I launched my app Semaj AI on Sunday 9th of June 2024, I did not have any expectations for it, I just wanted to learn how to launch on Product Hunt and get some feedback.

I shared my launch on LinkedIn and Twitter, I received some support and feedback for which I am so grateful.

Here are the results from my launch and the lessons I learned.

UPVOTES

I did not expect to get more than 5 upvotes, not because my app is not good enough, but simply because I am new to the platform (Product Hunt) and I am yet to understand the best practices on launching on there.

To my delight, Semaj AI got 10 Upvotes, which is better than I expected. Unfortunately, I did not make it to the Featured tab and I did not get any comment directly on the Product Hunt page.

Ultimately, it was a good start for the first launch.

TRAFFIC

I did not get a lot of traffic either and this was expected. From my Google Analytics, 16 users visited my website from Product Hunt.

Of the 16 users, 7 signed up for an account to try out Semaj AI. It is worth noting that none of these are paid users. When you sign up for Semaj AI, you get 5 free credits to try it.

At the moment, none of these users has purchased credits yet, I hope to work on this.

Ultimately, not the result that I would have loved but I accepted it.

I have talked to some of the users who signed up via email and they have given me suggestions on how I can make the app better.

Even though I did not get paid users, at least I got feedback that will make the app better.

​

LESSONS

Here are some of the lessons that I learned from the launch

YOU NEED AN AUDIENCE

When you already have an audience, it becomes easy to launch on platforms like Product Hunt. An audience can help you get to the featured Products tab where you can get more eyeballs.

What I observed is that when you are on the Featured Products tab, it becomes easy for Product Hunt users to upvote your product.

You will need an audience that can help you to get at least the first 50 – 60 upvotes, these are enough to get you to the featured page in my observation.

So, if you are planning on launching on Product Hunt, consider building an audience before your launch. This is how successful solo developers like Marc Lou consistently get the “product of the day” badge.

I noticed that nearly half of my upvotes came from Twitter and LinkedIn because some of the names that upvoted my product were familiar names from LinkedIn and Twitter.

This means that if I had a bigger following on these two platforms, my product would have performed far much better.

VISIBILITY

Another lesson I learned is that launching on Product Hunt gives your product visibility, even if you don’t make it to product of the day or the featured tab, there are still some people who will see your product and may contact you from collaborations and other opportunities.

There are also other platforms, channels, and newsletters that feed off Product Hunt launches and they may feature your product on their platform.

So, even if you don’t get any of the accolades of Product Hunt, you may still attract other users, creators, or even partners.

RELENTLESS DISTRIBUTION

Lastly, whatever you do, keep marketing and distributing your product, whether its on Product Hunt, LinkedIn, Twitter, Hacker News, Reddit, or any other platform that has potential customers for your product.

I have been getting a few users every day from a combination of the aforementioned platforms. I am still honing my marketing skills and I am already seeing results, which gives me a lot of hope and confidence.

That’s it for this week

​

Until next time

May the odds ever be in your favor.