Let’s Make Featuring Great Again 🚀

Hey everyone! I came across this discussion (https://www.producthunt.com/discussions/my-friends-spent-a-lot-of-time-preparing-for-their-launch-but-they-didn-t-get-featured) about a project that worked hard to prepare for their launch. They had amazing community support but didn’t get featured. Even though they ranked second overall, not being featured meant they missed out on badges, recognition, and, more importantly, the traffic and users they needed to grow. In discussions with fellow makers, we’ve noticed that sometimes products that don’t seem to fully align with Product Hunt’s stated criteria (like Novelty or Usefulness) still get featured, while others that appear to meet these guidelines more closely don’t make it. This raises questions about how decisions are made and how we, as a community, can improve the process 🤔 Many teams spend weeks—or even months—preparing for their launch, only to feel like their hard work didn’t pay off. This can be especially tough for small startups where founders juggle everything, unlike big companies with dedicated teams and large budgets. For these creators, a launch is often a key source of traffic and feedback while managing tight constraints like runway and burn rate. Here are a few ideas to get the conversation started: 1. Clear Criteria for Makers: Product Hunt provides general guidelines https://help.producthunt.com/en/articles/9883485-product-hunt-featuring-guidelines (like Novelty and Usefulness), but the final decision lies with moderators. What if makers filled out a simple form explaining how their product meets each criterion (e.g., in 200 characters)? This could include how it’s useful, innovative, or creative, plus a check to confirm they meet the "What We Don’t Feature" guidelines. 2. Audience Interest: If 300+ people click “Notify me” before the launch, it’s a strong signal of interest and could help qualify the product for featuring. 3. Votes-Based Promotion: Products that get 300+ votes in the "All" section within 4 hours could automatically move to "Featured." This ensures attention-grabbing products don’t go unnoticed. 4. Fair Placement on the Homepage: All projects could appear on the homepage at the same time in a random order. If a product gets 300 votes in the first 4 hours, it moves to "Featured." If not, it stays in "All." This way, every product gets a fair chance. Why is this important? 🙏 Product Hunt has always been a platform that supports innovation and creativity. Featuring isn’t just about badges; it’s a crucial way for many creators to get traffic and early recognition. By improving the featuring process, we can help even more makers succeed, encourage launches, and ensure that Product Hunt continues to thrive as a space for sharing and discovering amazing new products. Your turn: What ideas do you have for improving the featuring process? Share your thoughts in the comments, and let’s brainstorm together to make it better.