Ask HN: How to keep your product from fading into obscurity
1•alexpham14•1h ago
As I can see, the new SaaS products or apps are launching at an overwhelming pace, making it nearly impossible for new products to stand out. Is there any solution to this problem?
Comments
jackfranklyn•34m ago
The launch doesn't matter nearly as much as the 12 months after it.
I've been building in a niche B2B space and the pattern I've noticed: products that stick around tend to have one thing in common - they're findable when someone has the exact problem they solve. Not before, not in general, but at the moment of pain.
So rather than trying to "stand out" broadly, I'd focus on being incredibly visible in the specific places your ideal users go when they're frustrated. For SaaS that's usually niche subreddits, specific Slack communities, the comment sections of blog posts about the problem you solve.
The other thing that works: just... not disappearing. Half the products launched last year are already gone or abandoned. If you're still shipping updates and engaging in year two, you've already outlasted most of your competition. Persistence is underrated as a marketing strategy.
jackfranklyn•34m ago
I've been building in a niche B2B space and the pattern I've noticed: products that stick around tend to have one thing in common - they're findable when someone has the exact problem they solve. Not before, not in general, but at the moment of pain.
So rather than trying to "stand out" broadly, I'd focus on being incredibly visible in the specific places your ideal users go when they're frustrated. For SaaS that's usually niche subreddits, specific Slack communities, the comment sections of blog posts about the problem you solve.
The other thing that works: just... not disappearing. Half the products launched last year are already gone or abandoned. If you're still shipping updates and engaging in year two, you've already outlasted most of your competition. Persistence is underrated as a marketing strategy.