on the platform.
MultiDrive
@byalexai Agree with each point! And I would warm up your audience before the launch her on forum and via personal messages, asking people to check your launch and what your product is about.
People whose upvote value is 5 are usually very active, maintain streaks, and they have gold kitten status, I guess.
@byalexai Curious from your experience — does SEO traction before launch actually move the needle on Product Hunt, or is it mostly about relationships and platform activity?
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@byalexai I like your pieces of advice because they are always true. I need to honestly work on that list of people I can reach out to, because I do not want to be too spammy :D
Lightfern for Email
@byalexai This is fantastic advice! I didn't know that people's votes can have different values. I came across this PH help article after reading your advice, but how do you know if someone's votes carries 5 points?
It's very interesting and unexpected too that external traffic can actually hurt -- it's such a common approach to share externally and ask people to upvote on PH, but it really seems like building that community and connection here is super critical.
@byalexai Great advice. Very helpful for new users on PH including myself.
Hi Nika,
First off, I love your profile picture. How did you create it, and what inspired the idea? Was it LinkedIn-inspired?
Also, the product plan you shared in that GIF looks solid. It seems like a big day ahead for you, I’ll be there to support. When are you launching?
On Product Hunt, followers can definitely be helpful, but reaching out to each individual isn’t as straightforward anymore. Earlier, when Product Hunt accounts were connected via Twitter, it was easier, you knew most followers came from Twitter, so outreach was simple. That sync no longer exists.
What’s interesting, though, is that Product Hunt has brought notifications back in a big way. If you’re a hunter or a maker, your followers get notified through in-app notifications, emails, and push notifications. I often read my followers say they discovered a launch because they received one of these alerts. I see you and I (@rohanrecommends), both have 10K+ followers! :)
From my experience, new followers matter more than old ones. Older followers can churn from the platform, so seeing a steady stream of new followers is actually a very positive signal. I also actively follow people who are launching, simply because I want to stay updated on what they build next. Many people tend to follow back, especially when you’re consistently creating or participating.
Effective ways to grow your following:
Following interesting makers
Posting discussion threads on Product Hunt
Engaging in comments
It’s also worth noting that some users carry more vote weight than others, so being connected with active Product Hunt users can make a difference.
I’d avoid overdoing external promotion. Instead of pushing the launch post to non-PH members, make friends on PH who would be willing to take time to give you feedback on your product on the launch day. Work on making your product design, positioning and messaging sharp so that it organically catches attention on the leaderboard.
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@rohanrecommends Hey Rohan, thank you so much!
The profile picture was created by me in Figma, and as you outlined, it was LinkedIn-inspired. :)
Also, thank you forthe words of appreciation. We are launching on January 28, 2026 (Wed).
I need to say that your point is valid – maybe worth a separate post because it is worth passing the knowledge to the community! :)
@busmark_w_nika I will show up on 28th Jan to support and offer feedback on your launch! :)
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@rohanrecommends That is so kind of you. You are on this platform one of the most active honestly.
@busmark_w_nika Thank you Nika. So are you! :)
IXORD
The ProductHunt community can absolutely help with a launch. I remember that the first time I launched a product, not knowing the full logic, I got many votes without any advertising or asking people to vote for the product. It was actually quite pleasant. I also agree with your response that combining the two approaches yields better results; support from the PH community plus LinkedIn and X platforms can be very helpful :)
IXORD
By the way, when I hover over the first link in your message, it redirects me to an error page on PH :/
IXORD
Nevermind, that was an error on my part xd
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@ixord I am so happy that we have testers! :D, but probably you had an excellent product when this happened. (I mean that support from people without reaching out to them) :)
@ixord @busmark_w_nika From which dimensions will your testers conduct testing?
@ixord That sounds like a great first experience. Looking back, was there anything you were doing before that launch like engaging in comments, posting in forums or building relationships or you didn't do any of it and just basically winged it?
@ixord Oh and are there any more tips you could give that have helped you gain visibility and traction pre-launch? Would really like to know from you :)
Thanks for sharing. I recently just launched my first product on here, and eager to connect and learn from everyone.
I am a little in awe of it all :)
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@leeroydotuk Do you plan to launch something also next time? :)
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@leeroydotuk You are welcome :) looking forward to your launch :)
I’m still early on followers, so I’m assuming nothing is guaranteed and trying to earn attention the hard way. I’m curious, if you had to start from almost zero followers again, what would you focus on first?
Since you're so famous on this platform, Nika. Would love to hear real examples. I think a lot of us here are in the same boat.
Anyway, good luck for your launch, happy to support! 🙌🏻
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@npmitaart Thank you so much! :)
Re follower growth – it is difficult to post in forums nowadays, so I would try to differentiate in a different way:
– giving extensive useful feedback to products
– engaging with discussion meaningfully
– new idea: try to stream/make videos on YouTube and review products
This is solid advice, Nika. The part about not relying on follower count alone really hits home.
I'm preparing for my first PH launch with Skoolified (an all-in-one platform for creators and educators), and I'm realizing that follower count is almost vanity metrics if those followers aren't actually engaged or even active on the platform.
Question for you: When you say "warm up your audience" - how far in advance do you start? A week? Two weeks? A month?
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@oprincew Public posts were like 3 weeks before, personal messages in the rage of 1 week or 3 days :)
+1 to reaching out to founders directly. Some of the most valuable traction I’ve seen comes from honest 1:1 conversations, not mass posts.
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@akute_mauton People are more prone to listen to you/or talk to you when it is direct (it is more personal) :)
The “during launch” phase is underrated. Being present, replying fast, and keeping momentum going can really change how visible your product becomes.
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@advin_jadis I recommend blocking 24 hours for that in your schedule. 😂
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@cam_mcmaster1 Thank you. IMO, this will be a huge topic for the upcoming decades. We are dopamine addicted (of course, cheap dopamine addicted).
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