Is finding a top hunter worth it or better just go for it yourself?

Igor Pavlov
34 replies
I have a dilemma. Some top hunters have 20K+ followers but at the same time, some products hunted by the original makers do #1 and crush those. Hmm... 🤔 I have a feeling I am launching myself and doing my best to engage with the PH community. What do you guys think?

Replies

Jocelyn To
IMO, it's one thing that's better to have, but not a must
Igor Pavlov
@jocelyuki Thanks! The decision is made!
Jocelyn To
@igorpavlov Great! Following+1, will show my support when it's launched.😉
Rowe Morehouse
Sales Likelihood Calculator
Sales Likelihood Calculator
If you use a top hunter, you will get more reach, but that does not guarantee anything in the rankings. It depends on your product, of course.
Igor Pavlov
@rowemore Yes, this is clear @rowemore but at the same time, I think it depends on the hunter and the products they hunted, the better the quality of the products, the more trusting and engaging their followers. And vice-verse, I guess...
Fwiw, we had the same question, and after reaching out to a hunter (who charged ALOT), we decided to go it alone. I've also seen on their launch days, they still have to slide into everyone's DMs, asking for support, etc. I think getting to know the community you want to release your product to regardless makes a lot of sense. Hunters get more reach, but I assume most of that audience is largely disengaged. You're better off finding 100 true fans yourself, IMO.
Igor Pavlov
@rawoyemi Wait a sec... they charge? 😲 If I search for a hunter, they will be genuinely interested in the product and us. I also agree with 100 fans!
Julien Fayad
Sections serverless engine
Sections serverless engine
@rawoyemi how can I actually get to know the community I want to release my product to ? I'm preparing a launch for a SaaS that speeds up page open time (quite technical but at the same time it's a problem everybody faces) and it's my first time on PH so I'm not sure I'm covering the bases here.
@igorpavlov We got hit with "rates starting at $500 (USD)" 😂. My product was clearly irrelevant when hunting is their product I guess.
@julien_fayad That's certainly not too technical for Product Hunt! I'd spend time in the discussion boards like you're doing and give proper feedback to other launch products. If you schedule your launch for some point, you get the launching soon badge too, which means people can start to see what you're working on. But yeah, being friendly, connecting with people, and supporting others, and I'm sure you'll have a great launch!
Igor Pavlov
@rawoyemi @julien_fayad I am pretty sure this is not too technical, everyone has a website and is aware of slow page load. Depends on the implementation, it if is "almost no-code required" or better "no code required" - PH *is* your audience.
Luke Button
End of day, if your product is one that the community gets excited about and you're making an effort to answer the questions that they have, then you're going to do very well. I don't think a top hunter is worth it for the "clout", but some of them can definitely be incredibly helpful with feedback for your slides and copy
Igor Pavlov
@luke_button Amazing reply, thank you. I actually like that a lot, otherwise the platform would have been pretty unfair and relied on connections only.
Luke Button
@igorpavlov After product, the biggest lever is your positioning. Talking to people who can help you improve on that front will pay off
Igor Pavlov
@luke_button Thanks! We are committed!
Jozef Balaz
AI Job Interview Coach
AI Job Interview Coach
I have conducted three launches myself, and the engagement was good for some, while it could have been better for others. This question has also been at the top of my mind as well. One day will use some star hundters for sure 🤗
Igor Pavlov
@jozef_balaz All 3 products were yours?
Jozef Balaz
AI Job Interview Coach
AI Job Interview Coach
@thomas_hansen5 no I’m not. Just a founder 🙆‍♂️
This has been debated quite a lot recently on PH. The problem with most hunters is that they don’t stay relevant anymore and the target audience that follows them is 80% inactive so those upvotes wouldn’t count for much. Unless you can find a hunter that is super niche to your product specifically, eg just hunts AI or Crypto products and has a strong following, you may be better on your own and be your own hunter.
Satyanarayan Prashar
Having a hunter adds credibility for the first time launchers. But does not necessarily means that one can't get the goal without one.
Igor Pavlov
@satyanarayan_prashar How come sometimes the number of followers loses to those who do not have followers at all? We are talking about 20K vs ~0-10 followers! This blows my mind.
Satyanarayan Prashar
@igorpavlov as much as I know, the followers of hunters don't get notified for the launch. and basically mostly hunters have lots of followers because they are OGs of ph community so most of there followers don't show up.
Igor Pavlov
@satyanarayan_prashar That makes sense, however, I am not sure if followers are not notified because in that case what's the purpose of having followers? Here is an article that says that they actually get notified https://www.producthunt.com/disc.... However, I agree that they might not just show up.
Igor Lysenko
Hello! The product is such a platform that it is difficult to promote the product. Better go yourself.
Penny Hartley
Yeah I think engagement with the PH community can go a long way, as long as you follow others and like their posts, they are more likely to follow you and hype your own stuff. I found lots of interesting people on here that I'd absolutely help any time
@tr1p3 Honestly, this! If you show people love here, you tend to receive love, haha. It's quite nice :)
Igor Pavlov
@tr1p3 Yep, but you can communicate with or without top hunter, what I meant is the communication during the launch, not before.