What does it "cost" to build a community on Product Hunt?

Many of you sometimes write to me in DMs asking how to position yourself on Product Hunt.

From the question, I always get the feeling that people want to speed up the process, publish something quickly, get a high position in the ranking of launched products and a badge. But this is a long-term game.

When I take into account all the activities that are behind your own positioning, it is sometimes a part-time job.

You have to:

• Come up with topics for the forums.

• Participate in discussions in the forums if you have something to contribute.

• Test people's products and give them feedback.

• Support launches.

• Respond to messages on other networks.

• And that's every single day.

Many of these things can easily take 3 hours a day if you want to do it properly. If you did it every day for just a year, you would have over 1000 hours.

And that requires the alignment with the fact that you are willing to do it seriously long-term.

How do you try to build a community and your presence on Product Hunt, and how do you manage to maintain continuity?

Feel free to share hacks, because I know it's not easy. :)