Community launch

Community Launch

Communities (Reddit, Discord, Slack, and forums) are where your earliest, most passionate users are — and where most solo founders blow it by posting like a marketer. This skill gives you the specific approach for each community type.

Context

Read product-context.md if present. Otherwise ask for:

1. Target user — who they are and what communities they're likely in
2. Product URL and one-liner
3. Whether you're a member of the communities in question already (lurker / active / new)

Process

1. Community discovery

Generate a list of relevant communities based on the target user. For each community type, identify the best candidates:

Reddit — find subreddits where the target user asks for advice about the problem:

• Search Reddit for "[pain keyword]" and look at which subs appear
• Common high-value subs for vibe-coded apps: r/SaaS, r/indiehackers, r/webdev, r/Entrepreneur, r/startups, r/ProductHunters, r/smallbusiness, plus niche subs specific to the audience
• Check: community size (>5k), recent activity (posts daily), and posting rules (some ban self-promotion)

Discord — find servers where the target user hangs out:

• Bolt / Lovable / v0 / Replit / Claude Code Discord servers (vibe coders)
• Indie Hackers Discord
• Niche Discord servers for the target industry
• Look for #showcase, #built-with-[tool], #share-your-project channels

Slack — find relevant Slack communities:

• Check Mind The Product, Online Geniuses, SaaStr, Hiten Shah's SaaS community
• Niche professional Slack groups (search "[industry] Slack community")

Forums and communities:

• Indie Hackers (always relevant for solo founders)
• Hacker News (Show HN — for technical or developer-focused products)
• Makerpad / No-code community
• Dev.to (if technical)
• Product-specific communities for the tool they built with

2. The community launch formula

Rule 1: Never post the same thing twice. Every community post must be uniquely written for that community's culture and language. Copy-paste spam is detected and ignored (or banned).

Rule 2: Contribute before you take. In Reddit and Discord, you should have at least 3 genuine interactions in the community before posting your own thing. People check post history.

Rule 3: Lead with the problem, not the product. The frame is: "I solved a problem I kept running into" — not "Check out my product."

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3. Reddit post formula

What works:

• Post in "Show and Tell" or "Share your side projects" weekly threads (safe)
• "I built X to solve Y — here's what I learned" posts (education + story)
• Genuine feedback requests: "Roast my landing page" / "Does anyone else have this problem?"

What gets removed:

• Direct "check out my product" posts in most subs
• Cross-posting the exact same post to 10 subs at once
• Anything that reads like a press release

Post template for r/SaaS / r/indiehackers:

Title: I built [ProductName] to solve [specific problem] — here's what I learned

I've been [experiencing the problem] for years. I tried [alternative 1] and [alternative 2] but they [specific failure].

So I built [ProductName]: [one-line description of what it does].

[1–2 sentences on how it works or what makes it different]

[honest launch stat or goal: "I launched last week and got X signups" or "looking for my first 10 users"]

Happy to answer questions, and would genuinely love feedback on [specific thing you want feedback on].

[Link — keep it at the end]

4. Discord post formula

Adapt to each server's culture. Discord tends to be more casual and immediate.

Find the right channel first: Look for: #showcase, #self-promotion, #projects, #built-this, #share-your-work. If there isn't one, DM a mod and ask where to share.

Discord post template:

Hey everyone 👋

I just launched [ProductName] and wanted to share it here since [reason relevant to this community].

What it does: [1 sentence]
Who it's for: [specific person]
Link: [URL]

Built it with [tech stack] — took [timeframe]. Would really love feedback from this community since you all [specific reason they'd be good testers].

Happy to swap feedback if anyone wants me to check out their project too.

Short. Personal. Asks for something specific. Offers something in return.

5. Indie Hackers post

Indie Hackers has a specific format that gets traction: the "milestone post."

Format:

Title: I just launched [ProductName] — [honest milestone: "0 to 47 signups in 3 days"]

[2-3 sentences of context: what it does, who for, why you built it]

**What worked:**
• [thing 1]
• [thing 2]

**What didn't:**
• [thing 1]
• [honest failure]

**What's next:**
[Your next milestone target]

Would love to connect with other founders building in this space. Any feedback welcome — especially on [specific thing].

6. Response protocol (critical)

After posting, spend the next 2–4 hours responding to EVERY comment:

• Thank anyone who gives feedback
• Answer every question, even repeated ones
• Ask follow-up questions to people who seem interested
• Do NOT get defensive if someone is critical — thank them and engage

Active discussion in the thread is the algorithm signal in most communities.

Output

Produce a community launch kit:

1. Community target list — 5–8 specific communities with: platform, community name/link, post type (thread / dedicated / weekly thread), timing
2. Post schedule — day-by-day order to post across communities (don't all-at-once — spread 1–2 posts per day over a week)
3. 3 custom post drafts — written for 3 different communities, each uniquely tailored
4. Response template — how to respond to comments, praise, and criticism
5. Red flags to watch for — what will get the post removed or banned in each community

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Need content for your community posts? SoloMax generates short launch videos from your product URL — native-feeling clips for every channel, no recording needed.