What does a successful Product Hunt launch look like?
Here are some real examples of organic traction that founders got from their PH launches 👀
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A client of mine recently asked me what kind of tangible traction is possible with a successful Product Hunt launch. I knew a public PH launch is much more than metrics because you get a ton of high-quality feedback, potential press coverage, partnership and investor interest.
However, I became curious about this question myself so I went to Product Hunt community and posted this question:
“What were your launch day metrics from a successful Product Hunt launch?”
I am curious to learn how big PH launches can get. I'm drafting an article that outlines the impact on PH on early-stage startup traction. So .. would love to hear if you can share how many sign ups did you get? How much website traffic? Any revenue stats etc? Thank you!
The answers were incredibly useful and relatable. Some had crazy high metrics, others were more humble. Here are 8 real launch examples:
1. Workspaces (a newsletter)
Traction:
#1 Product of the Day
#4 Product of the Week
📈 32,001 pageviews
👥 1,000+ added newsletter subscribers
2. Loom (a SaaS tool)
Traction:
#1 Product of the Day
#2 Product of the Week
👥 3000+ sign ups
3. Email Timer (a SaaS tool)
Traction:
#1 Product of the Day
#15 Product of the Week
👥 1,500+ new users
4. The Gen-Z Guide to Freelancing (a newsletter)
Traction:
#3 Product of the Day
#17 Product of the Week
👥 11,000 newsletter subscribers
5. Plus (a SaaS tool)
Traction:
#12 Product of the Day
👥 350 sign ups
Bonus: Hitting #1 on Hacker News brought them 15k site visits in stead
6. Micro SaaS Idea (a newsletter)
Traction:
#1 Product of the Day
#22 Product of the Week
👥 300-400 subscribers
7. Front
2574 visitors
80 companies signed up
55 qualified leads
8. Email Love(a directory site)
Traction:
#1 Product of the Day
#3 Product of the Week
Rob Love, the founder of this Email Love had this to say:
“It wasn't a "huge" launch in terms of traffic/visits per se but what's most interesting to me is the compounding, long term "results". The PH launch got the Email Love site/brand into many email-related roundups and it's still getting traffic from the PH page. I also get approached by so many email-related advertisers (all the time) even though the site has relatively low traffic vs One Page Love. So I assume it's all from this launch -> round-ups. I definitely need to credit PH for this one.”
This perfectly sums up my experience and perspective on launching on Product Hunt as well. It’s a long term move that compounds over time and brings a multitude of benefits — some tangible but many intangible.
Fun fact: Did you know that Notion — the $10b Silicon Valley darling that everyone loves and uses daily now didn’t exactly have a hyper successful PH launch? Someone accidentally hunted them on PH and it ended up being #3 of the day. Not bad but also it ... wasn’t #1. Additional case studies:
Below are few hand-picked examples of how some hyper-growth startups have leveraged PH as a platform and as a community as a springboard:
How Framer used Product Hunt to strengthen its product-market fit
Bonus: Check out my lessons from hunting 51 products on Product Hunt ⚡️
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How can I help?
No pressure but whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:
Grab a quick 1:1 consult session with me (like many founders who’re using Intro, a fast-growing platform funded by Alexis Ohanian’s fund) to unblock you on GTM, Product Hunt launches and ‘Build In Public’ strategy.
If you have a business you want to promote to my ~7,000 email and ~41,000 Twitter audience feel free to DM me, reply or reach out.
Apply to join the Build In Public Fellowship (first cohort’s starting on March 6th 2023)
And that’s a wrap for now!
Thank you for giving your attention and checking this edition out.
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