version: "1.0.1" name: ph-community-outreach description: Engage Reddit, Indie Hackers, Hacker News and other communities for Product Hunt launches. Use this skill to identify relevant communities, craft appropriate posts, and drive cross-platform engagement without appearing spammy.

Product Hunt Community Outreach

Workspace Context

Read bootstrap context before asking questions: strategy/brand.md for brand, audience, offer, channels, tools, constraints, and metrics; about/me.md for personal voice; content/ideas.md and content/calendar.md for content planning. Use legacy product-marketing context files only as fallback. Save generated drafts to content/<platform>/drafts/YYYY-MM-DD_short-topic-slug.md, and route durable learnings back to strategy/brand.md, about/me.md, or content/ideas.md.

Operating Contract

This skill is self-contained for its frontmatter scope: use its local instructions, references, scripts, and assets as the playbook; ask only for missing task-specific inputs; hand off to adjacent skills instead of expanding scope; and return an actionable artifact, decision, plan, draft, or diagnostic.

This skill helps you leverage online communities to amplify your Product Hunt launch while maintaining authenticity and following community guidelines.

When to Use This Skill

• Identifying communities relevant to your product
• Crafting community-appropriate posts
• Timing cross-platform promotion
• Building relationships before launch
• Avoiding spam flags and bans

The Golden Rules

Rule 1: Be a Member First

• Participate for 2-4 weeks before launch
• Add value through comments and discussions
• Build karma/reputation organically
• Never cold-post your launch

Rule 2: Provide Value, Not Just Promotion

• Share learnings, not just links
• Answer questions in your domain
• Help others with their launches
• Make posts interesting standalone

Rule 3: Follow Each Community's Rules

• Read sidebar/rules before posting
• Check if self-promotion is allowed
• Note any format requirements
• Respect moderators

Platform-by-Platform Guide

Reddit

Relevant Subreddits

General Startup/Product:

• r/SideProject (253k) - Very friendly to makers
• r/startups (960k) - Broader startup discussion
• r/Entrepreneur (2.4M) - Business-focused
• r/smallbusiness (1.3M) - SMB audience
• r/InternetIsBeautiful (17M) - Cool web things

Tech/Development:

• r/webdev (1.7M) - Web development
• r/programming (5.6M) - General programming
• r/learnprogramming (3.5M) - Beginners
• r/opensource (400k) - Open source projects
• r/selfhosted (280k) - Self-hosted solutions

Specific Niches:

• r/SaaS (44k) - SaaS products
• r/nocode (120k) - No-code tools
• r/artificial (1.4M) - AI products
• r/productivity (1.1M) - Productivity tools
• r/design (470k) - Design tools

Product Hunt Specific:

• r/ProductHunters (small but targeted)

Reddit Posting Strategy

Pre-Launch (2-4 weeks before):

1. Join relevant subreddits
2. Comment helpfully on 10-20 posts
3. Build karma organically
4. Observe what content works

Launch Day Post Template:

Title: I built [Product] to solve [specific problem] -
       launching on Product Hunt today
 
Hey r/[subreddit]!
 
After [X months] of building, I'm finally launching
[Product] on Product Hunt today.
 
**The Problem:**
[2-3 sentences about the problem]
 
**What I Built:**
[2-3 sentences about your solution]
 
**What Makes It Different:**
[Your unique angle]
 
**Current Status:**
- [Key metric or milestone]
- [Another relevant detail]
 
**Looking For:**
- Honest feedback on the concept
- Suggestions for improvement
- [Specific question for community]
 
Product Hunt link: [URL]
 
Happy to answer any questions about the build,
the tech stack, or the journey!

Reddit Best Practices

• ✓ Post during active hours (9 AM - 5 PM local)
• ✓ Respond to every comment
• ✓ Be humble and open to criticism
• ✓ Share actual value/learnings
• ✓ Use authentic language

Reddit Avoid

• ❌ Posting in 10+ subreddits at once (spam)
• ❌ Using the same text everywhere
• ❌ Just dropping a link
• ❌ Ignoring negative feedback
• ❌ Posting in large subreddits without karma

Indie Hackers

Why Indie Hackers Works

• Community of makers/founders
• Celebrate launches and milestones
• Value transparency and learning
• Often reciprocal support

Indie Hackers Post Template

Title: Just launched [Product] on Product Hunt -
       here's what I learned building it
 
Hey IH community!
 
Today I launched [Product] on Product Hunt and wanted
to share the journey.
 
**📝 The Backstory**
[How you got the idea, why you built it]
 
**🔨 What I Built**
[Product] is [description]. It helps [audience]
[achieve outcome].
 
**📊 Key Numbers**
- Time to build: [X months]
- Lines of code: [X] (or tech stack)
- Beta users before launch: [X]
- Current MRR: [X or "pre-revenue"]
 
**💡 Lessons Learned**
1. [Key lesson]
2. [Key lesson]
3. [Key lesson]
 
**🎯 What's Next**
[Your roadmap or next steps]
 
**🙏 The Ask**
Would love feedback from this community:
- [Specific question]
- [Specific question]
 
Product Hunt: [Link]
Website: [Link]
 
AMA about the build!

Indie Hackers Best Practices

• ✓ Share real numbers (transparency wins)
• ✓ Focus on the journey, not just the product
• ✓ Engage with other launches too
• ✓ Join relevant IH groups
• ✓ Follow up with results post

Hacker News

Hacker News Reality Check

• Very high bar for quality
• Community can be harsh
• Not for every product
• Best for: Dev tools, technical products, novel tech

HN Post Strategy

Show HN Format:

Title: Show HN: [Product Name] – [Brief description]
 
[Link to product]
 
Then in comments, add context:
 
Hey HN! I built [Product] because [reason].
 
Technical details:
- Built with [tech stack]
- [Interesting technical challenge]
- [Performance/scale info]
 
I'd appreciate any feedback, especially on:
- [Technical question]
- [UX question]
 
Happy to discuss the implementation!

HN Best Practices

• ✓ Technical substance required
• ✓ Be ready for tough questions
• ✓ Respond thoughtfully to criticism
• ✓ Don't ask for upvotes (ever)
• ✓ Time it well (morning US)

HN Avoid

• ❌ Marketing speak
• ❌ "AI-powered" without substance
• ❌ Voting rings (will get you banned)
• ❌ Complaining about downvotes

Other Communities

Discord Servers

• Find servers related to your niche
• Participate genuinely first
• Check if #self-promotion channels exist
• Don't DM spam

Slack Communities

• Many industries have Slack groups
• Similar rules as Discord
• Often more professional

Facebook Groups

• Still relevant for certain niches
• B2B groups can be valuable
• Follow group rules strictly

Product-Specific Communities

• Dev.to (developers)
• Hashnode (developers)
• Lobste.rs (tech)
• Designer News (designers)
• Growth Hackers (marketing)

Timing Strategy

Pre-Launch (2-4 weeks)

• [ ] Join all relevant communities
• [ ] Comment on 20+ posts
• [ ] Build relationships
• [ ] Save posts where you can share later

Launch Week

• [ ] Soft mentions in comments
• [ ] Help others, mention your launch naturally
• [ ] Prepare posts for each platform

Launch Day

• [ ] Space out community posts (not all at once)
• [ ] Different post for each community
• [ ] Monitor and respond quickly

Post-Launch

• [ ] Share results and learnings
• [ ] Thank communities
• [ ] Continue participating

Community Post Checklist

Before Posting

• [ ] Am I a recognized member of this community?
• [ ] Have I read the rules?
• [ ] Is self-promotion allowed?
• [ ] Does my post provide value beyond promotion?
• [ ] Is my post format appropriate?

After Posting

• [ ] Monitoring for comments
• [ ] Responding to all feedback
• [ ] Thanking people for support
• [ ] Not getting defensive about criticism

Output Format

COMMUNITY OUTREACH PLAN FOR: [Product Name]
 
TARGET COMMUNITIES:
 
1. Reddit
   Subreddits: [List with member counts]
   Pre-launch activity: [Status]
   Post timing: [When]
 
2. Indie Hackers
   Groups: [Relevant groups]
   Pre-launch activity: [Status]
   Post timing: [When]
 
3. Hacker News
   Suitable: [Yes/No and why]
   Post timing: [When]
 
4. Other
   [List other communities]
 
POSTING SCHEDULE:
- [Time]: [Platform] - [Subreddit/community]
- [Time]: [Platform] - [Subreddit/community]
- [Time]: [Platform] - [Subreddit/community]
 
PRE-LAUNCH CHECKLIST:
- [ ] [Community]: [X] comments, [X] karma
- [ ] [Community]: [Status]
- [ ] [Community]: [Status]
 
POST DRAFTS:
[Include customized drafts for each community]