Your first users rarely come from ads or a big audience - they come from being where the right people already are and giving them a reason to try you. Here are the places that actually work for early traction, and when to reach for each. For the tactics that turn these places into signups, pair this with how to get your first 100 users.
1. Niche communities and subreddits
The single best place to find early users is wherever they already discuss the problem you solve - a subreddit, a Slack or Discord group, an industry forum. Be genuinely helpful first, then mention your product where it fits. Targeted and high-converting, but strict on self-promotion, so earn your place.
2. Indie Hackers and maker communities
If your users are founders, developers, or bootstrappers, communities like Indie Hackers are gold. Sharing your build, your numbers, and your lessons earns early adopters who root for you and give real feedback.
3. Launch platforms
A launch concentrates attention into a short window and, on the right platform, leaves a permanent page that keeps sending users. Combine a spike channel with a permanent one - see the top platforms to launch your product. A launch on Puthusu also gives you an indexed page and a dofollow backlink, so discovery continues after launch day.
4. Hacker News (for technical products)
For developer tools and technical products, a Show HN post can send more high-intent users in a day than weeks of other channels. Unpredictable, but when it lands, the traffic is exactly the audience you want.
5. Build in public on X and LinkedIn
Sharing your progress openly - the wins, the numbers, the setbacks - attracts people who follow the journey and become your first users and advocates. It compounds slowly, so start before you need it.
6. Direct, personal outreach
The highest-intent early adopters come from doing things that do not scale: reaching out one by one to people who clearly have the problem. A short, specific, human message converts far better than any broadcast at this stage.
7. Other people’s audiences
Newsletters, small creators, and community leaders in your niche already have the trust you are building. A guest post, a mention, or a simple collaboration puts you in front of a warm, relevant audience fast.
Where to start
Do not spread across ten channels. Pick the two or three where your users clearly gather, go deep, and pair community presence with a launch and direct outreach. Launch on Puthusu to reach a community that is there to discover what is new - and to leave yourself a permanent page working long after.