Marketing Without a Budget

You've built your product. Now comes the hard part: getting people to use it.

The good news? You don't need a marketing budget to get your first users. You need hustle, creativity, and strategic thinking.

Start Where Your Users Already Are

Don't try to build an audience from scratch. Go where your target users already hang out:

  • Reddit: Find relevant subreddits. Contribute genuinely, don't spam.
  • Twitter/X: Share your journey. Build in public. Reply to people in your niche.
  • Hacker News: Launch on Show HN. Great for developer tools.
  • Product Hunt: Good for broader SaaS products. Launch on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
  • Niche communities: Discord servers, Slack groups, forums specific to your industry.

The "Give First" Strategy

Instead of asking people to use your product, provide value first:

  1. Write helpful guides (like this one)
  2. Answer questions in communities
  3. Share free tools or resources
  4. Create templates or starter kits

When you're known for being helpful, people naturally want to check out what you're building.

Your Personal Network

Your first 10-20 users should come from people you know:

  • Former colleagues
  • Friends who match your target audience
  • Online connections from Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
  • People you've helped in the past

Don't be shy. Directly message them: "Hey, I built this thing for [specific problem]. Can I get your feedback?"

Content is Distribution

Every piece of content you create is a potential marketing channel:

  • Blog posts that rank on Google
  • Twitter threads that go viral
  • YouTube tutorials that drive signups
  • Open source tools that showcase your expertise

Create content that's genuinely useful, not just promotional.

The Launch Loop

Don't just launch once. Launch multiple times:

  • Week 1: Share with personal network
  • Week 2: Post on niche communities
  • Week 3: Product Hunt or Hacker News
  • Week 4: Write a launch post-mortem
  • Month 2: Launch a major new feature

Each launch is a chance to reach new people.

Track What Works

Use simple analytics to see where users come from:

  • UTM parameters in your links
  • "How did you hear about us?" in your signup flow
  • Referrer tracking in your analytics

Double down on what works. Cut what doesn't.

The Long Game

Getting to 100 users takes time. Most overnight successes took months or years.

Be patient. Be consistent. Keep shipping. Keep sharing. The users will come.