My launch didn't go too well, looking for feedback on how to do better next time

Question

So I've launched today on ProductHunt and I don't think I'm going to get to the front page from new.

I've got 11 upvotes mainly from people I asked to upvote and I'm not sure what to do to get more engagement. What did I do wrong? Was my product not engaging or relevant or well executed in the minds of people who look at newest?

I want to learn so I don't make this mistake again

https://www.producthunt.com/posts/codebird

Adithya Shreshti · Accepted Answer

This is my first answer on WIP and happy to share the feedback on your launch 

1) Based on what you have mentioned, looks like you have considered Product Hunt as your ONLY marketing/outreach approach for the launch (biggest mistake which I have seen while conversing with founders/makers). Apart from posting on PH, what else have you done along with it really matters?

2) And a few makers think once they post on Product Hunt, there would be crazy influx of traffic, downloads, engagement etc. It doesn't work that way as there are a lot of influencing factors. 

3) Checked your Product Hunt listing as well. It looks cool but no where have you highlighted how your product is better compared similar (not exact) and free alternatives. 

4) Your landing/homepage headline should definitely by rephrased such that it highlights your product's USP. The current one "Change text on any website right on the page." isn't something that attracts people to try out because as you know any one can change the text on a page by right click > inspect element. 

5)Also, I see your product is still in "alpha" which is too early for Product Hunt + you should have tagged it as "Pre-launch" 

I can go on and on but just leaving it here for now. Hope these suggestions and pointers help you relaunch 6 months down the line. Cheers 

Disclosure: I am one of the top 30 Product Hunters globally, and I fairly have understood what works and what doesn't after experimenting a lot over the years. I have managed to learn after conversing with 100s of founders/makers, these conversations with them have been mutually resourceful. Feel free to reach out to me via twitter DM anytime.

Florian ARGAUD · Answer

Hey @david ! ☺ 

First, congratulations on your launch!!! PH is great, BUT it's not the end of the world. 
Have you tried Indie Hackers, Reddit & Hacker News? They're probably more target for your product. 

I'm not an expert at all in PH, I just launched once and got lucky I guess (#3 product of the day ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ). The only thing I learned from my first launch was that people LOVE when a product is "instant fun". And by that, I mean a product that you can use and have fun with in less than 5 seconds. And when I take a look at your website, I don't even know where I should start? Do I need to signup first?

David Furlong · Answer

I have some technical limitations I've become aware of and am trying to fix first 😅

David Furlong · Answer

First off thank you for taking the time to write this in depth answer.

1) I did make the mistake of not building an email list/marketing when I started working on the product. I spoke to some potential customers but I didn't build up anything around this. I also posted in facebook groups, indiehackers, HN, twitter and direct messaged some friends of mine. What other approaches would you recommend?

2) I wasn't expecting that, but I was expecting to make the front page. Don't think I got a single registered user and its free

3) Thats a great suggestion thanks

4) Yeah I see now I could improve this

Thanks for the advice again and I might take you up on the twitter DM offer!

Florian ARGAUD · Answer

Here is a motivational speech just for you. Good luck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXsQAXx_ao0

Arnaud Joubay · Answer

I can't give you an explanation, but do you know Chris Messina? He gives a lot of advices on his site where you can ask him to hunt you (which helps get noticed). https://chrismessina.me/hunt-me. He also just published a course https://chrismessina.ewebinar.com/webinar/course-introduction-nail-your-launch-on-product-hunt-247.

David Furlong · Answer

So great, thanks Florian

David Furlong · Answer

Hm yes that might have been better. I read a couple "launch on product hunt" blog posts and it seemed like because hunter's followings don't get notified by email anymore that the hunter isn't particularly important anymore. It also seemed like many recent launches I looked at were hunted by their makers so I went with that. Next time maybe I should put more care into that. Thanks for the links, will check it out!

David Furlong · Answer

Thanks for the kind reply and sharing of your experiences @icesofty ! Gotcha I did post to hackernews and indiehackers but I didn't put in as much time there. Will give it another try

Florian ARGAUD · Answer

Hey @david ! 

So, did you launch your product on other plateforms??

Go to Homepage	`g` `h`
Go to Done Todos	`g` `d`
Go to Questions	`g` `q`
Compose a New Todo	`n`
Go to Search	`/`
Show this dialog	`?`

My launch didn't go too well, looking for feedback on how to do better next time

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