Reddit is an amazing place to find early users for free
I started posting on Reddit (my posts) but also commenting on other posts that are related to my app.
My first progress post got me 30 beta users, it was a video demo of how my app works on the simulator.
This post wasn't targeted at my audience but got a log of support and feedback.
I made a few comments on other posts related to apps, productivity, and ADHD, and as of this morning, I now have about 50 testers and a couple give screenshot feedback.
I want to iterate a bit more before I make another post in one of the big subreddits related to ADHD, but the results are pretty good.
The first post took me about 10 minutes to record and write out. Commenting on other posts took about 30 minutes between yesterday and this morning!
All of that for free, and my two posts got about 30k views and 70+ comments combined.
I encourage people to use Reddit to find early users and iterate on their feedback.
which subreddit did you post to?
This is awesome! I had the same experience posting about an app I was working on recently.
When I started I wasn't very good at posting on Reddit because I was new to the platform, so I built an app that uses GPT-3 to rewrite post titles in the style of posts that performed well in a given subreddit. It could be useful for anyone who wants to market more on Reddit - https://postparrot.xyz
Thanks for the insight, trying to find the best way to communicate on an idea and this helps!
That's awesome, Paco. Well done.
I used twitter to find a beta tester for Planzer and cold outreach to the relevant target group. :-)
We got 3 paying customers ($29) for our early prototype after posting on reddit! (Insert caveat about not being spammy but helpful.) I wrote a bit about our experience here: https://dashibase.com/blog/dashibase-beta-free/
We have been getting most of our signups organically through Twitter too. I think it helps that developers are often on Twitter.
I wonder how you grew your following in Twitter? I just created an account and have no idea what to do.
I just started posting updates about my progress and commenting and liking indie developer posts as well as following some dev accounts
It depends on your target audience. Are they even on Twitter? If they are, what do they do there? What do they read?
We are lucky in that we partnered with Supabase since our early days. They have a huge Twitter following and often RT our tweets. I think we are also working on something that resonates with developers, which helped.
Admittedly, I don't spend a lot of time on our Twitter account, besides posting our product improvements every week and RTing relevant mentions. I could probably do more.
a great tool for video reddit save. thank you.
Kinda the same with me, it's all Reddit for now because it where I can super target my customers and thats' where they hangout.
The only problem I see with Reddit is the Mods.
plus, Reddit is a place that is packed with people trying to sell something .. It's important to pick the communists carefully
I've found a nice workaround, as long as you're asking something that may help the community it's good. At the end of the post you say btw I'm currently developing a beta, if anyone is interested leave a comment. Then you have a personal Convo with a potential user and can follow up on their experience.
After some time it might get overwhelming so you edit the post and add the link to the post so that everyone can see.
Did this on two subreddits with explicit no self promotion or advertising rules
Can you please share the subreddit where you post?
I posted on iOSProgramming, get disciplined , ADHD etc..
Thank you
Congratulations! I've also found reddit to be super useful - beyond the traffic, I've gotten a lot of really good product feedback. I think the most important thing is to be human, and not write marketing copy :)
I second that, I used it while pre-launching our product and got actual beta users!
However, whenever I tried posting new content it was always flagged by moderators. It is a difficult territory to navigate (given that I'm new to it).
I think I might try it again now :)
Yes, it depends on the subreddit. Usually, I'll write something like "I'm building x app, what would the ideal app for X do for you, etc...
I have a beta if anyone is interested leave a comment and I'll dm you
Congrats on your success! Reddit has a lot of potential but also seems like one of the trickier environments to navigate, because people are on high alert for everything that looks "salesy".
How did you go about linking to your project or referencing it? Did you include a link in the post, or just in your bio and then hoped that people will be curious enough to check your profile?
Check my reply above. Obviously, if you just put a link or a cheap sales line, it won't work.
You have to engage the community somehow with a question or ask for their advice or opinion on what you're building. If it's genuine and they see you're a person working to solve a problem they might have they are very helpful
Definitely, Reddit provides a forum for people to discuss problems they have with the product they are using, so it can be a great place to plug yourself if you are solving some of those problems.
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Yeah, you definitely need to do it in a specific way. Only suggest your solution if it truly applies.
Be helpful in other ways, if someone visits your profile they shouldn't see you selling as your entire post history.
Be upfront that it is YOUR product
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Age of account doesn't matter too much.
i think age of account matter people don't bother if your account is new
People don't look at your account, they look at the content.
Sure there are some limits to where you can post with karma. So open an account, get some karma but the content is the most important thing.
I totally agree with you the content is most important thing. but the concern is how to get instant karma to post on those popular groups etc?
Comment on popular content with value.
Either make a joke, or a gif, or a give additional resources.
ok thank you
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Yeah, but I never really posted anything; more of a lurker. It's true if you create a new account, there are a lot of restrictions to prevent spam.
I use my account, which I used to sometimes comment on stuff. I still don't know how karma work, but I have about 200, and I've been able to post in most places.
I posted on r/iOSprogramming and commented on other ADHD subs
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I started going through the website yesterday. Did you use it before the launch? V1 of my app is not ready yet, but I know it should make the MVP as simple as possible.
What was your experience with the product hunt? I don't want to pay for the upcoming project ads from their website!
Also considering app sumo. Once I get a business model figured out, its supposed to be good to get lifetime deal revenue quickly.
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What do you mean by offers, are the emails you received asking for something in return, etc.?
I'm interested in knowing about your experience with releasing an android-only app. I am doing the same for iOS but don't know if that will hinder my chances of a good launch.
I do have some money, but I don't want to spend it on ads just yet, since the product is not ready yet, maybe when I launch.
Thanks for the tip; I created an account a couple of days ago but will make sure to engage with the community and start building a bigger presence in the groups.
How did your project turn out after the launch? Are you still working on it or something different?
Do tell :)
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Okok. Following you as well so you have the link? At least on mobile I can't see any link to producthunt in your profile. Don't have an Android phone but will be sure to support u as well
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