ProductHunt has been gamed to the extent that it's no longer in any way real - it's just who can spam the most.
What will stop your site from the same fate?
replies(1):
Joking aside, I really think you need a unique angle and a solid distribution strategy: there are 1,000 PH clones but they don't stick because they're the same as PH, just with less users/traction/eyeballs.
:)
Hunt doesn’t mean anything. Huntly is bad. Huntlie is terrible. Forget about product hunt. Invent a new brand.
Let people submit for free but you choose when they get published. If they want to pick a date charge for that.
Some ideas: - Users should be able to update their post to some extent.
- There's no "product page" in your app, build something where I can see people commenting, reacting, and maybe even sharing their own screenshots of it because that's something PH does pretty well but can be improved.
- "LAUNCHES WORTH YOUR SCROLL" sounds kinda cringe, change to something like "Find the next best thing" or make it random on load and have a few less in your face versions of it. Reddit has "homepage of the internet" which seems appropriate. You can have "have you launched yet?", "find the next best thing", "what's trending today"...etc
I have more ideas, feel free to message me or drop a way to contact you if you'd like more feedback :)
Can we connect on Twitter/x: @heyarviind?
Anyway let me know the coupon code and percentage off, i can add it manually ;)
I liked the submission flow, it was nice and simple. The only issue is that at the end of the process I got a page that looked like it was broken, so had to manually navigate to the main page.
Looks like someone is trying to pull a Forbes...
And I guess related to you, please don't do that :)
Personal note - I used to be a pretty frequent user of ProductHunt. Some folks I worked with jokingly called me the SaaS King. If you had a problem, I knew of 3 tools to potentially solve it.
The biggest reason why I stopped using ProductHunt was because people opted to submit and upvote low quality "list of X" aggregation services and minor updates, not real products. Hopefully you've thought about how to refine the curation.
Also, agreed with the feedback from muhammadusman about having a product page. Right now, it's just a list of links with synopsis - not enough to intrigue me to explore further.
An open source applicant tracking system that grows with your company
50% Off, use coupon HUNTILE
1. there is no difference before and after login. (maybe login is unsuccessful) 2. I cannot edit/delete my submitted project. 3. No search for projects. 4. No Dark mode :)
How to correct a post?
:-)
I tried submitting https://fdeploy.com but the product icon wouldn’t upload. Which file formats are supported?
> fDeploy is a self-hosted deployment software for Windows being currently built in Stockholm, Sweden by developers with over 10 years of experience in the industry, focusing only on the most essential and most valuable features.
I'd recommend focusing on what the most valuable features are and making those the highlight. Leading with who is building it and where doesn't add much unless your team is especially well-known or noteworthy. Also, citing "10 years of experience" as social proof might not resonate strongly—it's not a differentiator for most audiences (10 years is not that long). Instead, consider showcasing the unique aspects of the product that would immediately grab attention.
Domain isn't the easiest to remember IMO.
I get we're trying to go for "next [best thing]" but yeah I (also UK) read it as "[next best] thing" and can't think of any examples where I'd read it as the former
Note that "next bigGEST thing" also means the 2nd biggest thing.
Could I get a short pitch on what makes your alternative better/different?
The problem with ProductHunt is that it's basically the glory days are behind it. If you want to have a successful ProductHunt launch the key is simple, wait until you're established and then send an email to all your customers to upvote you.
People focus so much on having a good ProductHunt launch like it'll make a difference. They go around begging everyone they know and spamming everyone they don't know asking for an upvote. They'll spend weeks focusing on this product hunt launch and overall get less traffic than they would from posting on here with Show HN and less traffic than they would get from posting on the right subreddits.
Product Hunt and similar launch sites are just focusing don't he false hope that new founders have that the launch matters.
Honestly PH always felt to me like a time waster. “Oh look at this idea. Neat. Next.”
Now, a website where I can type in the problem I am having and it suggests solutions (with a mix of self hosted vs commercial products depending on my settings) would be super useful. For example: “I want to organize a library full of old photos that don’t have metadata” or “I want a cheap online backup solution with support for Linux servers” or “I want to automate sending personalized-feeling birthday cards to people I know professionally”.
But after reading the comments and thinking on it, I realize it's probably used more often in the context of 'second best.'
Maybe consider the "Kodak recipe" for an alternative? [1]: "Keep it short, easy to pronounce, and avoid similarities to existing names or associations." (short is harder in 2024 though!)
I'm on the fence on whether the name should have meaning. There are plenty of successful companies on either side.
--
I recommend against post anything to PH unless you have patents, or a big marketing budget, if not your idea will just be copied by big companies before you can get the word out about your product.
My startup was posted on PH, and many years later we're quite successful. We had $0 budget and it was just me at the time, and it worked out wonderfully.
PH is a successful directory-listing-ish website, there is always a limit to its success. Ryan, being a super smart founder, realizes that and moves out at the perfect time at its super-high hype cycle.
All PH-esque clones can focus on specific niches and become good lifestyle businesses. Like other business ideas, shred apart Craigslist and build PH of them.
It is the equivalent of queuing up for an X-factor (or whatever they call it these days) audition, aiming to be the next One Direction. Someone will win of course which makes it seem possible.
Find the short queues! If someone says "why the fuck you interested in that" it might be a good sign.
Here's additionally a solution versus just criticism^^:
How about PoshProduct. ProductPower.
The word product screams attention to both product hunt and ProductPower users. Just make the emoji bolt your logo. Product Power! Be the first to know.
Good luck! This is awesome.
"Next big thing" means upcoming good thing.
I see that a POST to https://huntlie.com/api/products returns Server Error 500 {error: "Failed to create record."}
I hope it helps!
{message: 'Request failed with status code 500', name: 'AxiosError', code: 'ERR_BAD_RESPONSE', config: {…}, request: XMLHttpRequest, …}
https://strawberry.army ("Hover Youtube Thumbnails for Instant Summaries")
...but got a 500 error. No other clues in the console.
Good luck with this!
I also attempted to log in (with Google) and it doesn't seem to have taken. I still see the "Login" button at the top of the page.
I kind of regret giving you my data via Sign in with Google now.
So well that basically people were speculating the SEO part would take over the more traditional business.
Google caught up recently (as in a few weeks ago) and has heavily punished their ranks.
Ironically if you search Google for “Forbes SEO” you’ll find many articles about what happened. I think it all started with something titled “The parasitic company trying to take over Forbes”
OP: I may or may not be in possession of hasitlaunched dot com, should you be interested in purchasing it…
Then marketers came, and the whole thing became a place where people just game, where people that I were preparing for weeks for PH launch, sending reminders for people to vote and try to get to the top. It became a place where people wanted to sell you something rather than people who share what they build.
Looking at this website, I feel like it's already a place where it's more about selling, and not a PH alternative. Black Friday deals, promoted items, it may not be a place of gamification, but still it's more about selling.
I would love to se a place where there is old PH. But I guess it will forever be Show HN