From Zero to Your First 100 Users: A Practical Guide for Indie Hackers

Getting your first 100 users is harder than building the product. You've shipped something, but nobody knows it exists. Here are the strategies that actually work in 2026 — tested by indie hackers who've been there.

Before you launch

Set up analytics and feedback

Before you tell anyone about your product, make sure you can measure what happens. You need to know:

• How many people visit after a launch
• Where they're coming from
• What they think

Add a feedback widget and analytics to your site before launch day. Corvura handles both with a single script tag. You'll be glad you did when traffic starts flowing and you can see referrers in real time.

Prepare your landing page

Your landing page needs to answer three questions in 5 seconds:

1. What is this? — Clear headline, no jargon
2. Who is it for? — Specific audience ("for indie hackers" beats "for everyone")
3. Why should I care? — One concrete benefit

Don't overthink it. A simple page with a clear value proposition converts better than a polished one that takes weeks to build.

The launch playbook

1. Hacker News (Show HN)

Still one of the best channels for developer tools and SaaS products. Tips:

• Post on a weekday morning (US time)
• Title format: "Show HN: [Product] – [one-line description]"
• Write a detailed comment explaining what you built, why, and how
• Be genuine about what stage you're at
• Respond to every comment

If your Show HN gets traction, you'll see it in your analytics referrers in real time. Corvura shows referrer domains, so you'll know exactly how much traffic HN is sending.

2. Reddit

Find subreddits where your target users hang out. For SaaS products:

• r/SideProject
• r/IndieBiz
• r/SaaS
• r/webdev (if developer-focused)
• Niche subreddits for your specific domain

Don't just post a link. Share your story, what problem you're solving, and what you learned building it. Reddit rewards authenticity and punishes self-promotion.

3. Indie Hackers

The Indie Hackers community is built for this. Post a launch thread in the Products section. Share your story, your numbers (even if they're small), and your tech stack.

Indie Hackers is unique because the community actively wants to support other builders. Ask for feedback, and you'll get it.

4. Twitter/X

Build in public. The playbook:

1. Share your building journey (even before launch)
2. Post screenshots of your product
3. Share interesting feedback you receive
4. Celebrate milestones — use Corvura's shareable achievements
5. Engage with other indie hackers

You don't need a huge following. A single viral tweet from someone with 50 followers can drive real traffic if it resonates.

5. Product Hunt

Product Hunt is less predictable than it used to be, but a good launch can still drive hundreds of signups. Tips:

• Have a maker profile with other upvotes
• Ask a hunter with followers to hunt your product
• Prepare assets: logo, screenshots, one-liner, description
• Be ready to answer questions on launch day

After the launch spike

Launch channels give you a spike of traffic. The spike always fades. What matters is what happens after:

Listen to your first users

Your first 10 users are gold. They chose to try your product early. Their feedback shapes everything that comes next.

• Read every piece of feedback carefully
• Look for patterns (three users reporting the same bug = urgent fix)
• Build what they ask for (within reason)
• Tell them when you ship their request

Write content

SEO is a long game, but it starts now. Write blog posts about:

• Problems your product solves
• Tutorials for your target audience
• Comparisons with alternatives
• Lessons learned from building

Each post is a permanent page that can attract organic traffic for years. Start with 5-10 posts and add more consistently.

Engage in communities

Don't just post and disappear. Become a regular in the communities where your users hang out. Answer questions, share insights, and occasionally mention your product when it's genuinely relevant.

The feedback loop

The path from 0 to 100 users follows a predictable loop:

1. Launch → Get initial traffic
2. Collect feedback → Understand what works and what doesn't
3. Improve → Fix the top issues, build the top requests
4. Share progress → Post updates, celebrate milestones
5. Repeat → Each cycle brings more users and better retention

Corvura is built to support this loop. The widget collects feedback, the analytics show you what's working, and the achievements give you milestones to celebrate publicly.

Get started

Don't wait until you have 100 users to set up feedback collection. Start from user #1.

Sign up for Corvura — free for up to 50 feedbacks/month. Add the widget, launch your product, and start listening.