#1: Launch, ProductHunt, First Update, and Next Steps
Tomorrow marks two weeks since the launch of the Headroom app. It's a good time to review the initial numbers and determine the next steps for promoting the app and enhancing its features from a product perspective. To be honest, I was a bit frustrated during the first week because of the number of users. However, last week, I started to understand the potential reasons and have begun thinking about what to do next with the app.
Of my recent launches, this is the first time I am completely satisfied with the product. I am confident that it will be a valuable tool for podcasters.
Product Hunt Launch
Let’s start with the numbers. Who doesn’t love numbers?
Upvotes: 130 (this number changes over time)
App Downloads: 20
Revenue: €0
What do I think about this launch?
The numbers aren't as good as I expected, to be honest, except for the number of votes, which surprised me. I still believe Product Hunt is the best platform to launch your app or podcast.
Why are the numbers so low?
A couple of days before the launch, I told my wife that if I received more than 50 upvotes, it would be a success. If I got more than 100, it would be a huge success. I received 132 upvotes and ranked 16th for the day. I truly believe this is a huge success. I didn’t do any special promotions for the launch, nor did I buy upvotes, despite receiving many offers to do so.
Unfortunately, there are not many podcasters on Product Hunt, and even those who are don't seem inclined to change their workflow. The crucial point here is to find out where podcasters primarily get information about podcast creation.
Why do I think the launch is a huge success, then? The simple answer is the visibility of your product and what you’re doing. Product Hunt is perfectly indexed by Google and other search networks. Lastly, there are the connections you make.
Interesting Facts About the Launch
This was my first launch on Product Hunt, and I didn’t know much about the platform or how it works under the hood. I registered on the platform 10 years ago, merely reading, upvoting products, and exploring new apps and services.
I started launch preparations approximately two weeks before the actual launch, working on text materials, screenshots (the same as in the App Store), and a video—the most time-consuming part.
A week before the launch, I scheduled it and waited for the day. At some point, Product Hunt decided to feature my app on the launch day, which I learned about halfway through the day. I realized then that featured launches are typically the only ones visible on the main page. "Prepare for the launch," they said.
And that was basically all the activities from my side: a week-by-week countdown with simple daily posts, and on the day of the launch, I notified all my friends and colleagues about it.
Other Marketing Activities
I didn’t try many other activities this week, mostly focusing on preparation for the next steps.
Reddit posts: One Reddit post and a couple of comments in threads promoting startups and apps. Again, no significant results. My main post on r/macapps garnered almost 6K views but not many downloads.
Press: I tried sending a press release to a couple of blogs and news sites about tech and Mac apps, but there were no publications.
Product Update and Next Steps
I continue to work on the product, trying to find the right balance between marketing and new feature creation. A small update for Version 1.1.0 is already available in the Mac App Store, including the Headroom Assistant for free tier users. Initially, I hid all AI assistant functionality behind a paywall, which was a mistake. Currently, free users have limited AI usage: two translations and 20 API calls per device per month. I may expand these limits in the future.
This update also includes:
Embed player improvements
An active chapter dot on the timeline that seeks playback directly to the chapter beginning
A new style for transcription presentation
Actions on transcription segments: Seek playback to the segment, play from the segment, and copy artwork from the podcast template to the episode
Next steps for Headroom: At this stage, Headroom is a useful tool for preparing episodes for publication, which is already quite good. I will continue improving this experience.
We can do more with the information about episodes, especially after publication. The next big move for Headroom will focus on promoting your episodes after publication, preparing materials, social posts, trailers, and graphical materials for stories and reels. The most ambitious part will be gathering listener analytics in the app.
Open Product Questions:
Should I spend time launching Headroom on iOS?
Should I invest time integrating with hosting platforms?
Cloud sync?
Stay tuned and wish me luck.
Conclusions
Marketing and finding the right audience for your product is key. It seems I haven’t found it yet. I plan to run an advertising campaign next week and will see how it goes.
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