How to Secure #1 on Product Hunt: DO’s and DON'Ts / Experience from PitchBob – AI Pitch Deck Generator & Founders Co-Pilot

Hey there, I'm Dima, a bootstrap, profitable indie hacker with a small team, Founder of PitchBob – Gen AI Tool for early-stage / first-time / wannabe / solo founders – https://pitchbob.io/. Here is my story on how we got the #1 product of the day and the #1 AI Product of the week on Product Hunt.

I hope it might be helpful for you. Enjoy.

Entrepreneurs, startup founders, and product managers often debate whether to launch on Product Hunt, whether aiming for first place is worthwhile, and discuss the value and ROI/value for money of the team’s time and money investment.

I want to share our experience of launching on Product Hunt, detailing our motives, goals, results, and the actions that led us to the product of the day, the second product of the week, and the AI product of the week. Let's go.

Here you can download the Product Hunt Launch Checklist + Product Hunt chats, groups, channels + Product Hunt Launch Support Group: https://pitchbob.io/pitch-deck-database/books

Background and Doubts.

Initially, it was unclear why we should launch on Product Hunt; the chances of success were uncertain, and the value we would get was unclear. There was also a mix of skepticism and snobbery, which suggested to me that Product Hunt had long become a cargo cult with a system of manipulations instead of a fair product assessment, as well as an industry of those who sell dubious assistance in reaching the top spot (which should not be used).

Therefore, the first thing I did was to approach the task pragmatically and formulate hypotheses of value and general launch goals. The main goal, obviously, became securing first place and the status of the product of the day. I immediately aimed for first place because I understood that any other place would not make sense or have enough value, nor would it cover the invested resources and funds in the launch.

But if our goal were only the formal first place, it would make sense not to risk and launch on weekends, where competition is usually less, but we wanted to attract audience attention and therefore chose the most conversion-friendly and quite competitive day for us – Tuesday.

Why did we launch on Product Hunt, and what did we get from it?

1. Status. Being the product of the day gives you a significant achievement, which enhances many key metrics, from website conversion to response conversion in cold outreach. After all, only 365 projects pass the primary filter each year. This expectation was fully met, but it will only work if you take first place.

2. Traffic and Sales. These were not astronomical figures that lasted long, but at the moment (7-10 days), they brought a few thousand additional visitors relevant to our product, who made purchases that thoroughly covered all the investments in the campaign.

3. Impact on SEO. A good PH domain, organic traffic, and long—term impact make sense and add value to any product. We boosted our metrics, indirectly impacting additional sales as organic traffic is our main sales channel.

4. Ego, vanity, and good mood. Those who have experienced the perks of being an early-stage entrepreneur know that their life consists of rejections, disappointments, being ignored, and other unpleasant things, which hardly motivate them to continue what they decided to make life work. Therefore, positive feedback, reviews, and achievements are essential emotional things that will stay with you forever after the X-day.

5. Feedback. We did not request feedback on the product; we understood its pros and cons and clearly knew what worked well and needed improvement. However, if you set such a goal, then this community can provide it in an eco-friendly format, unlike toxic users who are surprised that they unexpectedly have to pay for the product or that it does not work as they imagined.

6. Organic Content. We see reviews of our tool appearing on YouTube in different languages worldwide. This is nice, valuable, and useful, bringing a little traffic. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-Wb0ERW-OU&t=375s

7. News hook. Before, during, and after the X day, which warms up your current audience and attracts new ones in preparing for the launch, on the launch day, and afterward. Even this post would not have happened if it had not been for the first place and our ability to share our experiences.

8. Stepping out of the comfort zone and support from old and new friends. It might seem that a bootstrapped entrepreneur can go nowhere further out of their comfort zone. It turned out there is. At first, asking acquaintances and strangers seems uncomfortable; checking if they supported you feels uncomfortable, and then clarifying if they found the time to share the support request feels awkward. And all this within one day. And then they congratulate you on the victory, feel their part in it, and are happy, not less than you, because they cheered, worried, and supported.

What we did not expect and did not get (perhaps you expect)

1. Attention from investors or investments. We did not receive a single direct request/proposal to talk about investments.

2. Attention from the media and journalists. We did not get that either; the status of the day's product does not automatically open a flow of journalists to you, but it simplifies subsequent communication with them, again, thanks to passing the primary filter.

How did we do it, and how much did it cost?

When I was preparing and asking friends who took the product of the day, I was given the only correct and most practical advice; I will give it to you, too:

"How to become #1 on Product Hunt
3-4 weeks before:

1. Ask your network to register on Product Hunt (300 people)
2. Connect with everyone in LinkedIn groups with the name "Product Hunt" (2000 people)
   Reach out to them on the launch day. That's it"

But if you still want to hedge your bets and do everything possible, here is what we did and what you can repeat:

1. Start pumping your account a few weeks, or better months, before the launch—engage in discussions, vote, leave reviews, and make friends. This will come in handy.

2. Get a hunter; they cost about $200 for the launch. I'm unsure if it helped us, but I did not want to test the launch without a hunter, so I cannot show you the difference. I still recommend supporting the launch with the power of a strong hunter, who will also give attention to his audience as an influencer.

3. Join all the launch support groups (link to the database at the beginning of this post). Don't expect a big return, but it won't be worse.

4. Package all texts, messages, pictures, and posts—prepare everything in advance. For most of the X days, you will be endlessly writing messages, so it's better if they are already ready.

5. Assemble a team that can dedicate the entire day to outreach. There were three of us: me + two people who handled outreach to groups, communities, and personal messages. The work of my two-person team in the preparation and on the X day cost me about $1,500 for consulting and manual work. In the market, there are offers where they teach you to do everything yourself for $200-300, and there are offers where they consult you and create a strategy for $2,000. I chose something in between because I needed additional hands for operational work at all stages.

6. Think about what existing databases, communication channels, communities, and groups are available to you. Your current user base, subscribers, social media, communities, and general chats—gather all-encompassing communication channels in one place and think about the viral mechanics of their involvement in targeted actions.

7. Open all personal chats in messengers and set aside doubts, embarrassment, and other feelings that bind you. Be prepared to write to everyone you have communicated with in the last 1-2 years at least 2-3 messages during the X day. Ask them to vote, ping them if they have not voted, and ask them to share their request to vote. This, by feeling, works best.

What not to do

Do not buy ads in dubious accounts of dubious people who will lure you with gigantic numbers of their subscribers. These are all bots; there is no traffic there. So this, at the very least, will not give you traffic and votes, and at most, it will violate the platform rules and lead to a ban.

Useful links:

1. Insightful stats: https://hunted.space/ and https://productwars2.akkio.com/
2. Product Hunt's hunters' leaderboard: https://upvote-bell.com/leaderboard