Launching9 min read
Part of the guide: Where to Launch Your SaaS in 2027: Top Platforms
How to Get Your First Users From Indie Hackers: A 2027 Playbook
Learn how to get first users from Indie Hackers with honest outreach, useful posts and early access offers, without spam or ads.
How to get first users from Indie Hackers starts with showing up as a person, not an advert. This guide covers how to find your first users, indie hackers marketing that stays honest, and how to land first users without ads. Pair it with indie hackers post ideas, the basics of how to post on Indie Hackers and a plan for how to get your first SaaS customers.
Disclosure: the author built CircleSaaS, a startup directory, which is mentioned once near the end. Statements about Indie Hackers come from its own pages and community threads. Results quoted from members are self reported and unverified, so they are marked as such.
What Indie Hackers can and cannot do for you
Indie Hackers describes itself on its about page as a place where founders share their stories and can submit posts to ask for help and feedback. It also has a Products section where you can add your own product. The audience is mostly people building things, so your first users are likely to be other founders, makers and early adopters who like trying new tools.
That shapes the strategy. If your product serves founders, developers or small teams, the community may contain real users. If it serves dentists or accountants, Indie Hackers is better for feedback and encouragement, and you will need another channel to find buyers.
It also helps to set honest expectations. In his tips post, Courtland Allen says most people on the site are merely reading and upvoting, which suggests a small share of readers will reply or click. One good post will rarely bring a crowd. A steady habit of useful contributions tends to matter more than a single push.
How to get first users from Indie Hackers, step by step
1. Know who your first user is
Write one sentence: "My first user is a ___ who struggles with ___." Everything else depends on this. If you cannot name the person, you cannot tell whether the community contains them.
2. Make your profile and product page clear
When people like a comment, they check your profile. Add a plain description of what you build, a link to the product and a recent update. If you add your product to the Products section, keep the description short and concrete. A visitor should understand it in five seconds.
3. Give before you ask
Spend ten minutes a day reading the newest posts in the groups where your users hang out. Leave specific comments that add an experience or ask a real follow up question. One founder described an eight week experiment in authentic engagement built on upvoting relevant posts and writing thoughtful comments. His results are self reported from a single account, but the habit costs nothing and builds recognition.
4. Post stories with a clear ask
Share what you are building, what you learned and one question. The advice on what to post on Indie Hackers has 30 topics to start from. End the post with a way to respond: "I am looking for five testers, comment if you want early access." That tells readers exactly what to do.
5. Reach out one person at a time
In an older thread, how did you gain your first 100 users, one commenter said they emailed the first 150 Indie Hackers visitors individually after finding them through posts and comments. Another messaged people to ask for short calls about early growth. Both are self reported. The lesson is to write each message for one person, mention something they actually said, and make the ask small.
6. Offer early access for feedback
A founder who wrote about getting 200 beta testers said he offered three months of free Pro access, and that a beta listing site supplied most of the users, with Indie Hackers and Reddit as other channels. He builds the product he promotes and his figures are not verified, so use the idea, not the numbers. Early access in return for honest feedback is a fair trade.
7. Turn conversations into users
When someone replies, ask for a short call. In another thread, how did you get your first 10 users, a founder described asking his network for introductions to ideal clients, interviewing them and repeating until ten became users. That is slow but it works because each user is someone you understand. Customer discovery calls follow the same idea.
How to find your first users beyond the platform
Indie Hackers should be one channel, not the only one. The same first 10 users thread includes a count of the channels founders mention in Indie Hackers interviews: search engines, marketplaces, Product Hunt, Reddit, cold email, Hacker News and more. It comes from someone selling a paid report and counts mentions, not results, so it shows what founders talk about, not what works.
Some practical options:
- Your own network. Ask people in your target group for introductions before you try strangers.
- Niche communities. Find the forums, Slack groups and subreddits where your user already asks questions. Read the rules first. One commenter in the thread above said a subreddit moderator changed the rules and banned them, which is a reminder to check.
- Show HN. One team in the first 100 users thread reported about 6,000 visitors and more than 130 signups from a Show HN post. That is a single self reported result. Hacker News's guidelines say not to solicit upvotes or comments, so do not ask friends to vote.
- Directories. Listing your product on directories and boards puts it in front of people browsing for new tools. It is a slow, passive source and not a substitute for talking to users.
- A Product Hunt launch. If you have a polished product, a launch can bring a burst of visitors, but results vary widely.
If you want a wider plan, the guide to your first 100 users lays out a manual first approach.
Indie hackers marketing without sounding like spam
Members have been clear about what they dislike. In a thread on what kinds of posts members want, commenters asked for less self promotion, fewer "drop your link" threads and no clickbait. Use that as your rule: the post should be worth reading even if the link were removed.
| Do | Do not |
|---|---|
| Share a real lesson, number or mistake | Post "check out my app" with no context |
| Link your product once, near the end | Put your link in every comment |
| Reply to every comment, quickly | Disappear after posting |
| Personalise every message | Send the same message to hundreds of people |
| Ask for opinions | Ask for upvotes |
| Thank people who help and say what changed | Ignore feedback you dislike |
The about page does not list rules on self promotion, and the terms of service cover content removal and limits on commercial use, so read them before you send promotional messages. A short list of habits keeps you safe: be honest about being the maker, keep messages short, accept a no, and never contact someone twice about the same thing.
Sharing the work as a series also helps. The indie hackers post tips on titles and structure show what to avoid.
First users without ads: what costs time, not money
Paid ads are not necessary to find early users, and for a tiny product they can waste money. In the thread above, a commenter reported bot-like traffic and no profit from ads, which is one anecdote but a common worry. The options below cost time rather than money:
- Conversations. Comment, reply and message. Everything else follows from these.
- Interviews. Fifteen minutes with a real user teaches more than a week of analytics.
- A public update. A weekly post about progress keeps you visible.
- Free value. A template, checklist or small tool related to your problem gives people a reason to visit.
- A landing page. A clear page with one call to action, such as joining a waitlist or trying the product. The launch page grader scores it on the search and sharing basics.
Time is not free, so decide how much you can give. A realistic budget for a solo founder is a few hours a week.
A 30 day plan
| Week | Focus | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Profile, product page and first ten comments | A clear profile and a few relationships |
| 2 | One story post with a specific ask | Replies and a short list of testers |
| 3 | Outreach to five people who replied or posted about the problem | Three or more calls booked |
| 4 | Follow up and publish what you learned | A second post and your first repeat users |
Adjust it to your time. If you only have two hours a week, spread the plan over two months.
Message templates
A comment on someone's post:
I ran into the same problem when [short situation]. What helped was [one thing].
Did you try [specific question]?A first message to someone who replied:
Hi [name], thanks for your comment on [post]. I am building [one line] and
your point about [detail] is exactly what I am trying to solve. Would you
be open to a 15 minute call, or would you like early access to try it?
No pressure either way.A follow up after they try it:
Thanks for trying it. What was the first thing that confused you?
I will change it this week and tell you what happened.What to measure
Count the numbers that matter at this stage:
- Replies to your posts and comments
- Calls or interviews booked
- People who tried the product
- People who came back a second time
- What each person said they would pay for, if anything
A small number of users who come back is better than a large number who never return. Do not judge the channel on views.
Mistakes to avoid
- Posting only links. It reads as an advert and may be removed.
- Writing for everyone. A vague pitch attracts no one.
- Asking for upvotes. Ask for opinions instead.
- Ignoring replies. The reply is the start of the relationship.
- Quitting after one post. Early results are slow, and consistency does most of the work.
- Counting vanity numbers. Views and upvotes are not users.
Frequently asked questions
Can I really get first users from Indie Hackers?
Some founders report that they did, but all such results are self reported and vary widely. It works best for products that serve founders and makers, and when you contribute regularly, not just post once.
How many users can I expect?
Nobody can promise a number. Treat any figures you read as stories, and focus on a handful of engaged users and the feedback they give.
Is it okay to link my product?
Yes, when it helps the reader. Link once, say what it is and keep the post useful on its own. The about page lists no promotion rules, so read the terms and follow community norms.
Should I DM people?
Yes, but one at a time, with context and a small ask. Mass messages and repeated follow ups are likely to be unwelcome.
What if my users are not founders?
Use Indie Hackers for feedback and encouragement, and find the places where your actual users gather, such as niche forums, groups or search results.
Do I need to build in public?
No, but sharing progress gives people a reason to follow you and try your product. Share what you are comfortable with and keep private details private.
Summary
Knowing how to get first users from Indie Hackers means giving help first, posting specific stories and reaching out one person at a time. Keep learning how to find your first users, test indie hackers marketing in small steps and aim for first users without ads. Browse more indie hackers content ideas, learn how to get upvotes on Indie Hackers by being useful, and run customer discovery interviews. Not listed yet? Submit to circlesaasboard.com.
