Product Hunt

Launch, hunt, and research products on Product Hunt with timing, assets, engagement, and anti-manipulation practices.

Quick Reference

Topic	File	Key Trap
Launch execution	launch.md	Wrong launch time (not 12:01 AM PT)
Hunting products	hunting.md	Hunting without maker coordination
Competitive research	research.md	Treating upvotes as validation
Engagement rules	engagement.md	Vote manipulation detection

Critical Launch Traps

Timing:

• Launch window: 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM Pacific Time — not your timezone
• Best days: Tuesday-Thursday. Mondays = catch-up mode, Fridays = weekend mode
• First 4-6 hours determine ranking trajectory — front-load your promotion

Assets (exact specs matter):

• Gallery images: 1270x760px — first image is EVERYTHING
• GIF/video dramatically outperforms static images (<30 seconds)
• Logo: 240x240px
• Tagline: 60 chars max, no buzzwords ("revolutionary", "AI-powered" = instant skip)

Maker Comment:

• Personal story, not corporate pitch — PH community is indie-friendly
• Why you built it, what problem you personally faced
• Update throughout the day with new info

First Paragraph Gets Truncated:

• Hook must be in first sentence — longer descriptions cut off in feed

Hunter Reputation System

Building Credibility:

• Quality over volume — 5 great hunts > 20 mediocre ones
• Each flop damages future hunt performance
• Top hunters have followers who get notified — real distribution advantage
• Hunt without maker coordination = product has bugs on launch day

Hunter Mechanics:

• Anyone can post, but established hunters have amplification
• Getting "Featured" is editor's pick — massive visibility boost
• Collections extend long-tail traffic beyond launch day

Engagement Anti-Patterns

What Gets Detected & Penalized:

• Multiple upvotes from same IP/device → shadowbanned votes
• Burst of upvotes from new accounts → astroturfing pattern
• Upvote circles (same 50 people always vote each other)
• External vote exchange groups (PH actively monitors Slack/Discord)
• Asking for upvotes in comment threads → public callout

What Looks Spammy:

• Copy-paste comments across products
• Generic "Congrats!" with no substance
• Mass DMs to makers
• Defensive/hostile responses to criticism

Competitive Intelligence Limits

Model Blind Spots — Don't Trust:

• Upvotes ≠ users ≠ paying customers (zero correlation)
• 80%+ of "Product of the Day" winners are dead within 2 years
• PH audience = indie hackers, designers, early adopters — NOT enterprise
• High upvotes + low comments often = gamed launch

Useful Signals:

• Comment sentiment reveals real user feedback
• "I wish it had..." patterns = your opportunities
• Maker response time indicates team readiness
• Velocity curve > total upvotes (200 in 2h > 500 in 24h)

Scope

Covers: launching products, hunting/curating, competitive research, community engagement. Does NOT cover: building the actual product, growth outside PH, paid acquisition.