HN Explorer

Ask HN: Developers–How Did You Get Your First Paying Customers?

6 points by HSK11 ↗ HN
I have just launched a SAAS.

But I am not on any social Media, neither I like Social Media, How do I promote it, I am Totaly stuck now, I spent 1.5 years building it.

Now I came to know that distribution is the main thing , and i am really bad at it as introvert, dont know how to market it.

Any Idea how I can distribute it, It is bootstrapped so no marketing budget as well, kind of stuck to be honest , no idea on how to scale it.

Can you share your stories how you scaled you SAAS to first 100 customers.

17 comments

[ 0.26 ms ] story [ 34.6 ms ] thread
ls1911
For me, paying for featured listings on launch directories (Product Hunt, There's An AI For That, PeerPush and few others) brought immediate, traffic with zero social effort that brought leads to start with.

Its not magic , you will have to work hard to get the users, but at least you will get some quality leads this way.

krm01
Close circle. Make something for your friends/family/colleagues. The best first customers are those that, right now, are in your phone's address book.
jdebre
Watch out for where your users talk. Be timely to the signal. You can use free tools like trysygnal for that.
brudgers
One important part of getting paying customers is asking for money.

The most important part, however, is not making excuses for not doing so.

Good luck.

dzonga
b2b - so I use the phone or email.

I try avoid email at first, since most cold emails can be 'spammy'.

alekstret
I also recently launched my product and am still struggling to gain a user base. But one week ago, I started posting my app on specific platforms, such as SaaSHub. I think that over time it will deliver results because it not only anchors your product in a software DB but also provides your website with dofollow links. These links help to upvote the domain rating, which leads to better visibility in Google search results.
tommymcglynn
I do cold outreach across a few channels (X, Discord, Indie Hackers). I built a lead gen system for my target customer, so I don't have to spend too much time searching. My initial reach out offers high value for 0 upfront effort. When they engage, I provide value and they are happy. At that point, most are willing to engage with your product further.

Btw, I can do a live video review of [redacted] with honest feedback and reactions. Let me know if this sounds useful.

purplemoonx 

    const thingsYouOwn = [“the music”, “the moment”];

    if (!thingsYouOwn.includes(“yourself”)) {
      neverLetItGo(thingsYouOwn);
    }
theicreatoriam
Pick one forum where your buyers already ask questions. Answer five relevant threads each week, without pitching. Track profile visits and signups before adding another channel.