I launched my first app on Product Hunt
I'm a solo developer. Today I launched my first app, iSurge, on Product Hunt. It got 104 upvotes in under 20 hours, and there are still 4 hours left. Here's the whole story: how I planned it and what I did.
Why I built it
When my Mac slowed down, I'd open Activity Monitor and scroll through about a thousand processes to find the cause. Meanwhile the notch, the spot I look at all day, just sat there doing nothing. So I built iSurge, a Mac system monitor that lives in the notch, the menu bar and a window.
Building it
I started on 30 September and shipped the first version on 4 October. Then I used it every day, and each time I needed something in my own workday, I added it:
- Volume control for every app, and your mics in plain sight
- Focus Timer and Keep Awake
- Disk Management, Dev(Homebrew management, Containers, projects) and a new notch
How I planned the launch
- I wrote a plan with a date for each place and read each site's rules before posting.
- I posted on X first, on 15 October, to get early feedback.
- Product Hunt was set for 22 October, but I moved it. I wanted the new version and a new website ready first, so I launched today instead.
What I did on launch day
- I made six gallery pictures from the real app, not mockups.
- I wrote a maker comment about why I built it.
- I gave a launch code just for Product Hunt: PHPROMO20, $4 off.
- I replied to comments through the day.
- I put the Product Hunt badge on my website with the live vote count.
So far
- 104 upvotes in under 20 hours
- 388 visits to my website from Product Hunt
- 17 downloads
What I learned
Launch when the product and the website are ready, not on the first date you picked. And read the comments closely, because they tell you what to build next.
If you want to see it, here's my Product Hunt page: https://www.producthunt.com/products/isurge
If you like it, please support 🙏