What NOT to Do When Launching on Product Hunt

Having a super successful Product Hunt launch is the dream for many startup owners. After all, if your product becomes a hit on this platform, there's a huge chance that a broad audience will discover what you've built. That was the story with such popular products as Figma, Zoom, Grammarly, and lots of others.

Besides, submitting your product on the platform is absolutely free. And PH opens lots of business opportunities even if you don't rank as one of the "Products of the Day". What do we have in mind? Obtaining invaluable feedback from tech enthusiasts, finding new customers, or even attracting investors.

However, one too many Product Hunt launches result in a complete fiasco. We've analyzed the common reasons why product launches fail on this platform and compiled a list of "DON'Ts" that you should note if you decide to take a shot at PH.

8 Product Hunt Launch Mistakes to Avoid

Below we list the top mistakes product makers, entrepreneurs, and startup founders make when launching on Product Hunt, which you shouldn't repeat.

1?? Launching without Prior Preparation

If you decide to give Product Hunt a go, you have to be ready to do your homework. Insufficient preparation is among the major causes of failure.

To say the least, you'll have to invest enough time on working on the page assets that'll be shown to the world on launch day and transferred to the constant product page afterward.

You need to think your messaging through, prepare the logo, product description, maker's comment, as well as make images for the gallery and, preferably, even a demo video. Give your value proposition due thought, too (it has to be clear and must communicate why your product is better than others on the market).

This is the minimum set that has to be taken care of long before launch day. Sometimes months in advance, really.

Sloppy page content with typos or weak images that don't demonstrate the product from the best angles nor raise interest won't get people to spend time checking out the product. Hence, you won't reach the desired results.

2?? Launching Before the Product Is Polished

The enthusiasm to participate in such a "competition" and get your product up on Product Hunt ASAP can be hurtful for some projects if the product itself isn't ready yet. It's sort of like applying for a pastry contest and giving the judges undercooked cupcakes to taste. The degustation won't go well, don't you think?

This might seem obvious, yet there are too many cases when the product is far from perfect on launch day. Usually, all the bugs and flaws were supposed to be fixed by the launch deadline, but sometimes that's not the case. Again, this is what you can end up with if you rush.

Promotion is important, but the product's quality matters more. So if you understand that you should call things off with the Product Hunt launch, hit "pause" and postpone the date for another time before it's too late.

By the way, procrastinating with the launch is the opposite mistake founders often make. A relentless focus on perfectionism (when the product is obviously ready to be seen by the world) can cause uncalled-for delays.

In any event, you have to understand that starting small is absolutely fine. Many products are rolled out as MVPs with a minimal yet polished feature set, and there's nothing wrong with that.

3?? Creating Maker Accounts Right Before Launch

If you're a product maker, having a fresh and untapped account is another common product launch mistake. You need a strong presence within the Product Hunt community. And it really makes sense to hang out on the platform for a few months, connect with people, upvote other products, and communicate.

By building up some activity on your profile before launching your product, you'll:

? a) boost your own account and make connections;

? b) establish credibility and become a trustworthy contributor.

Bottom line: having a fresh new makers account without any activity is a bad idea for a Product Hunt launch because it can make your product seem less trustworthy and may result in lower engagement and visibility on the platform. If you're an unknown newbie within the community, your chances for product recognition will be lower.

4?? Not Building Up an Audience

On a similar note, if you think that you don't need a ton of people to support you on Product Hunt launch day, think again. Counting on a scenario when you submit your product and thousands of people discover and fall in love with it is a bit naive. So, having a solid group of active supporters to bring you your first comments and upvotes is crucial.

5?? Having Newbie Upvoters

Upvote quality really makes a difference when Product Hunt ranks the product. So here comes another often-made mistake: if the upvotes come from accounts that were created not too long ago, you can even get downgraded.

Thus, votes from accounts that have existed for a while and from active contributors in the community count a lot more and bring much more value than those made from new accounts (like those one-time accounts your parents make to support you). In fact, such votes may appear spammy or suspicious to the algorithm, which can hurt your chances of getting attention from the community.

6?? Paying for Upvotes or Cheating

Hacking is, perhaps, the biggest "no-no" among all possible product launch fails on PH. If you're unsure how to launch on Product Hunt and succeed, note that trying to cheat the system will definitely do you harm.

It's unethical, can jeopardize your product's and maker's credibility, and, above all, it's against the platform's policies. Violators can get penalized if the mechanism detects fraudulent activity.

If you don't want to risk getting disqualified or banned on Product Hunt, avoid any trickery for getting votes. As such, this includes but isn't limited to paying for upvotes or using bots to artificially inflate the number of votes.

7?? Choosing the Wrong Launch Time

Launching on the wrong day or time might as well be another pitfall. Generally, launching on a Monday or at weekends is not the best idea (however, there are exceptions). The weighted decision on what day to pick should be a serious step of your Product Hunt launch strategy. Spoiler: for many who failed, it wasn't.

Moreover, timing is crucial when launching on Product Hunt. And you must be aware that the platform has a tied fixed time zone. I.e., don't expect it to adapt to yours automatically!

According to PH, the day starts at 12:00 a.m. PST (Los Angeles is one of the cities in this time zone if you need a pinpoint). That's when you should ideally plan your product submission to get the most out of your 24-hour viewership time in the "competition".

What does this mean for anyone outside this time zone? For instance, you decide to launch at 12:01 a.m. China time (it's way not PST time). In case you don't adjust and calculate the right time to launch, you'll have a huge mismatch in time zones and may thus have fewer hours to compete for Product of the Day.

8?? Not Being Active in Comments

If you don't want to fall flat on your face, make sure to be active, at least on launch day. Numerous makers neglect the importance of communicating with upvoters, replying to comments, and participating in discussions. It's absurd to some extent, as why did you place your product on Product Hunt in the first place??

Engage with upvoters on Product Hunt is integral. After all, the platform is community-driven. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that community engagement will partially determine the success of a product or service launch. It influences your visibility, generated traffic, among other things.

Not showing your upvoters that their opinions matter, that you're thankful for feedback, or that you care about addressing their concerns is not the way to go if you want to build relationships, gain valuable insights, and generate support.

Final Thoughts

Being a product studio, Upsilon has launched numerous products on Product Hunt, including OneBar and ToDoBot. We've learned a lot from this experience, and hopefully, the tips given above will help you achieve a successful launch.

Need a more in-depth overview of the topic? Feel free to browse this extended guide ??