How to increase your visibility and grow your audience through Product Hunt discussions
I’ve noticed this phenomenon not only on social platforms like LinkedIn or X, but also in Product Hunt discussions.
The more users a platform has, the harder it becomes for your own posts to stand out. But the process can be much simpler than it seems!
You can get something from existing discussions to grow your reach.
Here’s how:
Follow bigger creators whose discussions attract attention.
Track trending threads (Featured, Pinned).
Comment early.
Share a valuable comment that helps the community.
Expand the discussion under your comment (replies).
Connect with the people who reply or engage (on other social media, in DMs).
For example, yesterday I saw two comments that were so valuable they could easily stand on their own as individual posts. Alex’s comment in particular gained a strong response due to its usefulness (honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it deserved more reactions than the original post). [ @byalexai 's comment, @rohanrecommends 'comment]
How do you use Product Hunt discussions to increase your visibility and growth?
TIP: Don’t promote your product with a link. Provide valuable insights so people naturally become interested in your perspective, your personal brand, and eventually your product.
Replies
SourcePilot
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@lucas_oliveira10 at least, you can try and find out more people :)
What makes you say that your target audience isn't on Product Hunt @lucas_oliveira10 ? I'm wondering this myself, but we've just launched tonight so time will tell I guess!
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@lucas_oliveira10 @tenille_easy_agile Do you see any significant results from tha launch?
@busmark_w_nika Not at this stage. Unfortunately our launch was hidden from the homepage, so any community effect we might have had from the Product Hunt community has been diminished. That may be quite a strong indicator that our app doesn't align with the community here.
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@tenille_easy_agile Which platform aligns the best from your observation?
SourcePilot
Since I received a notification from Nika (shout out Nika), as well as many kind and lovely words from her and from others, I’ll allow myself to respond.
Everything Nika described is absolutely true.
For example, I get notifications whenever Nika posts something on the platform. And sometimes I reply, when I have the time, first of all, and when I actually have something meaningful to say. Not just an “amazing post” or something generic (or worse AI slop). I try to genuinely add value to the discussion. And it pays off. Many people reach out to me, many people find value in what I write and appreciate it. I won’t lie. A lot of people have followed me on X/LinkedIn purely because of comments I’ve made on Product Hunt. I can only imagine what it’s like for someone even more active than me (like Nika).
So, specifically for Product Hunt, I would recommend following and enabling notifications for 6–7 people. @busmark_w_nika@chrismessina @fmerianare great examples. Each of them posts different types of content and covers different themes, but they all publish interesting discussions.
And when they post something, you’ll get a notification. Then go into the post/discussion and think about whether you can contribute something. If you can write the most insightful, valuable comment you possibly can. Yes, yes, yes it takes time. And AI can spit something out in 10 seconds. But not what you uniquely can say on the topic. And after that, a lot of people will genuinely read it.
Pro tip: think of your comment as a mini-post. Make it as professional as possible. Use formatting. Even add an image or infographic if you can.
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@chrismessina @fmerian @byalexai Notifications! :D I forgot about these. (To be honest, I do not strictly follow Twitter notifications, because I receive many and would go crazy, but turn the bell on and you will be notified anytime on that platform when something important is posted). :)
Every comment you make could be a standalone post – valuable :)
Humans in the Loop
@byalexai appreciate the mention, Alex 🙏
@fmerian You deserve it! We have to thank you! 🙏
@busmark_w_nika @chrismessina @fmerian @byalexai This comment is so on point! I always hated seeing people write one word comments on Instagram posts, etc. Basically zero value. I see a lot of talk on this site about Twitter/X- how valuable do you think that is? I would love to avoid that platform if possible- very active on LinkedIn already. :)
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@chrismessina @fmerian @byalexai @r221 I understand one-word comments when those 2 people have some insider jokes, but from strangers, it sounds totally silly.
I have been on the internet for 12 years. Back in 2013, everyone used to blog and comment on those blogs. Lengthy insightful replies were valued. There were times when I use to comment longer than the blog post xD
Over time, I saw similar trend inside communities. The person who added their two cents in discussions they were confident about usually stood out to the community.
It's same on Reddit, but the anonymity puts more weight on the insight versus the person. Product Hunt is a mix of both, the credibility of the member and the insight they are sharing.
Thanks for the shoutout and for all the meaningful discussions you initiate. I appreciate you and contribute to your threads as and when I see the notifications. :)
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@rohanrecommends ChatGPT also writes long comments, but I am not so sure whether it is the best. Because long comments read only two people (the poster and commenter if they lead a discussion) or trully interested people. That's why it is better to keep it shorter and with paragraphs. The same way as you do!
@busmark_w_nika The attention span on the internet has shrunk. Back then, communication on forums and text-based content creation for mainstream.
You're right, easier to read short paras on the web. :)
@rohanrecommends Sorry for the late response, just joined PH and not sure if usually the next day is a necro post. But yeah definitely agree on the credibility- it's really nice to have that mixture here. It's like a more tech-centric LinkedIn without the rest of the "here's what my wedding taught me about B2B" posts LOL
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@george_esther Whaaaat? Thank you, you are so supportive!
One of your points made me realise: Fill up the profile properly! People will watch.
To be honest, I've been posting here since day 1, so I was mostly approved, but people started noticing me after 1 year.
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@george_esther It seems like it is up to us create the space. 😅
MultiDrive
@george_esther I have the same story: I've been here for about two months, actively for a month or so, and almost all my posts get rejected :D But sooner or later the win will come, and we’ll finally be able to post! :D
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@george_esther @tetiana_hryshmanovska To succeed, you do not have to post so much in forums (yeah, it helps with visibility), but let's take @byalexai – he contributes only with comments and those comments are sometimes more popular than the thread itself. Visibility can be earned through engagement. :)
MultiDrive
@busmark_w_nika I agree, I adore reading your threads and @byalexai answers. Because you both share such valuable content about launching on Product Hunt and marketing strategy in general. That’s exactly what we’re focused on right now, so I find it really useful and insightful!Dozens of compliments, and thank you for sharing your insights and experience!
MultiDrive
@george_esther I got a reply. They told me that p/general has too many requests, so it's safer and better to post in the product’s own p/ thread.
Klariqo AI Voice Assistants
I am mostly just here in the forum to be a part of good discussions. Learn and share, and in the process, relations automatically get built, which is very valuable.
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@ansh_deb Of course, you can receive many good insights that can help you in the business in the future. Never say never! ;)
I have tried different approaches here and unfortunately nothing really worked for me. Tried to be useful with comments, posted valuable insights, commented on launched I found interesting... Honestly, the hardest social channel to crack. Maybe because I am a solo founder (no team to help with it) and my product is B2C that I dont see a lot of here could be the reasons.
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@norteapp Have you tried Reddit? That is the most difficult :)
@busmark_w_nika It is hard to crack but got a lucky comment that turned into 30 signups to my product. So not mad about it :D
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@norteapp I should reconsider that platform :D
@busmark_w_nika It's def not easy, but once you find the right channels and moments... it can work very well.
Triforce Todos
Sometimes the best posts are actually comments on bigger discussions. It’s all about adding real value early.
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@abod_rehman Explained in one sentence – very well!
Querri
This is a really helpful post @busmark_w_nika, thank you. Especially for smaller teams, getting online traction can feel like climbing a giant mountain.
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@amy_ingram you are welcome, will try to post more valuable content :)
Hey Nika,
I have a question: why am I unable to post on forums? It instantly gets rejected. I had posted only one post till now, that too in the " introduce-yourself " section. Can you help me with it?
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@sohan_patil Maybe it is an auto-rejecting answer. Try to reach out to the team via email.