Find the Right Hunter on Product Hunt [Guide]

Even though getting a famous hunter to launch your product is not as effective as it used to be back in the time, top hunters still have the power to give your product the initial boost that it deserves.

You just have to find the right one.

Here are some tips to find the right hunter on Product Hunt:

Find the Right Hunter on Product Hunt

Benefits of getting a famous hunter to launch your product

I’d say that the famous hunters have magic powers.

If a person with zero followers launches your product, it will not be visible on the main page of Product Hunt, initially. It goes to the newest section as shown in the screenshot below.

Newest Section on Product Hunt

But… if a famous hunter launches your product:

  • it’ll be instantly shown on the main page
  • all the followers of the hunter will be notified about the launch
  • it’ll provide the initial boost that your product deserves
  • people will take time to check the product out as it’s hunted by a famous person
  • overall, it’ll give your product a head-start to the top

Please note that a famous hunter can’t make people automagically like your product. It needs to be useful and interesting for people to like it.

So, now comes the question: how to find the right hunter for your product?

There are a lot of factors to consider. Let me explain:

Find the right hunter

For now, if we assume that every top hunter that you reach out to agrees to launch, it’s not a good idea to be a huntee without knowing if the hunter is suitable for your product or not.

You can follow the following steps to find the right hunter on Product Hunt:

Step 1 – Identify the hunter

An ideal hunter should fulfil the following 3 requirements:

  1. A high number of followers
  2. Several successful launches
  3. A few launches in your category

But… where can you actually find them? Well, there can be multiple ways for that:

Step 2 – Prepare a great pitch

As you might already have guessed, this part is the trickiest and requires most of your time.

If you ask, why?

The famous hunters get tens of emails and DMs every day, and if your pitch is not better, the chances of them replying is close to zero.

You need to prepare a pitch that’s precise and gives an overall idea of what your product is all about.

You can follow the following tips to create a pitch to reach out to the Product Hunt hunters:

  • Explain the problem that you’re solving
  • Show the solution
  • Show results that your early customers were able to receive
  • Explain your motivation behind the project
  • Talk a bit about yourself and/or your team, and most importantly
  • Make your pitch sound personal

And, don’t forget to ask for ideas to improve your product at the end.

Also, read this awesome article by Bram Kanstein on how not to pitch your product to avoid any pitching mistakes.

Related: 15+ Product Hunt launch mistakes to avoid

Step 3 – Create a hunter kit

Along with the pitch, you should send all the information about your product and what Product Hunt requires in a nice and clean document format.

Basically, your goal should be to make the Product Hunt posting process easier for the hunter.

In the hunter kit, you can include the following information:

  • Basic product details like name, tagline, description, URLs, square logo, etc.
  • Gallery media showcasing a different part of the product (images, GIFs, videos)
  • Whether the product is available yet or not
  • Product’s pricing – free, paid, paid with a free trial or plan
  • Promo code for the Product Hunt community (if available)
  • Product Hunt (or Twitter) usernames of the makers
  • The date on which you want your product to go live

You can attach the hunter kit with the main pitch email or DM.

Here’s a detailed guide on how to create a beautiful and appealing hunter kit.

Step 4 – Reach out

Now, that your pitch as well as the hunter kit is ready, it’s time to start the outreach process.

Most of the time, the email will be the best way to reach out to a hunter but Twitter can also be a go-to medium if you can’t find their emails. Sometimes you can also find other ways like the top hunter Chris Messina has created this simple page on his website that makes the process much easier.

I’d suggest you send emails to 2-4 hunters at once, wait for their reply, and if they don’t, send to another 2-4 hunters. Also, it’s advised to start the process 4-6 weeks before the launch because it takes time.

If your pitch gets accepted by a hunter, be sure to immediately post the first comment as soon as the product goes live on the launch day. Also, don’t forget to follow these post-launch tips for maximum reach.

I’d also suggest having a press kit ready in case any journalist or blogger wants to feature you in their story.

Dos and don’ts

Dos

  • Create an audience before launching and before reaching out to a hunter because positive results from real customers help hunters trust your product
  • Validate your product ideas before your friends and social media followers
  • Attach the hunter kit in the pitch email/DM
  • Minimize their work by providing details in a structured manner and how you will want it to see on your Product Hunt page

Don’ts

  • Do not spam, I repeat do not. If they don’t reply, they are not interested
  • Do not send generic emails using email templates you find on Google

Final words

You should understand the fact that a hunter likes:

  • high-quality products that are pitched in a good manner
  • when you talk in a friendly way (in fact, true for almost all the outreach campaigns)
  • when you care about the Product Hunt community

And, the more you know about the hunter and his/her interests in launching products, the easier the whole process becomes.

That’s it, that’s how you find the right hunter.

If you have a related query, feel free to let me know in the comments.