Product Hunt launches are overhyped but still useful. We’ve done three. Here’s what we learned.

The Results

Launch 1: #47 for the day. 89 upvotes. Zero meaningful traffic after day one.

Launch 2: #3 for the day. 650+ upvotes. Solid traffic for two weeks. Some customers.

Launch 3: #4 for the day. 500+ upvotes. Built mailing list. Led to partnerships.

Same team. Different approaches. Different results.

What Actually Mattered

The Product Itself

This seems obvious but gets ignored. Product Hunt rewards interesting products.

Launch 1 failed because: We launched a minor feature update. Nobody cared.

Launches 2 and 3 worked because: We had genuinely novel products that solved real problems.

If your product isn’t interesting, no amount of launch optimization helps.

The Timing

Day of week and time matter more than they should.

Best days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Avoid Monday (low engagement) and Friday (weekend starts).

Best time: 12:01 AM PT. Gets maximum runway on the homepage.

Avoid: Launches competing with major product launches. Check the calendar.

The Visuals

Product Hunt is visual. Good screenshots and video dramatically improve results.

What worked for us:

• Animated GIF showing the product in action
• Clean, professional screenshots
• Product video (under 2 minutes)
• Custom thumbnail image

Investment: Hire a designer or spend a day making these right. Worth it.

The Copy

Hunter tagline and description need to be compelling. You have seconds to grab attention.

Template that worked:

• Tagline: Benefit-focused, specific, intriguing
• First comment: Story of why we built it, what problem it solves
• Description: Clear, benefit-focused, not feature-listy

What didn’t work: Technical jargon, vague promises, feature lists without context.

The Network

Initial momentum matters. You need early upvotes to climb the rankings.

What we did:

• Emailed our existing users the morning of launch
• Posted on our socials (but not spammy)
• Told friends and colleagues
• Engaged in relevant communities (with genuine contribution, not just promotion)

What we didn’t do: Buy upvotes, use upvote rings, spam Slack groups. PH catches this and it backfires.

The Maker Engagement

Respond to every comment. Fast. For the entire launch day.

What worked:

• Genuine, helpful responses
• Acknowledging feedback
• Answering questions thoroughly
• Being available all day

The math: If someone takes time to comment, they’re interested. Convert that interest.

What Didn’t Matter

Having a Famous Hunter

We thought having a well-known person hunt us would help. Made no measurable difference.

The hunter matters less than the product.

Perfect Timing to the Minute

12:01 AM PT is traditional. But we’ve seen great launches at other times.

Day matters more than exact time.

Massive Email List

Our email list is modest. Still got top 5 results.

Quality of engagement beats quantity of emails.

Tech Stack / Build in Public Narrative

Some launches emphasize how the product was built. PH users care about what it does, not how.

The Actual Playbook

4 Weeks Before

• Ship the product (or at least a working version)
• Start collecting testimonials and case studies
• Plan your visuals

2 Weeks Before

• Create all assets (images, video, copy)
• Write your maker comment
• Line up any supporters who genuinely want to help

1 Week Before

• Test everything (links, signup flow, product stability)
• Schedule ship date on Product Hunt
• Prepare response templates for common questions

Launch Day

• Wake up early (or stay up late) for 12:01 AM PT
• Post immediately
• First comment with your story
• Respond to every comment all day
• Share on your channels (once, not repeatedly)
• Thank everyone who engages

Day After

• Thank everyone who participated
• Analyze what worked and didn’t
• Follow up with leads

The ROI Question

Is Product Hunt worth it?

For awareness: Yes. Top 5 launches get seen by thousands of potential users.

For customers: Maybe. Conversion rate is low. PH users are browsers.

For SEO: Minimal. The backlink helps but not dramatically.

For validation: Useful. Comments give real feedback quickly.

Overall: Worth doing well once. Not worth obsessing over repeatedly.

The Honest Truth

Product Hunt is one channel. It’s not a growth strategy.

If your product is good, PH can accelerate awareness. If your product isn’t, PH won’t save you.

We got customers from our launches. But more customers came from SEO, word of mouth, and direct outreach. TechCrunch and Startup Daily covered some of our story, which helped more than Product Hunt rankings.

Launch well. Don’t overthink it. Focus on building something worth launching.