Ask HN: Launching a Product on Show HN? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Launching a Product on Show HN?

5 pointsdosy5 comments

I'm considering using Show HN as a way to launch a SaaS product I have, but I'm unsure if that's the best strategy. The first reason is I don't have a free tier, so I will need to make another way specially for HNers to have a play with it. The second reason is my market is not really developers, so I might be better off on Product Hunt. Also I don't want to misinterpret disinterest / derision from HN as doom for my product.

View on HN

You're over thinking it. Put it on product hunt, put it on HN, explain it in a comment if you want or need to. Read the feedback, take in the useful parts and don't let anything else get to you. Good luck with it!

Without a free tier, it's difficult to classify it as a Show HN. I usually avoid even a page with registration. What about a 1 week free trial without credit card info? You can ask the mods for an official answer: hn@ycombinator.com

Anyway, I think that ShowHN are overrated. Just post a normal link to your site, and add a comment saying that you are the author and are available to answer questions. It's 99% like a ShowHN and if the project is interesting and you are lucky, it will get traction anyway.

Another good strategy is to post about some interesting problem you have to solve for your service, or an interesting unexpected use case of your service.

If you meet an old technical friend after a few years and want to tell an interesting technical anecdote about your site, which one would you select?

These sites are if you're lucky going to occupy you for hours or maybe even half a day, I'd think more about what else you will do in your first year cause nothing's likely to hinge on the morning you submitted a link.

You should have a demo, video, or screenshots at least. People will want to see how it works before paying. If you have one of those, launch it everywhere your customers are.

If it's not for developers, then you'd miss the valuable learnings from your target market. I'd advise you to find a more suitable place where your target market is.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com