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
Yes, but with an important caveat: quality of community engagement beats raw follower count every time.
A PH community with 50 genuinely engaged people who understand and use your product will outperform 5,000 followers who barely know your name. Upvotes from people who actually get the product rank differently in PH's algorithm, and the comments they leave become social proof that converts new visitors.
We're launching Hello Aria on April 10th. The strategy we're betting on: spend the 30 days before launch building real relationships in threads like this one — answering questions, sharing learnings, being genuinely helpful. If even a fraction of those people remember us on launch day, that's more valuable than any "upvote my launch" blast.
The community doesn't help the launch. The launch is a byproduct of the community.