We launched today - here's everything we learned (including minor details :))

Thanks for sharing your post, how does the hunting part work exactly?

Thanks for sharing @imshekharkapoor ! We are launching a product soon, would you recommend us to find a hunter?

Hey! Congratulations Shekar, we just launched on PH today...hop over and show us some love 🥰https://www.producthunt.com/post...

Learning 4 - As the day is progressing, and comments are pouring in - I can see that some products with much less traction end up ranking above you. This is probably because they get more traction in a short span of time and I think this is awesome because that means PH gives everyone the opportunity to be visible. The community has started to take notice of our product - it is truly satisfying to see actual users share their feedback (especially because it is all good feedback :D)

Learning 5 - Overall - Upvotes is not the singular factor that will help you rank. It is a combination of things. We're currently doing well with Upvotes but still rank lower.

Learning 7 - Almost everyone who's launching on PH will ask their friends, colleagues etc. to come and check the product out (maybe also ask them for an upvote) but once that's done - it all rests on what the community thinks about what you have. The thing is - this also tells you a lot about the community so if you're a serial founder/maker/creator - you know what kind of product you can leverage PH for.

Learning 8 - Launch a product here just for the feedback maybe? - we got a few that really made us think.

Learning 9 - As people continue to discover your tool keep an eye on your product's performance. You may have pressure tested it but you never know what kind of volumes PH can send your way.

Learning 10 - Keep yourself relatable - your goal should be to help the community understand why your product could add value even if it is not for them. Yes, you want sign ups but to truly be visible you have to stay on the top and to make that happen you've got to be able to appeal to a large audience and having a mass appeal product is not the only way to do that. You can also achieve that by being relatable, showcasing a demo and just helping everyone understand what you're all about.

Learning 11 - You can't launch and do something else also - clear your launch day completely for just this. Focus purely on bringing engagement here - reply to comments promptly, continue to watch who you're up against and be sure to listen to what the community is telling you throughout the day.

Learning 12 - The promptness with which you respond to comments may not be a big factor but it is best that you do that. Interacting with the makers directly is a key part of the PH experience and you must make that happen.

Learning 13 - we're currently #4 for the day with 45 minutes to go. The product that was trailing us is now number 1 and I am starting to think if you're also going to spend your day doing this don't care about what these rankings mean and how they change through the day. The rankings/placements on the page continue to change as engagements happen. Focus purely on driving engagement and the rest will follow.

Learning 15 - We were finally the #4 app of the day. Satisfying day with a lot of great feedback from the community. Our product was for eComm businesses and while we were expecting for our product to just blow up and get 100s of sign ups - I think our expectations were misplaced. Not that PH has not done its job - it has rather done something else, something better. We have had about 270 upvotes through the day, majority of them from enthusiasts who may not be our ideal customers they have managed to get us off the ground while also sharing some amazing feedback with us. Most importantly, this has worked great to validate our value prop. PPC GEAR is a lean version of what is to come and I'm glad we launched on Product Hunt because now we know we're on the right track.

Learning 2 - Keep everything ready for launch day including questions that may come up from the community through the day.

Learning 3 - Comments and upvotes are starting to come in. We're #5 for the day currently. I think it is super important to stay online and respond to comments. We're getting actual early users of the product (with some priceless feedback) and keeping them engage could change the game.

Learning 6 - If your product is special for your audience but that audience is a specific kind of persona it may be harder for you to rank. Purely because a lot of people may not relate to your product at all. Products with a widely applicable offering, if pitched/showcased well are super likely to rank higher for this reason.

Thought - we're getting more organic traction but I'm unsure why some products with lower overall traction are above us. I'm guessing the algo also looks at the maker and their experience? I'll probably have an answer by the end of this.

Learning 14 - I think I know what's happening here. DO NOT forget that Product Hunt is a COMMUNITY and the community rewards you for engagement and not upvotes you can get from people who are not from the community. So work on engagement - start a discussion, reply to comments, follow people and tweet to them on launch day or before that, If you have a question - ask the PH team on intercom and they'll be happy to help. We're 30 minutes away from the end of the day and this just got thrilling with us ranking #4 from the #7 that we were on. We were also #3 for some time but as I mentioned that should not be your focus. Focus on the COMMUNITY - add value and I promise that it'll reward you back.

Really love all this! I'm launching tomorrow and I really appreciate reading this post.

this was very informative, thanks for sharing!