What to do after a product hunt launch?
Successfully launched on Product Hunt? Congratulations! Now what?
I’ve helped more than 60 startups launch on Product hunt so I get this question quite often. In this article, I’ll tackle it once and for all in order to set you on the path to post-Product Hunt launch success.
Key activities to do are:
Analyse your launch results
To kick things off, you should do a thorough analysis of the launch.
Before your product hunt launch, I strongly recommend adding Clarity and Linkedin insight tagstag on your website. That will provide you with valuable data to analyze after the launch.
Post launch, you should begin by reading all comments on the Product Hunt page and take notes of all product feedback.
Reach out to users who left you a review to ask them to give you reviews on other platforms like G2 and Capterra.
Check out clarity recordings and heatmaps to review your landing page and onboarding process. The Product hunt launch (if featured) should provide at least 300 visits to your website, which is a good sample to test out your UI.
Use the Linkedin insight tag to create a Linkedin audience. This will allow you to analyze the job title, company size, industry, and location of your visitors. This is a great way to begin building your ideal customer profile.
Check your KPIs. What was the conversion rate of your landing page? What was the activation rate of your app? What is your churn rate 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months after launch?
These KPI will give you a great overview of where you stand in terms of product-market fit. You can also compute user lifetime value (LTV), which will tell you how much you can expect to invest to acquire a customer. For example, if your LTV is below $500 Linkedin will not be a great marketing channel for you to use.
Get more leads from Product hunt
Consider Product Hunt PPC
Product Hunt offers paid advertising. However, the minimum monthly spend on the platform is $1000. You want to make sure that it is worth it before investing.
The best way to assess the potential of Product Hunt ppc is to check how visitors from Product Hunt behaved on your website. Was your activation rate high enough to justify investing 1k in paid advertising? For proper assessment, I strongly recommend waiting a few months after launch. It is quite common for users from Product Hunt to churn after 1 month, so you want to check the retention data for this cohort.
Consider relaunching after 6 months
Product hunt allows you to relaunch on the platform after 6 months, if you release substantial updates. If your first launch was successful, this can be a great way to get extra exposure on the platform.
Claim your product hub that will help you build an audience for your next launch. All people who upvoted your first launch automatically become followers of your product hub. If you relaunch, all of these followers will receive an email notification.
Pro tip: Wait more than 6 months for relaunch. I recommend waiting at least 6 months before submitting your second launch. This allows you to skip the manual audit of your relaunch. I also recommend to always schedule your launch at least 2 weeks in advance to take advantage of the teaser option to generate excitement leading up to the launch date. It my experience it is best to wait one year before relaunch.
Warning: In recent months Product Hunt has gotten really picky with featuring relaunch. If you do a scheduled a relaunch, be ready to stop promoting your launch if you aren’t featured in the first 2 hours of the launch.
Launch on other platforms
Product hunt is one of many marketing channels. And while the platform is great, you shouldn’t overly rely on it. Instead, you should diversify your marketing channels.
Platforms like Microlaunch and Fazierare similar to Product hunt. You can easily recycle your Product hunt launch assets to launch on these platforms. Check out our article on Product hunt alternative to learn more about additionaly opportunities.
Aside from this, I strongly advise you to invest in SEO. Product hunt launches provide you with a valuable do-follow link, and in order to take advantage of it , you should create content and build an inbound funnel. SEO is one of the most cost-effective acquisition channels and shouldn’t be overlooked.
Closing words
Successfully launching on Product Hunt is an exciting achievement, but it’s only the beginning of your journey. To ensure continued growth and capitalize on the momentum from your launch, a strategic post-launch plan is essential. Start by thoroughly analyzing your launch results using tools like Clarity and LinkedIn Insight Tags. Engage with your new audience by responding to feedback and seeking additional reviews on other platforms.
Consider leveraging Product Hunt’s paid advertising to maintain visibility, but only after assessing the performance of your initial traffic. Plan for a potential relaunch after six months, taking advantage of Product Hunt’s features like the product hub and teaser options.
Remember, diversification is key. Explore other platforms similar to Product Hunt and invest in SEO to build a sustainable inbound funnel. By taking these steps, you’ll be well on your way to turning your Product Hunt success into long-term growth and market presence.