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Is it a good thing to ask for upvotes on Product Hunt? 🔼
I get a lot of messages about upvotes every day.
Do you think this is good?
On the one hand, you can ask someone who is not at all interested in the product and give an upvote without actually trying it. There are, of course, hidden benefits.
🙂 When they vote for you, you can move up, increasing your visibility + getting into the PH newsletter and on social networks as the product of the day.
🙁 On the other hand, you may be disqualified. At least that's how some people who got "banned" presented it.
So to ask or not to ask for upvotes? 🤔
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Simona O'Neill
This is a very interesting topic. How can you not ask for support and feedack? That's what all the launches are about! PR campaigns, ads, special offers and incentives... it's marketing ! Direct outreach is marketing too. The real issue though is how, who and what kind of support you're looking for. For example if I am contacted by a person who is the founder or part of the maker team looking for some eyeballs on their product, I will always go and check it out. If it's interesting or useful to me I will upvote and give my honest feedback. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. Think about it, if you launch your product and just sit there and wait to see what happens with it you will most likely never going to be featured or noticed. You can't put so much effort into building your product and then put no effort into your launch campaign. People ask for votes during th elections all over the world. People ask for support when they are fundraising. People ask for support when they need help... As long as it's done by humans in a human way I am cool with that :-).
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@busmark_w_nika I personally started reaching out to people many months ago. Tell people what you're building to get some initial feedback and validation that it's a useful tool. Invite people to follow your PH page or join the beta test waitlist. Talk about your product in various forums and social media channels consistently. Then reach out to the select group of people once your product is ready for testing and ask for feedback. A week before the launch, start spreading the word that your launch will be happening on a certain date to create a bit of hipe about it and to give a bit of notice in advance. There has to be some excitement and anticipation. Then on the day of the launch drive more people to see and test your product :-)
@simona_o_neill3 This comment is worth a bookmarking option in Product Hunt, which unfortunately is not there :)
Well, I really hope so, because I want to show everybody my first product on Product Hunt 😁
https://www.producthunt.com/post...
@diogomaiacaetano Sure, just let me know a day ahead. After all, we're hear to help each other!
@kate_ramakaieva We need to take the opportunity on any chance we have hehe thank you for the support! :)
@diogomaiacaetano Hi! Let's help each other too. HelloRAG's launching in two days. https://www.producthunt.com/prod...
@busmark_w_nika, I have a skeptical perspective on this issue.
I recall that 5 years ago on Product Hunt, a product could become the "Product of the Year"
with just 300 upvotes in a day. 😁
(I launched a campaign for Capture (https://www.producthunt.com/prod...), but at the time, weird I didn't accept the maker offer, so I'm not on the list.)
However, I remember that it was a time when genuinely good products could easily gain upvotes.
Now, every launch is inundated with messages from marketing specialists with million years of experience, offering to sell you upvotes for your products.
I'm quite certain that this resembles a "farm" operation, akin to the scene in the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street," where numerous people on phones are deciding which product to "pump."
@busmark_w_nika My point is that yes, Asking for help with your product is acceptable, but it becomes problematic when it leads to hysteria. Having people spam requests for upvotes without users even seeing the product.
Doesn't mean nobody should do it, just a matter of what makers are expect from the PH launch 🙃
Yes. If people don't want to upvote in the end they're not going to do it
@busmark_w_nika True. It only helps you increase reach and therefore increase the chance to connect to your actual audience.
I don't see a problem, if it's done in a fair matter. It's like, i'm a door to door salesman trying to talk about the product i spent months building and that I believe in.
People, like me, that built their product on their free time and invest some of their savings on it need to find ways to create visibility without spending a lot, that means talking about their product on forums, ask for feedback, improve on that feedback.
For example, yesterday, we've received the feedback that there was no way to check how our website works before subscribing to a free trial, in their words "it looks like a scam", today we already deployed a better onboarding process where we explain in detail the next steps after a user registers and show some of the features with actual screenshots of the application. At the end of the week we plan to have detailed videos that go trough all the features, and they will also be shown in our homepage. It's more than receiving feedback is also on acting on it.
On the other hand, I don't like spammy stuff. It should always be about human interaction. Ask for feedback, discuss, provide feedback.
@busmark_w_nika I agree, but i feel like it's not so black & white.
Example: 6 months ago we had no idea that we were going to launch Amigos do Miles. It started as a project for my girlfriend to have a nice portfolio project, so that she could get a job as a developer, but when she finished it we realised we could have an opportunity to actually make something more out of it.
That's why, in my case, i'm new to Product Hunt (knew it, but never actually registered), because we didn't even know we were going to try and actually launch this and we are going out of our comfort to market it.
It’s better to ask, because it’s a way to inform about your product, the person can make a choice to vote or not to vote, to visit a page, to try for free etc.
@busmark_w_nika many people just click the upvote without even visiting the site because they want the badge of upvote stake 🙃
That happened to me recently as well. At the beginning of my PH journey I did my best to give feedback and try products, but when I saw that I need to reach 25 days in a raw of upvoting I started clicking for the best logo or the business tool that was better explained then others.
@iuliia_demchyk I agree with you that feedback is the most valuable! Especially when someone has tried the product.
BTW we have a free version to try the LiveChat and the ai Chatbot. We have started Beta and in July will have a full release. If you try and give us feedback that would be precious! 🌟
IntelSwift.com
@busmark_w_nika here is our product and previous product is for you. https://www.producthunt.com/prod...
@busmark_w_nika anyway thanks for being so active and responding me. If you have a chance to click on my profile and find the IntelSwift link I’ll appreciate you feedback 😇 if not I understand that you’re busy as today’s word is very rapid!🏃♀️
I guess asking for support is much needed to get some traction, but I would definitely say no to buying upvotes
Yes, I think, asking for upvotes is okay generally. After all, we are here to support each other and discover new products.
But presentation does matter. If you show up at the last minute and there are dozens of similar requests every day, it can become quite bothersome, especially for people with a large following.
@busmark_w_nika fair point! I believe it's manageable for most of us, but I'm sure that for top users the sheer volume of requests can be overwhelming 😅
How do you approach upvoting then, if not a secret? Do you simply choose products from the launches list or do you follow products before the launch because the idea or some form of marketing strategy was intriguing?
I would say ask for upvote or what you can do introduce your product to PH users and tell them about your product what app do or how can help customer to achieve something. then a user can upvote without any hesitation.
@busmark_w_nika yes, his/her wish to upvote or not. I received many messages on LinkedIn regarding upvote their product. so I if feeling not to upvote right now I will upvote latter. or I will not.
I think many do that. Could be good only if your product is truly practical or you return the favor in the same way!
I guess the best way is to showcase your product and bring some attention to it, and then people can decide if they want to upvote it. Though directly asking for upvotes is not against the rules, some people may find it a bit intrusive.
asking for upvotes - defifntely no! ⛔
asking for feedback and support - yes, that is why we are here - to explore new products and to support the ones we like ✨
There is a fine balance, Yes, if they are genuine reviewers or users but no if it is just a pure marketing presence exercise to get you noticed. If I think something of interest or value and always happy to give an upvote
Asking for upvotes on Product Hunt can be a double-edged sword; it's essential to encourage genuine interest rather than just soliciting votes. A better strategy might be to share your product's unique value and story, inviting the community to support you if they genuinely believe in what you're building.
No, I would not ask for upvotes. I think it's okay to ask if someone will look at your product and support you. But it should still be their own decision.
I always feel a bit sorry for the start-ups that don't have the capacity to write to everyone but have an excellent product and don't get the same attention as a result. So in addition to support, I always try to look at other products as well
