Pre-Build Your Promotion Community List Before You Start

Pre-Build Your Promotion Community List Before You Start is a communities tactic for getting your first users: Before beginning the build week, they assembled a list of the major communities where their target users hang out, so they were ready to promote the instant it shipped.

It's a strong fit for teams of almost any kind, and works especially well for first-time launchers. As a communities play, plan for low effort and expect results to arrive at a steady pace, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

CommunitiesLow effortMedium

Why does communities work for this?

Lining up distribution in advance means launch day isn't wasted hunting for where to post.

The exact steps (4)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

Unlock the steps · $29 oncePlus all 3,000+ tactics and the new ones we add weekly.

Sources

Works for
Any / universal

Frequently asked

How is the "Pre-Build Your Promotion Community List Before You Start" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 1 primary source — a real founder write-up or interview, not generic advice. It is linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original account yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is low effort, and results tend to be medium.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Source — IndieHackers, is in the paid library.

Related tactics

CommunitiesMedium effort· Medium

Source Users With a Persona-Specific Ask in Q&A Communities

Use a Q&A community (e.g. Replyz) where you post a question, describe the exact background of the person you want to hear from, and matching people respond.

Read the steps →
CommunitiesHigh effort· Slow

Build the Crowd Before You Build the Product

Gather a focused group of the exact people you want to sell to first, then let their interest and feedback tell you what to build and ship to them.

Read the steps →
CommunitiesMedium effort· Medium

Fill the Waitlist by Talking Shop in Slack Communities

The author filled his waitlist by actively participating in relevant Slack communities and naturally talking about what he was building.

Read the steps →
CommunitiesLow effort· Fast

Comment-to-Unlock Soft CTA Instead of Dropping a Link

Rather than posting a promotional link, share your result and invite readers to comment if interested, then DM them the details, generating engagement and a list of warm opt-in leads.

Read the steps →
CommunitiesLow effort· Fast

Game Circle's Active-Post Surfacing With Reply Floods

Exploiting the fact that Circle.so surfaces highly active posts by replying to every comment and asking lots of follow-up questions, which keeps your posts highlighted to the whole community.

Read the steps →
CommunitiesMedium effort· Slow

Embed Yourself in Niche Forums Instead of Reddit

Rather than fighting for attention on giant platforms, hunt down the smaller specialized forums in your niche where a dedicated, hardcore audience already gathers.

Read the steps →

Get all 3,000+ tactics in one place

Filter by your product and channel, follow the exact steps, and get the new tactics we add every week. One payment, yours for good.