how'd your actually get your earliest users?

Andrew Ginn
13 replies
i think prescriptions hardly work. it's all so nuanced anyways. so where online did you find your first 10 users and what was your growth curve like? if you had one.

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TJ Larkin
Launching soon!
Gave the option for a free trial to a limited number of users to try the product out.
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Andrew Ginn
@tjlarkin nice, where/how did you find those users to offer a free trial to?
Felix Sattler
We acquired our earliest users through a combination of personal outreach and leveraging Product Hunt. Tapping into my personal network allowed us to gather valuable feedback and refine the product early on. Getting into the community on Product Hunt helped us gain visibility and attract early adopters genuinely interested in exploring new tools. This blend of personal connections and public exposure was instrumental in building initial momentum. However, the downside is that scaling through these channels is challenging. While we’ve maintained steady growth, it hasn’t been exponential, which is something we’re continuously working on.
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Andrew Ginn
@felix_sattler thanks for sharing, Felix! what does getting into the Product Hunt community look like in action? "promoting" is a fine balance in these communities. but, of course it's useful to.
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By reaching out in relevant online communities, word of mouth helped too—friends and early users shared the product. Growth is slow at first, but as users started spreading the word and I received feedback, things picked up!
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Andrew Ginn
@mehvish_shafiq right on, thanks for sharing Mehvish! how do you strike a balance online of not over-promoting and offending the senses of people in communities like this? haha
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안도현
Who are the best users for your service? Set your age, gender, interests, occupation, etc. specifically.
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Nylah Cook
I love hearing about first-user stories. Was it a slow grind for you, or did someone take a leap of faith early on.
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Andrew Ginn
@nylah_cook haven't cracked it yet! launched one product about a year ago. crickets. working on a new project (https://foundationessays.com/) that i'm just getting feedback on right now - haven't added sign up yet. so, i'm figuring it out! have you found users online in the past without ads?
Oscar
Did you see immediate traction with your earlies users, or did it take time to builid trust and momentum.
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Andrew Ginn
@os_c_ar haven't captured them yet. I'm getting decent traffic to project (https://foundationessays.com/) (~20 visits a day), but some of that's direct traffic that i don't know what to make of. i'm about to add Accounts and try and get my first users. any luck on your by going directly to them where they are online?
Gwendolyn Kira
I totally agree that the process is nuanced! the first users came through direct outreach to niche communities
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Andrew Ginn
@gwendolyn_kira were those communities cool with you "promoting" (whatever that looked like) what you built?