Does the game end after 24 hours or does it make sense to keep promoting the product?

I am by no means an expert at this. I lived off my affiliate marketing income for the past 10 years, but I just got into producthunt to try new things, like creating apps and stuff. I launched a few small sites here, with the basic coding knowledge I have. But it seems to me people here are living off an old business model idea, advertised in the book "make" which basically works like this: > Make app public > post links on producthunt / hackernews / twitter / reddit > Cross your fingers and hope for it to go viral I am all for learning new things, so I actually tried it anyway, against my better judgement, and I think it's basically gambling. My previous business model, affiliate marketing, was much more stable. I am now in the process of starting an affiliate marketing agency business, because I think a lot of people here would benefit from it. I think your best chance of success is to find established affiliates that can promote your product, whatever that is. Of course they will want a cut of your sales, and the bigger the affiliates, the more negotiating power they have. I have been getting 40% commission on some items, since I own some big websites, while everyone else was getting 15%. These types of partnerships I think are the best way to grow a business, up to the point that you create enough critical mass, that you get ditch all affiliates, because now people already know your product. It's a regular cycle I have witnessed many times. If you want help finding affiliates, connecting with them and convincing them to promote your new random unproved product (which is how it looks to them), feel free to get in touch via DM on twitter and you can be my first affiliate agency customer.

The game doesn't end after 24 hours; it's crucial to keep promoting the product to maintain momentum and reach a wider audience. Consistent promotion can lead to sustained interest and long-term success.

It doesn't end instantly if your day rank is pretty high, however about promoting, it depends on you, overall I think the PH is way better for promotion than Google Ads.

the real game (aka get paid customers) actually begins after the 24 hours. That's when you should put all your efforts to turn the visibility you gained into customers

I'd say the launch day is very important, but you shouldn't just abandon your marketing efforts once the 24 hours pass - keep the buzz going!