Where to find your first customers: Open source
54 channels fit this audience, 44 of them free. Start with the first one in the list, read its guide, and try it for two weeks before you judge it.
- UneedLaunch boards · Free + paid options · effort ●○○
Curated daily launches with a lasting directory page.
- Peerlist LaunchpadLaunch boards · Free · effort ●○○
Weekly launch window that opens on Mondays. Audience is mostly developers and designers. Needs a verified profile.
- Dev HuntLaunch boards · Free · effort ●○○
Launch board aimed at developer tools.
- GitHub awesome listsDirectories & comparison · Free · effort ●○○
Open a pull request to the curated list for your category. Readers there are your target users.
- r/SideProjectCommunities · Free · effort ●○○
Friendly place to show a project and collect first reactions.
- Search Console and Bing WebmasterSearch & discovery · Free · effort ●○○
Set up on day one so you can see which queries bring people in.
- npm, PyPI and crates.ioStores & marketplaces · Free · effort ●○○
Package registries work as search engines for developers. Your README is the landing page.
- OpenAlternativeDirectories & comparison · Free + paid options · effort ●○○
Curated directory of open-source alternatives to popular SaaS.
- Hacker News (Show HN)Launch boards · Free · effort ●●○
Technical readers who reward things they can try at once. Link to something that runs and skip marketing copy.
- Relaunch on every big releaseLaunch boards · Free · effort ●●○
Several boards allow a new listing after a major update. Treat each version as a fresh announcement, and check each board's rules.
- Indie HackersCommunities · Free · effort ●●○
Home of bootstrapped founders. Milestone and revenue write-ups travel further than announcements.
- Discord and Slack groupsCommunities · Free · effort ●●○
Niche servers full of your users. Be useful in a channel for weeks before sharing anything.
- dev.to and HashnodeCommunities · Free · effort ●●○
Write tutorials that solve a real problem. Readers arrive from the feed and from search.
- Get added to 'best X tools' roundupsSearch & discovery · Free · effort ●●○
Find articles that list your competitors and ask the author to include you, with a short reason.
- Hugging FaceStores & marketplaces · Free · effort ●●○
Share models, datasets and demo Spaces with the machine learning community.
- GitHub (README, topics, releases)Stores & marketplaces · Free · effort ●●○
Good topics, a clear README with a demo and tagged releases do much of the work.
- Answering questions where they are askedDirect outreach · Free · effort ●●○
Search Reddit, forums and X for questions your product answers. Help properly and mention the product only when it fits.
- Newsletter swaps and cross-promotionPartnerships & loops · Free · effort ●●○
Trade a mention with a maker who has a similar-sized list and a nearby audience.
- Pitching niche bloggers and newsletter writersPress & PR · Free · effort ●●○
Small writers in your category often reply and are glad to cover a useful new tool.
- HomebrewStores & marketplaces · Free · effort ●●○
Package manager for macOS and Linux. Command-line tools install with one command.
- GitHub MarketplaceStores & marketplaces · Free · effort ●●○
Store for GitHub Actions and apps used inside repositories.
- Product HuntLaunch boards · Free · effort ●●●
Biggest daily launch stage. Gives you a badge and a day of traffic. Competition is heavy, so line up supporters first.
- Niche subredditsCommunities · Free · effort ●●●
Find where your users already complain. Read the rules, contribute first, and expect plain self-promotion to be removed.
- Build in public on XSocial & content · Free · effort ●●●
Slow to start. The audience you build carries over from one product to the next.
- YouTubeSocial & content · Free · effort ●●●
Tutorials and demos can rank in search for years.
- Your own newsletterSocial & content · Free · effort ●●●
The one audience nobody can take away. Even a small list converts well at launch.
- Documentation, guides and tutorialsSearch & discovery · Free · effort ●●●
Good docs rank for the exact problems your users type into search.
- FazierLaunch boards · Free + paid options · effort ●○○
A newer Product Hunt alternative. A cheap extra launch day.
- MicroLaunchLaunch boards · Free · effort ●○○
Small launch board built for indie makers.
- Tiny StartupsLaunch boards · Free + paid options · effort ●○○
Directory and launch list for small, early products.
- TinyLaunchLaunch boards · Free · effort ●○○
Launch board for indie makers and small projects.
- PeerPushLaunch boards · Free + paid options · effort ●○○
Launch platform with lasting product pages. Check its current visibility rules.
- awesome-selfhostedDirectories & comparison · Free · effort ●○○
Curated list of self-hosted software. Fits open-source apps that people run themselves.
- LobstersCommunities · Free · effort ●○○
Invite-only link board with a technical audience.
- Docker HubStores & marketplaces · Free · effort ●○○
Publish an image with a clear README to reach people who run software themselves.
- AMAs and live Q&AsEvents · Free · effort ●○○
Host a question session in a community you already belong to.
- Local founder and coworking meetupsEvents · Free · effort ●○○
In-person trust brings referrals and honest feedback.
- Launching NextLaunch boards · Free + paid options · effort ●○○
Daily showcase of new startups.
- StartupBaseLaunch boards · Free · effort ●○○
Launch and discover new products every day.
- r/indiehackersCommunities · Free · effort ●○○
Subreddit for indie hackers. Feedback and peer attention.
- Bluesky and MastodonCommunities · Free · effort ●●○
Developer and open-source circles have moved here in part. Reach is smaller but friendly.
- QuoraCommunities · Free · effort ●●○
Long answers to questions your buyers ask can keep sending traffic for years.
- Podcast guestingSocial & content · Free · effort ●●○
Pitch shows your buyers listen to with a specific story, not a product plug.
- Medium and Substack NotesSocial & content · Free · effort ●●○
Borrow an existing readership for essays about the problem you solve.
- Maker bundles and swapsPartnerships & loops · Revenue share · effort ●●○
Join other indie makers in a bundle or shared launch week.
- Hackathons (Devpost)Events · Free · effort ●●○
A forced deadline, a built-in audience and sometimes press from sponsors.
- Stack OverflowCommunities · Free · effort ●●○
Q&A for developers. Helpful, disclosed answers can bring steady visits; promotional answers are removed.
- Apple PodcastsSocial & content · Free · effort ●●○
Podcast directory. Free to list a show. Listeners build slowly.
- Run your own communityCommunities · Free · effort ●●●
A small Discord or forum for your users. It turns customers into support, feedback and referrals.
- Open-source a useful piecePartnerships & loops · Free · effort ●●●
Release a free component. The paid product sits next to it.
- Sponsor open-source projects your users depend onPaid & sponsorship · Paid · effort ●○○
Your name appears where developers look. Choose projects used by your target users.
- SideProjectorsCommunities · Free · effort ●○○
Marketplace and community to show, buy and sell side projects.
- twelve.toolsLaunch boards · Free + paid options · effort ●○○
Daily list of twelve tools.
- Podcast sponsorshipsPaid & sponsorship · Paid · effort ●●○
Host-read ads work when the show fits your buyers closely.
Each channel links to its own guide. Check each platform's current rules before you post. Browse every channel.