I’m passionate about building products and have a lot of experience as an engineer. This year, I’ve created a few spinoffs, but I find it challenging to market them since I’m not a fan of social media and don’t have many followers.
I recently listened to Lex Fridman’s podcast with Pieter Levels, which has gone viral. They share some great ideas, but I feel like Levels might forget that he already has 500k followers on Twitter, so it’s easy for him to say, “just build your product quickly and show it to the world.”
How do you go about marketing your product initially, especially if you’re not into social media or don’t have a following? Are there any communities where you can share your idea and have someone with a large following promote it for a reasonable fee?
I get; creating products seems like a natural skill, but marketing especially if you’re not into social media can seem like a very different task.
Yes, marketing might seem like a whole different animal, particularly if you’re not into social media. Someone with a large following may urge, “Just share it,” but when that audience is absent, the game changes. Consider researching forums or specialized communities that are associated with your product. If you want to publish your work without primarily depending on social media, sites like Producthunt and Indie hackers can be excellent resources. With those, I’ve had some success.
I stopped following him. Despite having a fantastic philosophy, he is out of touch with reality now that he has 500k and millions of followers.
I would love for him to launch a profitable new venture without disclosing or posting about it. entirely from start.
To answer your question, sure, marketing is a challenge for everyone. If you build, they won’t arrive. But do not give up. Gather some user input, engage with them, learn about your target audience, and then proceed.
Generally speaking, marketing is not something you can hire someone to do for you. You have to locate a co-founder who feels differently or get over the idea that “I don’t like sharing” if you’re a founder.
“Show it to the world” does not imply that you show it to one powerful person or that you solve all of your problems by using a cheat code. You have to do everything in your power to get it in front of people, whether it’s posting it somewhere a wider audience can see it, distributing it one at a time, or—ideally—doing both. After that, you make adjustments and learn from what works and what doesn’t. And you just keep doing it, over and over.
I completely understand your struggle! Marketing can be overwhelming, especially if social media isn’t your strong suit. One strategy that’s worked for me is engaging with niche communities where your target audience is active. Sharing your process and seeking feedback can often generate real interest. At Crestovo.ai, we’re working on tools to help founders like you discover these communities and create messages that connect with people. Have you thought about any specific platforms or forums for sharing your ideas?
I’ve just explored Reddit for the first time, and I plan to look for pertinent communities.
He was an intriguing person, but his approach didn’t really resonate with me. I prefer to focus on one project and create something truly exceptional, something of such high quality that its value is undeniable. His method of quickly turning any random idea into a product and slapping a payment button on it just wouldn’t work for me—I’m not comfortable putting out half-baked ideas. I’d rather take a slower, more deliberate approach: stay employed, work on my project after hours, and gradually introduce it to the market through SEO, eventually adding paid ads when it’s ready.
I also found it a bit amusing that he couldn’t learn Python and refuses to keep up with modern coding practices. It seemed negligent and stubborn to me, and I wouldn’t recommend that approach to anyone. Over the years, I’ve worked with four different frameworks, and I don’t regret learning any of them. I wouldn’t go back to the earlier ones because the experience now is so much better.
It’s hard not to notice that many people seem more focused on making money than on building something they’re genuinely passionate about. That’s kind of sad because it means we end up with a lot of mediocre products. It’s like the new buildings in the UK—they’ve lost the passion and beauty of old architecture, and now we just have cookie-cutter designs that prioritize profit over quality, full of flaws and lacking any real care or craftsmanship.