HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Run a 'Share Your Setup' Community Challenge

Run a 'Share Your Setup' Community Challenge is a communities tactic for getting your first users: To sustain momentum he ran a challenge where users posted their customized setups on social media, generating a wave of user-created promotion.

It's a strong fit for Newsletters / media teams, and works especially well for products with visible or customizable output and an existing user base. 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?

Users showing off their own setups creates authentic social proof and reaches their followers for free.

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.

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Sources

Works for
Newsletters / media

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Run a 'Share Your Setup' Community Challenge" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for Newsletters / media — pick it when your product looks like that, since the play is shaped around how those users find new tools.
How is the "Run a 'Share Your Setup' Community Challenge" 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.

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