I’m in that slightly uncomfortable stage where the product is ready enough to show people, but the audience around it is still pretty small.
And honestly, “just run ads” feels too simple as advice.
I’m trying to figure out what actually works when you’re launching or promoting a new product from scratch, especially when you don’t already have a big email list, a huge social following, or a well-known brand name behind it.
A few things I’ve been thinking about:
How do you decide where to advertise first?
Do you start with paid ads, organic content, influencer outreach, communities, email, SEO, partnerships, or something else?
How much should you explain the product in the beginning versus just focusing on the pain point it solves?
And when the product is new, how do you build enough trust for people to actually click, sign up, buy, or even take it seriously?
I’m also curious about the practical side:
What kind of messaging worked best for you in the early stage?
Did you focus on discounts, product benefits, customer pain points, social proof, founder story, demos, or comparisons?
And what did you stop doing because it looked like “marketing,” but didn’t actually bring useful attention or customers?
I’d love to hear from people who have launched or advertised a new product before.
What helped you get those first real users or customers? And what would you do differently if you had to advertise a new product again from zero?