You’ve seen Product Hunt mentioned from time to time, especially when talking with colleagues and clients in the tech industry. But what is it, and would it be a useful tool for you?
The basics
Founded in 2013, Product Hunt allows users to submit and talk about products they find interesting and useful, and then allows a select group of users to vote on the product. The more votes a product has, the higher it goes on a daily list that’s presented on site and emailed the next day to the site’s subscribers. For some businesses, it’s a great way to get new launches out in front of the people most likely to want to try it out or use it.
But the product has to fall under one of four categories.
Does your product fit?
Digital products are the site’s bread and butter, but tech gadgets, books, and podcasts are welcome as well. If what you’re offering falls into one of the following four categories, Product Hunt can be a landslide for your marketing efforts.
Technology products like web and mobile apps, software, and even hardware.
Games running on PCs, online, or as apps.
Books, typically nonfiction, that focus on technology, business, and related topics.
Podcasts that relate to marketing, startups, and technology.
Is it interesting to Product Hunt’s demographic?
Your launch will be successful or a complete failure based on a few different factors, but one of the biggest is whether or not what you’re launching appeals to Product Hunt’s users and influencers. So, who’s on the site?
- Startups
- Most of Silicon Valley
- Anyone in a technology-based profession
- Journalists
- People who really like to try new tech as quickly as possible
If you have something that would appeal to, be interesting to, or help anyone who falls into any of the above categories, Product Hunt might be for you.
Do you have the time to create a successful launch?
Product Hunt doesn’t cost you money, at least not upfront, but you also can’t just throw the new product, feature, or rebranded product out there and expect to get results. Taking the time to think through your content and presentation, and define what you’re trying to get out of the launch (exposure, product testing, lead generation, etc.) are a requirement for success. And it’s not just the leadup to the launch that requires time and effort on your part – successful launches have the product creator answering questions from the community and responding to feedback. Basically, you can’t just launch and run. A good place to start is the launch blog post created by Product Hunt themselves.
For the right products, when presented interestingly and thoughtfully, Product Hunt gives an insane boost in traffic, typically leaps and bounds beyond sites like Designer News and Hacker News. And then there’s the demographic using Product Hunt. As a rule, they’re passionate individuals who are also influential in their niche; investors, authors, entrepreneurs, and tech journalists flock to the site to uncover the latest and greatest.
Getting your launch in front of these groups enables you to find new prospects, build brand awareness, get real feedback from real users, and develop a passionate, supportive base.
