I decide what's featured on the leaderboard - AMA w/ Gabe from Product Hunt
Hi everyone, Gabe here! I lead curating Product Hunt's leaderboard.
First thing I will say is that if I could feature every single product that works, I would. I love supporting makers and demoing products. I actually try to test every single thing that gets hunted every day... which is A TON. But I view our job as to surface the most interesting, novel, useful, and innovative products - daily. Now we may not always get it right, the process isn't perfect, but we're trying to do right by the community.
Hopefully, you've noticed that over the past months the quality of the leaderboard has felt really good. (Please share your thoughts!) Some of the things that I've been doing aside from testing and reviewing products is reaching out to makers to help them with their launches, provide feedback on why something may not be featurable, and help makers craft their best launch as possible. Scalable -> no. Huge impact -> I think so. I'm working with the team on how to create a more scalable version of this but for now just know I try to make myself available to you all.
Top mistakes I've seen
Product is waitlisted
People schedule a draft.... (we have a draft function!)
Maker's profile is their product/business and not an actual user account
Tagline does not describe the product ie. "Best way to earn users" vs "Capture user data with a single button in your iOS app"
Too much marketing jargon, not enough product description / story
NO PRODUCT SHOTS/VIDEOS -> just marketing fluff images
Only one image that is a low quality screenshot
Using a paid service for upvotes/hunters -> this will get you unfeatured or severely impact your launch
Some other notes to consider:
We've gotten stricter on keeping true to our Featuring Guidelines.
We highly recommend making a draft and sharing with folks to make sure it passes the "mom test" -> do they get what you're launching?
If you can quickly Google a solution that similar to what you're launching then really make sure your launch stands out. Focus on highlighting what's special about your product vs being too general.
Highly recommend having a loom or some sort of visual that showcases the start process, the end result your product produces, and what's special about your product.
Be honest, authentic, and have fun.
With all that being said, AMA! I'll try to answer as much as I can without getting fired
Replies
Hey Gabe , launching our second iteration this week - we pivoted significantly from relationship quizzes to a voice AI therapist. What's your take on relaunching evolved products? Is this considered good community behavior or does it risk coming across as repetitive?
Product Hunt
@alan_rivera hey, thanks for asking and congrats on your launch! Yeah, so early access/beta/waitlist - things that the community cannot immediately try won't get featured. The curation team also can't demo the product so it's hard for us to vet quality, make sure nothing is broken, and provide feedback to the maker as well.
You can always launch again once public!
Roads Audio
@alan_rivera Would this mean it's not a good idea to schedule the product hunt launch the same time or close to the actual product launch?
How long would you recommended delaying the PH launch after the product is live?
@alan_rivera @davefaliskie This is a great question - any idea on this? I am currently thinking I should have my product far past beta and already have users...
Roads Audio
@alan_rivera @mateo_s To me it seems like the app should be live for at least a week before the PH launch, and probably shouldn't be scheduled until it's live too. This is based on one app I launched on PH the day it was launched on the App Store, and it didn't get featured.
I had it scheduled on PH for launch but since it wasn't live no one would have been able to test, of course the app could have not been featured for other reasons. It is a paid app so maybe that was a turn off, I'm not sure.
For another app (which was free) I launched and then did the PH launch 10 days later, still scheduled but scheduled after the app was live and that one was featured.
In the future I personally will not submit to PH until after it's fully live just incase.
Product Hunt
@alan_rivera @davefaliskie the requirement is that the product can be used by the community. I've seen some products open it up exclusively for the Product Hunt launch, others release what's available/ready and show the roadmap of upcoming features.
But if we/the community land on a waitlist, then I would wait to launch until your product is no longer waitlist only.
Roads Audio
@alan_rivera @gabe Yes, that makes complete sense. When you're considering what products to feature are you looking at them before they launch, if they are scheduled?
What I'm wondering is if someone was planning to launch a product and have a scheduled Product Hunt launch for the same day of the product's launch, could that negatively effect the chances of a feature because you wouldn't be able to test/ use the product in full until the day of the launch?
My question for @gabe @rajiv_ayyangar and @noahkagan —
Does Product Hunt and AppSumo view each other as competitors?
I’ve noticed a few interesting dynamics between the two platforms:
AppSumo displays PH badges on product listing pages but does not backlink to PH.
PH seems to discourage AppSumo links on launch posts or discussion posts by not featuring it.
AppSumo has developed its own version of a Product Hunt-style platform.
Rajiv mentioned in a forum comment that Product Hunt might explore an affiliate fee model, possibly similar to AppSumo’s approach of taking a significant percentage of sales. However, PH could take a different approach and opt for a more competitive pricing structure.
Could you share your perspective on the relationship between Product Hunt and AppSumo or the above points are purely coincidental? :)
Product Hunt
@rajiv_ayyangar @noahkagan @rohanrecommends can mostly comment on bullet #2 but it's not necessarily that AppSumo links are discourage it just so happens that products launching with an AppSumo link don't typically meet the bar.
With AI making building apps incredibly accessible and builders becoming super creative, the bar for what is considered for a feature is constantly being raised.
Product Hunt
@gabe @noahkagan @rohanrecommends When it comes to building a sustainable business, I'm not a fan of the AppSumo approach. Lifetime deals, and the significant percentage that AppSumo takes don't seem conducive to building great products or great businesses.
I don't view us as competitors because I don't think the products on Product Hunt have much overlap with the types of products on AppSumo (Product Hunt products are better, more creative, more ambitious - there's no comparison). If we were to do an affiliate model, it would be for a much lower percentage of sales than AppSumo takes. We would only make money if we're bringing you significant revenue.
@gabe @rajiv_ayyangar @noahkagan @rohanrecommends I also wanted to know this. Thanks for the question bhai 😍
@rajiv_ayyangar Are you planning for something like that (affiliate model)? 🧐
So I made my first launch on Sunday - firm middle of the table ranking for the day but I was honestly just stoked that people were taking a look at it. It's a goofy generator - nothing fancy - and I certainly wasn't expecting to be featured. I guess my question is, for those like me who enjoy making things for fun, or introducing something purely meant for fun in the space, do you guys have room for things like that on the featured list from time to time or do you prioritise legitimate function?
Product Hunt
@how_about_this_group congrats on your launch! I personally LOVE fun, quirky, goofy products. I think the internet needs more of it. Some recent launches that have been featured are Googly Eyes, touch grass, @Ball, and @Scroll Buddy!
The key things about these quirky ones are:
How unique is it
How good is the output/final product
How well is it designed?
There's no perfect formula for these as they're usually each unique in a way - but I think the common denominator is that they're fun and decently polished!
Googly Eyes touch grass @Ball @Scroll Buddy @gabe Makes sense, thanks for replying. Agree that those were all worthy contenders!
chatWise
Thanks for this thread Gabe!
I have a question regarding the screenshots that are shown when we launch a product.
By default the quality of those images, i mean the way they are rendered in the PH page, is just not good quality. Is there a way that I might be missing in order to make those images of higher quality?
Also does it matter if the images are light or dark mode? Or completely irrelevant?
Thanks
Product Hunt
@cryptosymposium good question! Light mode and dark mode doesn't typically matter. I would take into account that Product Hunt doesn't have a "dark mode" so your images will mostly be against a white background.
For image quality - try compressing the image before upload. Images shouldn't still be crisp! If you're having issues, contact hello@produthunt.com - we'll want to make sure nothing is happening on our end as well.
chatWise
@gabe thanks for the response. Will use that in my upcoming launch then.
Why it is very rare for products to feature after launch in initial hours, based on the public receptivity ? Why is it all decided before launch ?
How are ratings calculated ? We launched a product https://www.producthunt.com/posts/zenstream-live-2 that was top in non-featured section and had more votes than the last featured product, and we saw that our actual count was kind of paused for many hours, and ratings showed were definitely less than 50% of what
Why do some hunters hunted products have extremely high chance of getting featured ? You understand they have built an independent business based on this pattern, directly or indirectly charging money.
Product Hunt
Hi @siddhantjain92 - thanks for asking your questions!
We try our best to not make the leaderboard a "popularity contest" but instead surface cool, innovative, fun and unique products. There might be instances that we're wrong and we'll adjust accordingly but typically our pulse is pretty accurate.
Points are decided by upvotes and other genuine engagement such as comments. You can learn more about how points are decided here. We're still improving the process! If you have any worries you can always message our support team if you're in doubt or want to double check.
I review products - not hunters. I try to test every product that comes through and surface some of the most interesting ones. I will admit that some hunters have a neck for identifying awesome or fun tech but it doesn't really factor in to the decision.
Lastly I will say, some users try to relaunch the same product or reschedule the product multiple times which can be considered spam behavior, especially if the launches don't change or barely change. So if you don't get featured the first time, don't give up! You can always launch again, just make sure there's a significant update and that you're really highlighting what's special about your product.
@gabe Thanks for the detailed clarifications !
@gabe To my earlier comment on this thread, you had given 3 reasons of featuring logic
https://www.producthunt.com/posts/purposeful-poop - This is featured "I made money pooping at work this year. Figure out how much you made!"
We launched a quite innovative video security product today after making all necessary submission requirements, and did not get featured. We did few edits on other days before making this submission. I guess it is not as useful as a funny poop money making tool.
I doubt 200 products are actually tried in a day by PH team.
Also, the point system is so unclear that a non-featured product rarely can make a mark or get any ROI for promoting it, we didnt get any organic queries from PH in last non featured launch (After being top in non-featured)
Roads Audio
Do you and the curator team make bets on what product you think will be product of the day?
This is great info thanks for sharing!
Product Hunt
@davefaliskie haha, great question! No money or anything involved but often I do go, "I have a feeling this is going to be #1" and It's honestly pretty cool when I'm wrong.
Product Hunt
@davefaliskie @Polymarket on Product Hunt incoming???? Not a bad idea aha.
What percentage of featured products are similar to something else you've featured before? Another way I'd ask this question: how much weight do you put on the uniqueness of the product when choosing to feature it?
Product Hunt
@anandsays uniqueness does weigh pretty heavily. For example, to-do apps. It's a really crowded space, so we try to only feature those that stand out some way. This could be their approach is completely different, they've designed (UX/UI) the product in a unique way, have integrations competitors don't have...etc.
If you're the first of your kind - it's also a big deal! Another way to think about it is being the first hamburger shop in your city vs the 20th. One started the movement, but what did the 20th do to make itself unique/stand out?
Hi Gabe, this seems like a very helpful post :) I don't want to see you get fired, but let me ask a few questions off the top of my head:
If we share our launch link with our users (without asking for upvotes), will your system flag us for spam/bot activity?
I saw in your guidelines that you recommend waiting six months before relaunching, but I've seen some products relaunch within a month of not being featured and make #1 of the day. What is the official policy on this? Are there any exceptions?
How does your team decide which relaunches to feature? Does past performance and engagement play a role, or is it purely based on product improvements?
Do you review planned launches in advance, or do you evaluate them after they go live?
Are there specific industries or product categories where you see more success in getting featured? (Tons of new AI products are launched every day)
I hope these will be helpful to everyone who is launching their products on PH!
Product Hunt
Hi @isibol01 good questions! Tackling them below.
Genuine support will not flag our system or team. However rewarding users for upvotes, buying votes, spamming communities, etc will trigger our review process.
Great question! Products should wait 6 months to launch but I've been experimenting with allowing launches that are genuinely big or significant updates. We might update the FAQ to reflect this soon as it seems to be going well :)
Relaunches are purely based on product improvements. We're looking into being able to submit feedback to makers if their relaunch or update is rejected to help provide more transparency.
I review launches in advance but I also review and monitor them as they're live!
This is also a good question and kind of hard to answer. AI for example is having a massive boom, so the amount of products using AI has largely increase and because of the industry trend, the likelihood of a product that has AI will be featured is higher.
@gabe "the likelihood of a product that has AI will be featured is higher"
That's an important point.
If my product utilises genuine proprietary machine learning models, rather than a Chatgpt wrapper, should I highlight this in the description? I'm asking because I want to avoid using buzzwords, as users are fatigued by AIs.
Thank you!
hi @gabe, very helpful post and discussion for a PH newbie! I'm preparing for my first launch here and was wondering, how much time do we need to take into consideration for the moderation process, from submitting your launch/product to actually getting featured? Really want to make sure that we schedule enough time for it, and can imagine is a pretty time intensive task for the team! Thank you!
Product Hunt
@joyce_kremer ideally 24hrs at minimum! The team and I make sure to review things within a minimum of 24hrs. You got this! Excited to see what you launch :)
@gabe Great, that's good to know! Another quick question, does it matter if the product we're launching has a sales-led motion in order to get it featured? It's a Shopify app for a specific small business audience, so we need to make sure the right stores are getting access the platform. Understand that having a sales-led product will limit how easy people on product hunt can actually test the product, so would be great to know the impact. Thanks!