HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Run a Product Discord and Track Where Joiners Came From

Run a Product Discord and Track Where Joiners Came From is a communities tactic for getting your first users: Maintain a Discord for the product where users self-organize, announce purchases, and reveal which channel brought them in.

It's a strong fit for teams of almost any kind, and works especially well for Products with engaged power users. As a communities play, plan for medium effort and expect results to arrive at a steady pace, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

CommunitiesMedium effortMedium

Why does communities work for this?

A live community surfaces real attribution plus social proof, like users publicly announcing they just subscribed.

The exact steps (5)

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 "Run a Product Discord and Track Where Joiners Came From" 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 medium 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

CommunitiesLow effort· Fast

Give Away Spare Software Seats to Pull In an Audience

Use the unused install seats on a multi-site software license as a free giveaway to indie founders, turning a single community post into a stream of inbound emails and goodwill.

Read the steps →
CommunitiesLow effort· Fast

Bump Your Own Post With Re-Framed Self-Comments

After posting the product, the maker replied to their own IndieHackers thread multiple times, each comment restating the pitch and link with slightly different framing to keep the post active and re-surface the offer.

Read the steps →
CommunitiesLow effort· Medium

Disarm Self-Promo With a Self-Aware Footer

When posting to communities, he closed with a self-aware line acknowledging that everyone hates self-promoting shills, then framed the ask as supporting an indie adding value, with the link last.

Read the steps →
CommunitiesLow effort· Slow

Log Your Progress Inside Maker Communities

Talking about your build and milestones inside maker-focused communities such as Makerlog and Wip.chat, where other founders notice and boost each other's projects.

Read the steps →
CommunitiesLow effort· Medium

Wrap Your Product Promo in a Community Question and Poll

Post a genuine 'are you doing X?' question with a poll to a niche community, mention you built a tool for it, and make a free trial one of the poll options.

Read the steps →
CommunitiesLow effort· Medium

Reply to Others' Posts by Framing Your Product as Their Answer

Scanning a thread for people describing a need your product solves, then replying that your tool is exactly the thing for it (e.g. 'this is why I built X, you can reach anyone with it').

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.

Unlock for $29 onceBrowse by channel