Promote your PH launch only to PH members?

Question

I just learned that if someone creates an account on the day of your launch and votes/comments on your launch, it is not counted?

So, therefore, we should only be focusing on engaging with communities of people who use PH, especially on the day of the launch?

Karl Wang · Accepted Answer

Why do the differentiation? If what we do by engaging is to talk publicly, then the marginal effort of addtional viewers, whoever they are, will be zero?

Answer

@carolmoh What you say about the newsletter is true and makes me think the spot your product hits on launch day is much more important than the number of upvotes it gets.

Let's say you launch on a Thursday. Lots of competition, lots of traffic on PH. Your product gets 250 upvotes. That's good, but not enough to make it to the Top 5 of the day.

Now if you launch on a Sunday. Less traffic, but also less competition. Your product get only 120 upvotes. Not that good, but enough to be in the Top 5.

In one case, lots of upvotes, but you don't make it to the newsletter. In the other case, much less upvotes, but you appear in the newsletter.

Thanks Carol, you made me rethink my whole launch strategy 😁

Kate Ramakaieva · Answer

It depends on your goals - if you are looking for upvotes only - yes, promote only to experienced PH users. Votes from new accounts don't count and it is kind of spam and unfair competition's protection here.

If you are looking for new users, exposure, engagement - promote it everywhere you can :)

Answer

Yes, engaging with existing Product Hunt communities and users who are familiar with the platform is crucial for effective launch support. While new accounts' votes and comments may not count, building relationships within the established community enhances visibility and credibility. Focus on pre-launch awareness and collaboration with those already active on Product Hunt to maximize impact.

Phil Meyer · Answer

After wandering the wilderness of reddit wondering where all the creators were, I get what PH is doing. They're creating a community first and foremost. The daily product competition is what gets visibility but that has to be controlled to ensure the community remains viable. I kind of wish the front page had products + the discussion board to emphasize what the intention is. My 2c

Carol Moh · Answer

@sebastien_chaine Yeah it does pay it’s merits to be in the top 5 (PH also post top 5 of the day on LinkedIn with accounts tagged)

However ranking aside, feedback is super valuable and I feel like you can get some really great insights from the PH community. Quite a pay it forward model (at least I am hoping!)

Definitely food for thought and glad to have helped or sparked a few things to think about!

Carol Moh · Answer

@kate_ramakaieva yes agree about how they have to control spam and unfair competition. (I can’t imagine how crazy it would get without these controls in place)

It’s not so much about not promoting everywhere but energy and resources can only stretch so far (even with the power of coffee ☕️) so I was thinking about the strategy to do well and get visibility is probably focusing on those that are PH members.

Carol Moh · Answer

@sebastien_chaine agreed! I was surprised when I first heard about it, but I also understand that these days with so many bots, paid voting, and bad actors in the mix, they probably ended up being more strict to keep it as fair as they can.

I guess maybe in terms of spreading visibility, if it does well it will be picked up and distributed by newsletters, social media, and things.

My thought was to ask our users to take part, but it's unlikely they will sign up in advance, interact, and build up activity just to vote for us - I'll still, of course, promote it everywhere but perhaps not focus too hard on areas where there is not a large concentration of PH members. 😅

Carol Moh · Answer

@phil_meyer thanks for your insight and super valid points raised. The wilderness of reddit is not for the faint hearted! 😂

Discussion and products on the front landing page would be awesome!

Carol Moh · Answer

@thinking_aloud So what I have been reading is that the longer and more active someone has been a member the higher "weighting" their comments and votes have. This is not official, but I have read across multiple blogs and articles about it.

Apparently, if they are a "fresh" user who has just signed up, it was noted that their votes were not counted or disappeared 🤷‍♀️

Promote your PH launch only to PH members?

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