The Product Hunt Manual

Kiki Schirr
The Product Hunt
Manual

1
Product Hunt 101
“Product Hunt You may
have heard of them.”
– Chapter One

A Quick Introduction to Product Hunt
Product Hunt is one of the hottest trends
in the startup community. They recently
earned a $6.1M investment, led by the
savvy team at Andreessen Horowitz. When
they got a new office their welcoming party
had 3,000 people RSVP. Their founder,
Ryan Hoover, was named to Forbes’s “30
Under 30” list. And Product Hunt won the
Crunchie for “Best New Startup of 2014.”
You may have heard of them.
If not, allow me to catch you up: Product
Hunt is a daily ranking site for products,
startups, and select books. Products are
nominated by Product Hunt community
members (who I shall call Hunters). Then
other Hunters have a chance to peruse the
offerings and vote for their favorites. Hunters
don’t have a limited number of votes.
They could vote for every single one of the
day’s products—but they don’t, because
they usually have a favorite that they
would like to reach the top of the rankings,
2

and therefore, voting for every product
would be disadvantageous for their favorite.
Being in the top 10 at the end of the day is
not just good for the ego, it can also be extremely
valuable to your startup’s success.
The top 10 products will make it to the
daily Product Hunt e-mail, which is sent
out to hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs,
reporters, and investors.
Each weekday morning, every Hunter receives
a short email from Product Hunt.
This email contains not just the top 10 list,
which might be of limited interest to dedicated
members who check the site or app
every day, but also a curated and themed
list, called a Collection. These Collections
are often selected by famous individuals,
like CEOs, reporters, even NBA stars.
However, anyone can make a Collection
that might be chosen, and it has become a
badge of honor within the Hunter community.
The community is the strongest selling
point of Product Hunt—not only are members
active, engaged, and responsive, they
also interact. This creates ample opportunity
for many startups to network. Ryan
Hoover and his team are also incredibly engaged,
especially through Twitter, where
they seem to have ESP about people mentioning
them or their service.
The community was nurtured by Ryan Hoover,
who started with a simple startup
newsletter email. In November of 2013,
Product Hunt came to be, with a membership
of a select few. Hoover and his dedicated
team were careful to pick individuals
who would be both knowledgeable and
committed.
Membership in the Product Hunt community
has opened gradually. It only requires
a Twitter account in order to vote, but commenting
and interacting is still limited.
There are different levels of engagement:
the ability to vote and post for moderation,
the ability to comment, the ability to post
without moderation, and moderation itself.
Product Hunt also holds local meet-ups,
usually organized by Hunters on their own
accord, and hosts a podcast and blog.
Product Hunt used to post open jobs in
their daily e-mail, but this service has
ended. However, occasionally (so far, only
4 times), the curated list at the beginning
of every Product Hunt email is a list of
products with special sales for new startup
users.
Product Hunt is designed with habitual use
in mind. In fact, Hoover helped write a
3

ook on the subject, called Hooked, co-authored by famous
blogger Nir Eyal. In Hooked, the pair outline a model for habitforming
app use—and Product Hunt uses about every trick in
the book. Don’t be surprised if you sign up for Product Hunt
with only your startups’s success in mind, and instead end up
becoming an avid Hunter just for fun…
You were warned.
Reaching the top of
the Product Hunt list
is half hustle and
half merit. First make
sure your product
rocks, and then
follow the steps in
this book.
Product Hunt is incredible for startups. My own startup, Fittr,
was featured in August of 2014 as Product Hunt’s visibility
was beginning to ramp up. Not only did the Product Hunt mention
give us thousands of visitors and app sign-ups, but it also
propelled us onto the front page of Yahoo! The feature gave
us even more visibility and we increased our user base by two
degrees of magnitude almost overnight (to be fair, it was more
like 56 hours).
But the Internet is peppered with such stories. You can read a
collection of these testimonials on Eric Willis’s Medium account:
https://medium.com/@erictwillis/product-hunt-a-list-of-succes
sful-product-launch-stories-from-2014-2689b8b594dd if you
need further convincing. However, I’m willing to bet you’ve
heard a glowing recommendation from a friend or tweep in the
past.
Therefore, you’re probably wondering if it is possible to replicate
that success with your product, startup, or book. I’ll tell
you this: you get what you put into it. Reaching the top of the
Product Hunt list is half hustle and half merit. First make sure
your product rocks, and then follow the steps outlined in this
book.
4

Mauris pretium
aliquet, lectus eget
tincidunt. Porttitor
mollis et imperdiet
libero senectus
pulvinar. Etiam
molestie mauris.
5

2
Is Your Product Right
for Product Hunt
“Product Hunt features
many types of products, in
six main categories”
– Chapter Two

Is Your Product Right for Product Hunt
Before getting too in-depth with the details of how to make your product a success, you
should probably double-check to be sure it is ripe for the Hunt. This chapter is dedicated
to helping you discern whether your product is eligible, and potentially popular.
Product Hunt features many types of products, but for the most part they fall into six categories:
1. Services: Like Uber, AirBnB, and mail-order boxes, services can be listed on Product
Hunt, but they need a URL—at the very least, a landing page. If you’re pushing one
particular service, make sure it has its own landing page. That way, if you come up
with an ancillary service, you can give the second service its own page and be featured
twice. If you only have a company site, you’re out of luck.
2. Mobile Apps: iOS, Android, and Windows Phone apps are welcome on Product Hunt
and flourish. Link to the download page or to your landing page, whichever you prefer.
3. Web Apps: Like Hipmunk, Reddit, and Slack.
4. Computer Programs: Like Scrivener or Sunrise.
5. Books: Books are an interesting category because they tend to have a very small target
audience—but if it that audience overlaps with the Hunters, the books shoot up
the list. Books about user experience (UX), startups, and other non-fiction that would
appeal to entrepreneurs have been very successful. Hooked and Zero to One are
prime examples.
6. Active Crowdfunding Campaigns: Cool products that are live on Kickstarter, Indiegogo,
or Tilt can be hunted.
Things that can not be Hunted:
7

1. Products in beta or alpha, with very few exceptions.
2. Inappropriate links. If your product is better suited for
4chan, Product Hunt might not be the site for you.
Certain sites like
Teespring are
internally listed for
automatic rejection.
Product Hunt wants
every product to be
able to bring value to
the community.
3. T-shirts, tchotchkes, and small items sold on a larger site.
T-shirts especially won’t make the cut. Certain sites like
Teespring are internally listed for automatic rejection. Product
Hunt wants every product to be able to bring value to
the community and doesn’t want it polluted with retail
sales pitches.
Ultimately you need to know the audience. Most of the people
who actively vote on Product Hunt work at startups, are interested
in entrepreneurship and app building, or invest. There is
a heavy bias toward technological and business products.
Also, ‘quirky’ products often do well on Product Hunt. Ethan,
the app where you get to ask its developer (Ethan) questions,
is often cited as an example, as is Ship Your Enemies Glitter. If
your product is quirky, try to come up with a very catchy and
informative tagline, or even better, name for the product. Ship
Your Enemies Glitter is self-explanatory.
The tagline is submitted in by the person who Hunts the product.
While it can be changed, it’s very rude to ask, so if you
want to play it safe, focus on the perfect product name. It also
pays to have your tagline big and bold on your landing page,
because many Hunters will lift a tagline straight from the URL
out of courtesy to the maker.
Chapter 4 will go over the basics of being Hunted, so you’ll
learn more about product names and taglines there.
8

3
Becoming Part of the
Community
“Each e-mail features a
Collection--if yours makes it
in, you will be the recipient of
mad cred.”
– Chapter Three

Becoming Part of the Product Hunt Community
The Product Hunt community is large and
dynamic. There are about 150,000 site
members, and thousands of them attend
live events—sometimes at once! The Meetup
celebrating the new Product Hunt office
had over 3,000 people RSVP and had
to form a line outside! And the number of
people who interact with Product Hunt on
a daily basis is hard to calculate, but high.
To join the community, you will need to register
for a Product Hunt account. Signing
up requires a Twitter login, so be sure to
set that up first if you haven’t already.
When you sign up for Product Hunt, you
will have limited capabilities. You can upvote
a product or submit, but not comment
on the discussion page, and your
products will be subject to moderation.
This can be extremely discouraging, as I
learned—when I first signed up I became
so frustrated that it took me two months to
come back.
10

But it’s worth it. With repeat engagement and getting to know
members of the community, you will be granted commenting
and posting ability. A small circle of Hunters will even receive
instant posting or invites to give commenting access to others.
Therefore, networking is important if you wish to speed
along the process of gaining permissions.
If you aren’t already
an avid tweep, I
would recommend
reading the Tao of
Twitter by Mark
Schaefer.
The best way to network with Hunters, outside of the
Meetups, which I will discuss later in this chapter, is to be active
on Twitter. If you aren’t already an avid tweep, I would recommend
reading the Tao of Twitter by Mark Schaefer. It goes
over how to tweet, how to meet interesting people, and how
to court the attention of tweeps you admire.
Those are all great things to do if you want to be active in the
Product Hunt community. There are about ten accounts I’d
highly recommend following to stay in the know about Product
Hunt. They are:
1. @ProductHunt- Well, duh. You will definitely want to follow
the Product Hunt official Twitter account, which primarily
tweets a stream of what’s being Hunted.
2. @RRHoover- This is Ryan Hoover’s Twitter account. He is
UNBELIEVABLY active on Twitter, to the point that he is
regularly accused of being a bot, and has to chime in to
show that he is just that active.
3. @ErikTorenberg- Right hand man and rapper, Erik is integral
to community at Product Hunt, and you won’t want to
miss out on what he has to say.
4. @EricTWillis- Founder of @STEAMrole, Eric is the top
Hunter. He’s the first to spot tons of new startups and
11

products, and he’s 100% in the know. He’s also a moderator.
5. @TZhongg- Rather new to Product Hunt, Tiffany is friendly
and community-driven. Her Twitter feed is interesting even
when she’s not talking Product Hunt.
Though his identity
is shrouded in
mystery, Startup L.
Jackson has been a
guest on the Product
Hunt Podcast --
through a voice
changer!
6. @AlexisOhanian- Founder of Reddit, he is an investor in
Product Hunt, and is involved in Y Combinator. His feed is
just fascinating. He wrote an excellent book on startups
that’d I’d highly recommend: Without Their Permission.
7. @GlassholeKitty- This is the rather inactive Twitter account
of the Product Hunt mascot. But when Glasshole
Kitty does tweet, it’s something funny.
8. @StartupLJackson- Though his identity is shrouded in
mystery, Jackson has been a guest on the Product Hunt
Podcast--through a voice changer! He or she regularly
tweets back and forth with the gang, though not so much
about PH, but instead about a long series of startup/
Samuel L. Jackson jokes. Hysterical.
9. @a16z- the official account of Andreessen Horowitz, the
company that led the $6.1M funding round that Product
Hunt recently raised. If you’re interested in Product Hunt,
you probably should also be interested in these guys.
10. @KikiSchirr- shameless self-promotion, but if you have
any questions about the book, I’m easily reached through
Twitter.
12

Once you’ve followed these accounts, feel free to engage in
banter when appropriate. Tao of Twitter would have more
about this, but basically use good judgement and pretend you
are at a party. You would never break into someone else’s conversation
unless you had something really valuable to say—
and by the way, correcting someone is never valuable.
You would never
break into someone
else’s conversation
unless you had
something really
valuable to say—and
by the way,
correcting someone
is never valuable.
Another great thing to do is to attend one of the Product Hunt
Meetups. http://www.producthunt.com/meetups lists all official
Meetups so that you can join in. For me, there wasn’t one
anywhere nearby, so I’m putting one together on February 20,
2015. If you’re near Tampa, feel free to come!
But until you can attend a Meetup you should participate as
much as you can. You might not be able to comment on Product
Hunt, but you can spread the word about your favorite
products by tweeting a link to the comment page, or by retweeting
the notifications that @ProductHunt posts. You can
also discuss the product on Twitter, either congratulating the
Hunter on a good find or the maker herself. Download or signup
for the products as much as possible.
A great way to show that you know your way around the Product
Hunt community is to create Collections, themed lists of
products you like or would recommend. Each daily e-mail features
a Collection, and if yours makes it in, you will be the recipient
of mad Product Hunt cred. Past examples of featured
Collections include selfie products, emoji products, and products
for a good cause.
If you do these things you should be noticed quickly, but don’t
forget to be warm and genuine and to stay in touch.
13

4
Getting Hunted
“There is a distinct advantage
to pulling the trigger
yourself.”
– Chapter Four

How to Get Hunted
Getting Hunted is quite likely, at least over a stretch of time. Most Hunters actively search
for new things to post, and www.yolo.tapir.me sprang up in order to *avoid* accidental
Hunting. So if you’re a startup in an accelerator, if you get a press mention, if someone important
tweets about your book, you might very well be accidentally Hunted. In
fact, previous to Tapir’s efforts, some people were so
scared that their startup would be sniped that Ryan
Hoover got approached on Twitter often by people
asking not to have their product Hunted—yet.
There is a distinct advantage to pulling the trigger
yourself. For one thing, you can make every hour
count. You won’t get the notification on your phone
while in the grocery store two hours after your
startup is live on Product Hunt. You’ll also be more
prepared in general, with lists of who to contact,
other things I’ll go over in the chapter Getting Votes.
and
It’s perfectly possible to Hunt your own product, but you will most likely only have moderated
Hunting abilities. Therefore, it’s good to court a few Hunters to see who would be willing
to post your product themselves. You might already know someone who can post without
moderation, or you might have to make some friends. Watch the Product Hunt boards
for a few weeks to see who is posting things that you like or that are similar to your product
(as long as they’re not your competition!)
I prefer when people ask me straight out to post their product, rather than sending me a
link to it, asking for my thoughts. The first few times that happened, I didn’t even realize
that they wanted me to Hunt it. So a direct ask is better. However, give the Hunter a polite
‘out.’ “Hey, I’ve liked a lot of your hunts and was wondering if you would hunt mine: LINK.
I understand if you’re too busy, though.”
Be sure to give the link and always be polite.
15

5
How Product Hunt
Works
“Shoot for the top three, because
rankings can be volatile.”
– Chapter Five

How Product Hunt Works
Product Hunt’s site might look simple, but
there is a lot going on behind the scenes.
You should familiarize yourself with how it
works by visiting the site daily for a few
weeks, but this chapter will introduce you
to the main features.
People with Product Hunt accounts have
voting capability, and can vote for your
product from the time it goes live until midnight
in Pacific Time. Therefore, if you’re
on the East Coast, that is until 3 AM.
Hunts are ranked by number of votes—but
recent activity is factored into the ranking
as well, so that products posted later in
the day can “catch up.” External linking
sites like Y Combinator’s Hacker News or
Reddit can often push a product ahead—
and bump another out of a top 5 spot!
Usually the top 10 Hunts make it to the
next day’s e-mail. As I said before, it is vital
to make it to the email because the distribution
is so wide and the audience so im-
17

portant. If you really want to ensure a spot in that email, shoot
for the top three, because the numbers can be extremely volatile.
Stay up late that night, especially if you’re not in Pacific
Time, because you could wake up and find you dropped from
5th to 11th!
You want to ensure
that the product is
live, unique, and
pretty cool. Things
without that wow
factor might not
make the cut.
Some products are posted by Hunters who have been
granted the ability to post without moderation, but most Hunts
have gone through an approval process. So most of the time,
the Hunter will post the product the afternoon before, and expect
it to go live after midnight Pacific Time. However, some
products are rejected. Product Hunt has high standards and
wants to provide good content for its users, so there is a culling
process.
Besides the few prohibited products that I listed in Chapter 1,
there aren’t strict rules about why Hunts might be rejected.
However, you want to ensure that the product is live (not in
beta), unique, and pretty cool. Things without that wow factor
might not make the cut.
If your own product is passed over, reflect on why that might
be, try to correct it, and then resubmit—but make sure the difference
is clear on the website that represents it.
When products are posted, there are three input lines: the
URL, the name of the product, and a tagline. The URL should
be your homepage, landing page, crowdfunding site, or a link
to download in the App or Play Store. The name of your product
can only be 25 characters long. If it is longer than that,
spend a long time on your clever shortening. The tag line can
be up to 60 characters. Both are relatively short for better
tweeting, so also be conscious of how they will appear on Twitter.
18

The name of your
product can only be
25 characters long.
The tag line can be
up to 60 characters.
If you are asking someone to post on your behalf, there are a
few things you should consider. First, you need to know
whether they have instant posting access or if they have moderated
access.
If they have instant posting access, which is rather rare, you
might benefit from choosing a morning when they will wake
early. For this reason, people on the East Coast might have a
slight advantage over the West, at least in sheer amount of
time the product will be live. However, as was discussed, the
ranking system is weighted by time, so any bonus could be
negligible.
If they have delayed posting privileges, have them post the afternoon
before you wish to go live, but late enough in the day
so that if it’s approved, it will be slated for tomorrow. Usually
19

Hunters are rather aware of this phenomenon and will know
when to post, even if it isn’t an official time.
While you can suggest a tagline to the Hunter posting your
product, you should listen to their suggestion first. They might
have been hunting longer than you and therefore, have a better
idea of what is popular—at least hear them out.
While you can
suggest a tagline to
the Hunter posting
your product, you
should listen to their
suggestion first. They
might have been
hunting longer than
you and therefore,
have a better idea of
what is popular—at
least hear them out.
If you do feel you need to suggest a tagline, give them three
options to work with.
Which day of the week the product is submitted should also
be considered carefully. Product Hunt e-mails arrive Monday
through Friday mornings. A few months ago, several blogs reported
that Wednesdays were the best days to be hunted,
though since then, people have been aware of this phenomenon.
Wednesdays might not be as effective as they once
were. To further complicate decisions, the 5-day format of the
emails means that the Monday email is a multi-day weekend
recap.
Traffic to the site also drops over the weekend, heavily, so as
a result, the dynamic changes. While there is less competition,
you’re competing for fewer viewers—and fewer spots in the
Monday email. Choose wisely whether that would be advantageous—or
whether you would rather try your odds with the
fierce battles that can rage on weekdays.
20

6
Getting Votes
“If you don’t think your
friend would enjoy Twitter,
don’t ask her to sign up.”
– Chapter Six

How to Get Votes
The most important thing to have when
you post on Product Hunt is a strong network
of support. There are 2 sources of
support for products: friends and family
and customers.
As soon as you decide to be featured on
Product Hunt, and ideally before that, you
should be creating an email list. Start capturing
people’s emails on your site with a
small giveaway, or start a newsletter with
useful information. Never buy emails.
Keep the emails of your friends and family
separate. Your users might not mind a
mass email, but Mom probably will.
In advance of posting your product, make
a list of people who really have your back.
This isn’t a bad list to keep in general. You
want people who like you, yes, but also
people who are helpful. Your cousin might
be a good friend, but if he didn’t drive 50
miles to your wedding, he probably
shouldn’t be on this list.
22

Two days before the posting, write to the people on your
friends and family list. Tell them that they will be hearing from
you soon. Be upfront that you might ask them to Tweet, if they
wouldn’t mind helping your company/product/book. Of
course, if they’re busy, you fully understand, but their assistance
would mean a lot. Never mass email these people.
One thing to note at
the start of talking
about message
content: you
shouldn’t ask for
votes. The Product
Hunt site is clear that
soliciting votes is
prohibited.
If people respond saying they don’t have Twitter but will sign
up, weigh the offer carefully. It takes some time to sign up for
Twitter, and Product Hunt does flag and remove votes from
brand new Twitter accounts. If you don’t think your friend
would enjoy or use Twitter, don’t ask her to sign up.
The day that your Hunt goes live, you should broadcast the
message as loud as you can. That means leveraging your Twitter
account, Facebook, Instagram, email, and even the phone.
Twitter will be most important because Product Hunt requires
an account to vote, so it is more likely that your Twitter followers
will be capable of voting for you than your Facebook
friends.
One thing to note from the start: you shouldn’t ask for votes.
The Product Hunt site is clear that soliciting votes is prohibited.
This is what the FAQ section says:
People should upvote things they genuinely like or find
interesting, not because they were peer pressured to
do so. Feel free to spread the word and bring friends
into the discussion, but asking or incentivizing people
to upvote may trigger the algorithm to drop the
product in the ranks or remove it from the front page
entirely.
23

So don’t write, “Hey guys! I’ll buy you a beer for a vote!” because
someone from Product Hunt will see it, guaranteed.
And besides that, being on Product Hunt is good market validation
for your product—you might not want to skew the voting
with a personal popularity contest.
Posts with pictures
will get more views
and more shares so
think in advance
about what images
you might use to
accompany
promotional posts.
Try not to be repetitive in your messages, and be clear that
you’re tweeting personally, not through scheduled posts. “It’s
noon and we’re already in 8th place on Product Hunt! I’m hoping
that we can make it to 3rd by 4PM! Check it out: LINK”
Be sure to always give the link to the comments page of your
product, so that they don’t have to search for it.
Instagram will not allow you to link below picture posts, so be
sure to temporarily change the link in your profile to your Product
Hunt comment page. Keep it up just for that day and perhaps
the next.
Posts with pictures will get more views and more shares so
plan in advance what images you could use to accompany
promotional posts. For sharing on personal networks, use photos
of you. For sharing on company or professional networks,
have great product images ready, or use the Product Hunt logos
available for download on their blog.
(http://blog.producthunt.com/post/90796798849/featured-onproduct-hunt)
LinkedIn can also be a steady source of traffic. You can post
to your page, your company’s page, write a blog post about it,
and share with relevant groups.
Don’t forget about any networks that you might belong to—
such as Facebook groups, maker’s clubs, coding camps, etc.
24

When you ask for assistance, don’t just ask for people to click
a link, also ask for help spreading the word. It might not hurt
to stress that voting is as simple as clicking the arrow next to
a product’s name, and won’t require a long sign up form or invasion
of their privacy. Be careful, though, as this might count
as solicitation of votes.
When you ask for
assistance, don’t just
ask for people to
click a link, also ask
for help spreading
the word.
The more that you can get done in the morning, the more people
you will reach, as many start their work day by checking
Product Hunt. I’ve provided a sample schedule of sharing activities
in the Workbook section of this ebook, so read over it
and think about the resources that you have available—there
might be some that only you have, and you’ll want to add
them to the list!
25

7
Problems & Corner
Cases
“What if your product goes
live late in the day
Hustle!”
– Chapter Seven

Problems & Corner Cases
No Product Hunt experience is without a
few bumps. I just want to cover a few of
the problems that you might encounter:
Traffic to your site causes your server to
crash: in the event that this occurs, do
your best to get the site back up and tweet
to @ProductHunt that you’re having issues.
If it goes down completely and cannot
be recovered, they might take it off the
site temporarily to help with the server
load.
Someone starts soliciting votes on your
behalf: you can be flagged for this, especially
if it is someone else working for your
company. Be sure to be clear with all of
your team members that soliciting votes is
prohibited, but they’re welcome to share
the link.
Someone hates your product, and says
so vocally: do not feed the trolls. Be polite,
accept the criticism, try to find some
value in it if possible, and then move on.
27

The good news is that the community is very welcoming and
you likely will not run into an issue with this.
Your product goes live late in the day: Hustle! While you
might have missed out on the early-morning rush, the ranking
algorithm is weighted by time, so you will have some opportunity
to catch up—you just have to have incredible momentum.
So mobilize everyone that you can.
Even if you might
missed out on the
early-morning rush
of Product Hunt
traffic, the ranking
algorithm is
weighted by time, so
you will have an
opportunity to catch
up.
You don’t want to be hunted… yet: There’s an answer for
that, too. Just go to www.yolo.tapir.me and use the “Please
Don’t Hunt Me” badge on your site. There are simple instructions
on the page for how to use it properly, and if you follow
them, you should be safe.
28

8
Workbook Pages
“Damn, where’d I put that
pencil”
– You, regarding Chapter Eight

People in Your Corner Worksheet
You’ll want to have ready a list of people who have your back. So first, write down in this
field the people that immediately come to mind.
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
Then, when you get to a computer or have a smart device handy, circle the names of people
above that have Twitter. If you need to, write down their Twitter handle as well.
xxx

Then, if you are already on Twitter, go to your Notifications page and write down the first
names and Twitter handles of everyone that has “re-tweeted” your comments. If a few people
are “favoriting” a large number of your tweets, you can also write their names down.
If you are not on Twitter, take this time to sign up, and to notify everyone on your Facebook
or email list that you now have an account on Twitter, too.
1. _________________________ _________________________
2. _________________________ _________________________
3. _________________________ _________________________
4. _________________________ _________________________
5. _________________________ _________________________
6. _________________________ _________________________
7. _________________________ _________________________
8. _________________________ _________________________
9. _________________________ _________________________
10. _________________________ _________________________
11. _________________________ _________________________
12. _________________________ _________________________
13. _________________________ _________________________
14. _________________________ _________________________
15. _________________________ _________________________
xxxi

Print as many of these pages as you need.
OPTIONAL: After you’ve found a core group of people already on Twitter that you think
would support you, make an online Twitter-list and call it “Preparing for Product Hunt” or
something similar. Add these people to the list. They will be notified by Twitter that they’ve
been added. You should also Direct Message (DM) them to tell them you’ll be asking for
their help spreading the word that you’re on Product Hunt—in a few days’ time. If they
don’t want to help, though, be polite and remove them from the list.
The benefit of this is twofold: first, that the members will feel a greater sense of community
and have an additional reason to remember supporting you. Also, so that you can more
easily see who has spread the message, and who might need a (gentle) reminder.
xxxii

Group Worksheet
Groups are very important for distributing your message beyond your inner circle.
Start with LinkedIn, which has engaged and diverse groups that gather around topics, and
thus is an excellent medium to spread a message. Write down at least five groups that you
belong to that would appreciate your message. If you do not yet belong to five groups that
would open and enjoy your link, search for them now.
1. __________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________
6. __________________________________________________
7. __________________________________________________
8. __________________________________________________
9. __________________________________________________
10. __________________________________________________
11. __________________________________________________
12. __________________________________________________
xxxiii

Then list any pertinent Facebook groups:
1. __________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________
6. __________________________________________________
7. __________________________________________________
8. __________________________________________________
9. __________________________________________________
10. __________________________________________________
11. __________________________________________________
12. __________________________________________________
In both the LinkedIn and Facebook groups, it might be best to share some fun and engaging
content before your product is live on Product Hunt. That will remind them who you
are, and encourage benevolent feelings toward you—you’re a contributor, not just a freeloader.
xxxiv

Sample Schedule
This sample schedule assumes that you’re in Eastern Time. If you are West of New York,
everything will end sooner, so step up the post-office hours routine to earlier in the day,
and go to sleep at 1 or 2 AM. Otherwise, this is pretty universal.
If this looks like too much work, hire an intern, or better yet, a CloudPeep for the day
(www.cloudpeeps.com) to assist with, but not take over, the work.
Also, Mention (www.mention.com) will work better/faster than Google Alerts, but you will
likely run over their free trial of 100 mention events, so consider signing up for a month of
service.
7:00 AM: PRODUCT GOES LIVE
• Create custom bit.ly link for your Product Hunt comment page (funnier is better)
• Send out your pre-written e-mails to your product’s user or fan base with bit.ly link
• Tweet link on personal Twitter
• Change both Twitter profiles to mention you’re being featured today!
• Change both Twitter profile links to be your Product Hunt comment page
• Set up Twitter notifications for your product name, if you haven’t already
• Post link to your Facebook with a picture and leave the link visible in the post
• Post link to business FB account with picture and visible link
• Post a picture of the product or a picture of Glasshole Kitty to Instagram
• Change your link in Instagram to be your Product Hunt comment page
xxxv

8:00 AM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Post to LinkedIn groups, keep link intact
• Post to Facebook groups, keep link intact
• Consider posting to HackerNews, Reddit (weigh costs/benefits carefully)
9:00 AM:
• Tweet any progress with bit.ly link on both accounts
• Respond to comments on social media or email
• Start sending personal e-mails
• Record a short video about how you’re excited to be on PH for Snapchat
10:00 AM:
• Continue sending personal e-mails
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Tweet a progress update to personal account (include current # of votes and link)
• Comment on your Product Hunt posting page
xxxvi

11:00 AM:
• Continue sending personal e-mails
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Post a personal Facebook update re: progress on your personal feed
• “Like” several posts from others on FB, to increase your visibility
12:00 PM:
• Continue sending personal e-mails
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Post a “Noon Report” Facebook post on the business account, link
• Send out “Noon Report” tweet on your progress, with #s and link (both accounts)
• Comment on your Product Hunt posting page
1:00 PM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Eat food, if you haven’t already. Breathe a little.
• While eating, ‘like’ things Instagram related to your product to drive traffic
xxxvii

2:00 PM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Tweet on personal Twitter about your feelings re: PH, add selfie if female
• Post ‘status updates’ on posts in Facebook groups, thank and urge more views
• Post ‘status updates’ on posts in LinkedIn groups, thank and urge more views
• Post day’s second Instagram post, stress link in bio
• Comment on your Product Hunt posting page
3:00 PM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Biz Twitter: tweet your progress numbers with link, thanks for votes—ask for retweet
• Post third personal FB post, this one with a photo of you taken that day
• Snapchat something clever
• Interact with your Facebook and LinkedIn groups
• Go through the list of people who have already voted for your product
• Is that list missing anyone Follow up
• Are there unusual sources Investigate
xxxviii

4:00 PM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Expect numbers to slow a bit, but continue to drive traffic as people leave work
• Make a few RTs on personal Twitter, tweet neat things so that your feed is still fun
• Comment on your Product Hunt posting page
5:00 PM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Grab more food, ready yourself for post-work by prepping second mass e-mail
• Make a few RTs on biz Twitter, tweet interesting things so that the feed is still fun
6:00 PM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Tweet a progress report with photo
• Make a few RTs on personal Twitter, tweet neat things so that your feed is still fun
• Comment on your Product Hunt posting page
7:00 PM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• 4th personal FB post: Stress that this is the final ramp-up, that it’s all-or-nothing
• Send out 2nd mass e-mail with traction numbers, thanks, urge to vote
• Tweet that you’re entering the final stretch on personal Twitter, be sure to include link
xxxix

8:00 PM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Comment on your Product Hunt posting page
• Begin following up on personal e-mails (thank yous, urge people to share msg)
• Make a few RTs on personal Twitter, tweet neat things so that your feed is still fun
• Interact with your Facebook and LinkedIn groups
• Instagram post, “link in bio”
9:00 PM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Go through the list of people who have already voted for your product
• Is that list missing anyone Follow up
• Are there unusual sources Investigate
• Tweet your numbers, the link, thank-you on biz Twitter (sound excited)
10:00 PM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Take a walk, meditate, or exercise a little
• Drink some coffee—do not head to bed
• Comment on your Product Hunt posting page
• Tweet on your personal Twitter with link
xl

11:00 PM:
* Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
* Go through the list of people who have already voted for your product
* Is that list missing anyone Follow up
* Are there unusual sources Investigate
* Make a few RTs on personal Twitter, tweet neat things so that your feed is still fun
12:00 AM:
* Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
* Tweet your numbers, the link, thank-you on personal Twitter
* Interact with your Facebook and LinkedIn groups
1:00 AM:
* Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
* Go through the list of people who have already voted for your product
* Are there unusual sources Investigate
• Make a few RTs on personal Twitter, tweet neat things so that your feed is still fun
• Tweet on personal Twitter that contest is coming to a close, link, picture
xli

2:00 AM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Tweet your numbers, the link, TYs on personal Twitter: use #s (final hr of voting!)
• Feel free to tweet 3-4 times this hour, if necessary
3:00 AM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Wrap things up
4:00 AM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Post on FB, personal Twitter: you are going to bed
• Fall into your bed, snoring
…SLEEP...
9:00 AM:
• Groggily hit your alarm clock with more force than necessary, get up
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• Begin posting thank-you notes EVERYWHERE you posted last night
• Begin sending personal thank-you notes
• If you will be in the Product Hunt e-mail, delay your mass e-mail thank you note
• If you will not be in it, send your mass e-mail thank you now
xlii

10:00 AM:
• Respond to comments on social media or e-mail
• The Product Hunt daily e-mail should go out this hour, read it, screen capture it
• Use it in your mass e-mail thank you if you appeared in the PH e-mail
• Consider adding a thank-you banner or confetti to the image (Canva.com)
• Post this image on your personal FB, Twitter, etc.
• Call people to thank them if they were particularly big helps (RTs, shares, esp.)
xliii

Sample Letters
MASS E-MAIL
(for customers and fans)
Dear Team [Product Name],
First, I want to thank you for being a part of [Product Name]’s early days—with out you, we
wouldn’t be where we are today: launching on Product Hunt! [Bit.ly link]
I know many of you are likely active Product Hunt members. I would appreciate if you
joined in on our page’s discussion, as you will have good insight on [Product Name]. We’ll
be there, joining in on the conversation, so also feel free to ask us any questions you might
have.
For those of you who aren’t Product Hunt members, you can still help by sharing this link
[bit.ly link] with people that you think would like to hear about [Product Name], or on your
Twitter account.
Of course, you don’t have to do any of those things. Please don’t feel obligated. We’re
happy enough to have you as users—though your help in spreading the word would be
greatly appreciated!
All the best,
[Names of all team members, or Name and e-mail signature of the CEO]
xliv

CUSTOM E-MAIL
(for friends and relatives)
Dear Rhianna,
I hope everything’s going well for you today! Last we spoke, you’d gotten a new puppy—so
it must have grown a bit since we talked. I’d love to see more photos—the last
ones were adorable!
You might have seen on Facebook that my startup has been featured on Product Hunt today.
I know you’re not a Product Hunt member, but I was wondering if you would have
time to tell a few people that you think might be interested in our services. I think we’ve discussed
it before, but we sell a monthly delivery of pet-penguin supplies to wealthy pop
stars who can’t shop for their penguins because of the paparazzi. It’s a huge market.
Don’t feel like you have to do this, I know you’re really busy with your singing career, but it
would mean a lot.
Thanks! Looking forward to puppy pics!
[Your name]
xlv

9
Conclusion
“Wishing you all the best”
– the Author, Kiki Schirr

Wishing You the Best
Good luck with your Product Hunt experience! I wish you all the best, and please let me
know if you have any questions or feedback. My e-mail is kikischirr@gmail.com and I can
also be easily reached at www.twitter.com/kikischirr
Happy Hunting.
Kiki
(#8843)
47

Thank You
I’d like to dedicate this e-book to Product Hunt, for introducing me to amazing people like
Nichole Elizabeth, Shubham Naik, Eric Willis, and Jonas Daniels—which then meant I
met more great people like Sol Weinreich and Charles Jo. This book is for them and for
all my Product Hunt peeps.
I would also like to apologize for any typographical or grammatical errors—please blame
me and not all of the gracious people who helped with this book.
Thank you, you all rock.
xlviii