Product Hunt — notes and principles that helped me through my first launch
Launching my step counter Waymate on Product Hunt became a very meaningful experience for me. When I sat down to write about it, I realized that either this story turns into a whole book — or I should split it into two or even three parts.
I don’t really like extremely long articles myself and I don’t want to take too much of your time — especially on a weekend.
So in this piece I want to share the core principles I went through during the preparation and launch. They helped me build a clearer picture of the process and reduced a lot of anxiety before the big day.
Here is what turned out to be the most important.
Register early and “live” on the platform for a while
Product Hunt recommends joining the community in advance — at least a few weeks before your launch, and ideally even earlier.
The point is not just to create an account, but to:
— get a feel for how the platform works
— understand the style of posts and comments
— slowly grow into the rhythm of the community
I also noticed this in practice.
A few people who voted for me with freshly-created accounts had their upvotes not counted — most likely because such profiles didn’t pass moderation yet.
It’s not critical, but it’s an unpleasant thing you can avoid.
Don’t buy upvotes or artificial traffic
This sounds obvious, but before the launch there are always people who show up offering “help”, guaranteed upvotes, or traffic packages.
I don’t know how these things work inside, but most likely such offers are often based on bots and schemes that:
— are easy to detect
— harm your product
— can get your launch removed
— and in some cases lead to account bans
And the main problem is different:
this kind of “growth” gives you no real feedback at all.
It is much better to receive fewer reactions honestly than to look at inflated numbers that mean nothing.
On the day of my launch I received quite a lot of such messages in private chats — and that alone was its own kind of lesson.
Weekdays vs weekends — calmer doesn’t mean worse
Different days on Product Hunt have different dynamics.
On weekdays there are more big teams and strong launches, and competition is higher.
Weekends are quieter: fewer loud brands and more indie and personal projects.
Product Hunt mentions that products launched on weekends get around 15% more clicks, even though there are fewer launches overall.
I launched on Saturday. Of course there are many factors involved, and nothing can be stated for sure.
Best launch time — 12:01 AM PST
The logic here is simple.
The homepage works in a 24-hour cycle based on Pacific Time.
If you launch at 12:01 AM PST, your product gets the full day on the page.
You can also schedule the post up to a month in advance — which helps reduce stress and gives time to double-check everything calmly.
Promo code for the Product Hunt community
If you want to offer a small bonus specifically for the Product Hunt audience, you can add it directly in the launch form:
— the offer itself
— the promo code
— the expiration date
This is not a required element, but it can slightly lower the entry barrier and create a feeling of an inner circle for early supporters.
The first comment should come from the maker
This is an important detail that is easy to forget.
About 70% of products that became Product of the Day / Week / Month started their discussion with a comment from the creator.
That first comment:
— sets the tone
— shows there is a real person behind the product
— helps people understand the motivation and context
It is not about marketing — it is about connection.
Stay active even after the launch
The launch doesn’t end at the moment the post goes live.
It’s important to:
— reply to new comments
— continue the conversation
— occasionally share the link where it makes sense
Next time I’ll definitely have much more experience — and also more people around who are ready to support the launch.
By the way, one useful addition: there is a dedicated LinkedIn community where creators share their launches:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14044386/
Product Hunt strongly discourages directly asking people to vote —
but sharing context and telling the story of your product is totally fine.
And if you’d like to see the launch itself — you can check the Waymate page on Product Hunt here:
https://www.producthunt.com/products/waymate-step-counter/
Thanks for reading.
Wishing you a steady week ahead,
Andrei.
P.S. This newsletter doesn’t have to be a one-way street.
If you’re building something similar or facing the same questions — feel free to leave a comment.
I read every response.
Things I made you might find useful:
Waymate — minimal step tracker
Helps make movement a natural part of the workday.
Indie tools & templates on Gumroad
The same systems I use to build and ship faster.
You can also follow me on X (Twitter) or LinkedIn for short notes and things I’m learning along the way.