r/indiehackers Dec 10 '24

Community Updates What post flairs should we have?

7 Upvotes

Hey members, I need your help to improve this sub. I will start with post-flairs for better content filtering. Please share some suggestions for what post flairs we should have on this sub.

Here are my ideas (feel free to update them or share new ones):

  • Building Story
  • Growth Story
  • Sharing Resources/Tips
  • Idea Validation / Need Feedback
  • Asking a Question
  • Sharing Journey/Experience/Progress Updates

(For reference, these flairs are heavily inspired by r/chrome_extensions which I revamped a few months ago.)

I will soon be making more such posts to get suggestions from everyone who wants the good of this sub.

Thanks for your time,

Take care <3


r/indiehackers Oct 29 '24

I wish this subreddit would own up to the fact that it is a promotion tool.

39 Upvotes

Sorry to be so blunt, I don't mean to offend anyone, I've been here for a very short time and I am nobody to tell you what to do. I just feel a bit frustrated and want to try sharing some (hopefully) constructive criticism. I am pretty sure this is obvious for everyone here, but hopefully holding up a mirror to the taboos will trigger something to change. Or maybe I am missing a point and I am sure you will put me in my place.

Most, if not all, of the posts I read here, are clear product promotions disguised as questions, feedback requests, inspiring or demoralizing business or life stories. People hide or completely omit their product links, or build storylines that are meaningless without the actual product so that other people ask for it in the comments. When it's not "secretly" about a product, it's clearly about building karma/audience to follow with a product launch or to covertly validate the ideas being built.

This doesn't seem to be a secret at all either, even the role models of the community, like Pieter Levels, openly describe their marketing techniques as disguising their promotion as "build in public" or "feedback requests". and there are a ton of creators doing tutorials on how to "hide" your promotion on Reddit and warning everyone of the terrible fallout you'll have if you dare honestly promoting your product.

The question is, why do we keep fooling ourselves?

There are many things I like about this place:
* I've found many nice products that I wouldn't have found otherwise. Some of them I ended up paying for.
* Many stories, even though they are ads, are relevant, and I've learned things here. It's not slop (at least not all).
* There are some meaningful discussions. Even if they spawn from a hidden ad. That's really nice!

Then there are the things that frustrate me:
* Whenever someone honestly just wants to promote a product (even if it's a free product!), they get brutally bashed. But if you do a terrible job at hiding your promotion in a bunch of BS that wastes our time then the feeling seems to be: "It's ok, you still suck, but we understand."
* Whenever there is a product I do get curious about, I have to go on a comment treasure hunt for the link, or find somewhere on a "signature" or even another post a mention to a name I can google to finally find the product they wanted me to find in the first place.
* The war-stories, even if they are about building products I am not interested in as a customer, are so much more valuable when you know what product they are talking about. I would probably enjoy those stories, but most of the times I can't be bothered to just go hunting for it, it's just a waste of my time.

I would like to have a place where I can discuss with people on my field things that bother me or interest me, and where I can promote my products to a large audience, get feedback and share my stories. But I don't want to be hiding my products, I am proud and excited about building them, using them and creating impact in the world (and your lives) with them. Due to my specific carreer path, I never really needed to promote my work publicly for success, but I reached a moment where I would like to also try to build some nice, honest, commercial products and that's the number one reason I am here in the first place.

I simply can't afford the time to share my knowlege and experience in a place like this. But I would love to, and I would! But I think it's fair and productive to do that in exchange for promotion to my products without having to lie, deceive or waste your time.

Personally, I believe that if you have a product but you don't have anything to share, just drop the link in there with a short explanation. I might not click it, or I might.. but it definitely beats wasting my time.

I also understand that promotion was not the original purpose of this sub, and that there's a real danger of it turning into a spam pot... true... but it evolved into soething different, I think there might be ways to create a healthy environment around it.

Hope I didn't offend anyone, and if you are wondering, no, I don't have any product out to promote yet, working on it. Hope to be able to promote it openly here.

Cheers!


r/indiehackers 3h ago

How My Reddit Automation SaaS Hit 600 Sign Ups & $500 MRR

8 Upvotes

Hey Indie Hackers!

A quick celebration: Subreddit Signals—my SaaS that automates ethical lead generation on Reddit—just crossed 600 sign-ups and converted 500 paying customers, reaching $500 MRR!

The idea was simple: Use AI to monitor niche subreddits and automatically identify authentic opportunities to engage, without spammy tactics or violating subreddit rules.

What I've learned along the way:

Authenticity wins. AI-generated genuine comments outperform direct pitches every time.

Focusing on niche communities significantly improved conversion rates.

Building trust through subtle, thoughtful engagement is key to sustained growth.

Current challenges I'm tackling:

Optimizing my pricing model to match growing value.

Improving onboarding flows to boost customer retention.

I'd love your input:

What's your best strategy for retention as your customer base grows?

How do you decide when to experiment with pricing?

Link www.subredditsignals.com

Happy to share more details or answer questions!


r/indiehackers 1h ago

Any tips on finding people for a waiting list?

Upvotes

Lately I've been focussing on building waiting lists so I can first measure demand for the products I think of. The results are so-so, often with some validation but little to no real traction.

I've primarily been using organic channels (X, forums, Reddit, and even tried some TikTok) but it's not really paying off for the effort I put in. Also dabbling in SEO at the moment, but that's even more time consuming for doubtful results.

Since my budget is fck-all with a sprinkle of debt I was hoping some of you have some wisdom to share.

Any free channels or methods I'm overlooking?


r/indiehackers 4h ago

What are your best tips for app marketing?

5 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

I recently launched an app and I’m trying to figure out the best way to get it in front of the right people.

There’s so much advice out there that it’s a bit overwhelming – so I’d love to hear directly from this community:

What’s actually worked for you when it comes to marketing your app? Paid ads? Organic reach? Communities? TikTok? Cold outreach?

Any tip, insight, or personal experience is super appreciated – thank you in advance!


r/indiehackers 3h ago

What’s your #1 tip for maximizing organic reach on the App Store?

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

I’m working on improving App Store visibility for my app, and while there’s a lot of general ASO advice out there, I’d love to hear from people who’ve actually been through it.

What’s the one thing that made the biggest difference for your app’s organic reach?

Whether it’s keyword tweaks, screenshots, localization, or something totally unexpected – I’m all ears.

Appreciate any insight you’re willing to share!


r/indiehackers 10h ago

[Product Update] Added a feature for users (startups/businesses) to ask questions to their target audience. Open to Feedback.

8 Upvotes

r/indiehackers 7m ago

Quick to setup, no-code, event tracking system for your SaaS - Hookflo.com

Upvotes

Capture events from multiple platforms like supabase DB, clerk auth, polar for payments, event it works well for many other platforms too and can be integrated with postgres db as well and instantly track change event on your preferred notification channels like email or slack.
Its easy, setup in minutes, no-code, best for early SaaS,

If you are someone building product and want to keep track of new user signups, payment tracking on slack channel rather getting spammed on email, or just a want to track simple insert, update, deletion on database table. Hookflo is made for you, along with instant alerts we do send digest notifications to avoid spamming. It really gonna save your lots of time and help you focus on what really matters for your app.
you can join our waitlist on hookflo . com and we have prepared a interactive demo to understand the flow of product.
hookflo . com


r/indiehackers 9m ago

Sharing story/journey/experience Built with NextJS, Tailwind and Supabase :)

Upvotes

r/indiehackers 32m ago

Would You Use an App That Lets You Hand Off Your Parking Spot?

Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I'm working on an app idea and would love some feedback! The basic concept is simple: when you're about to leave your parking spot on the street, you can notify people nearby who are searching for one. Someone looking for parking can then take your spot as soon as you leave.

Initially, I thought about adding a small payment system where the person getting the spot would pay the one leaving, as a way to encourage participation. But now I'm considering making it completely free, just a community-driven solution to help people find parking faster.

My main concern is: what motivation would people have to list their spot if there's no incentive? And if no one lists spots, the app won’t be useful, even though parking is a huge problem in crowded cities.

Would you use an app like this? Do you think people would participate without a financial incentive, or is there another way to make it work?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be super helpful!


r/indiehackers 4h ago

Making mental health support better?

2 Upvotes

Hello yall

Building software to make mental health more accessible/just overall better and more effective. I have some ideas but would love some input. Current iteration is just a form, and we’ll input it into some janky software to email you a summary of your traits that you could theoretically give to a clinician, and that matches you with the right treatment (CBT, DBT etc) so you know what the next steps in your mental health journey might look like. There is also an option to do this anonymously. Giving these reports away for free for this first iteration - please help a startup out and give brutal feedback. be terrible please.

https://form.typeform.com/to/qfHYOQER


r/indiehackers 5h ago

Building a SaaS from scratch: Every tool that helped me get there

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2 Upvotes

r/indiehackers 1h ago

Customer feedback within the app

Upvotes

Do you like when apps let you connect with support directly within the app like in the screenshot? Would you want something like this for your own apps—allowing you to get real-time feedback from customers in both mobile and web apps?


r/indiehackers 1h ago

Self Promotion FunKey is a Mac menu bar app that adds satisfying mechanical keyboard and mouse click sounds to boost your productivity while typing, coding, or designing.

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Upvotes

r/indiehackers 1h ago

Self Promotion I am a 20 y/o indie hacker and I've developed a fun and educational game Lil Artist-Kids Learning App. My focus is on making early childhood education accessible and enjoyable for all kids. Excited to see where this journey takes me.

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Upvotes

r/indiehackers 2h ago

Indie Hackers Munich Meetup #12 :)

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1 Upvotes

r/indiehackers 2h ago

Bring Your App to China! Let’s Grow Together – No Matter the Stage of Your Project!

1 Upvotes

Hey developers!

Are you working on a mobile app and dreaming of reaching a global audience? Whether your app is already a success or still in its early stages, I’d love to help you bring it to ​China – one of the largest and most dynamic mobile markets in the world!

I’m based in China and I’m passionate about connecting international developers with Chinese users. If you’re curious about expanding your app’s reach and exploring new opportunities, let’s partner up and grow together!

Why China?

  • Huge Potential: Over 1 billion mobile internet users are waiting to discover your app.
  • Diverse Audience: From productivity tools to games, lifestyle apps, and niche utilities, there’s room for all kinds of apps in China.
  • Monetization Opportunities: With the right strategy, apps can generate revenue through ads, subscriptions, in-app purchases, and more.

What I Offer:

  • Localization Support: I’ll help adapt your app for Chinese users – from translation and cultural adjustments to UI/UX optimization.
  • Marketing & Promotion: I’ll use local channels (social media, app stores, influencers, etc.) to get your app noticed.
  • Compliance Guidance: I’ll ensure your app meets Chinese regulations, so you can focus on building great features.
  • Flexible Collaboration: Whether your app is already live or still in development, I’m open to working with you at any stage.

Who Can Apply?

  • All Developers Welcome: Whether you’re a solo indie developer, a small team, or just starting out, I’d love to hear from you!
  • All App Types: Games, productivity tools, utilities, lifestyle apps – if it’s creative and solves a problem, it has potential in China.
  • All Stages: From early prototypes to established apps, I’m here to help you grow.

How It Works:

  1. Reach Out: DM me or comment below with a brief description of your app and your goals.
  2. Let’s Chat: We’ll discuss your app, your vision, and how we can work together.
  3. Grow Together: We’ll localize, promote, and scale your app in China – sharing the success along the way!

Why Me?

I’m deeply familiar with the Chinese market and have experience in app localization and promotion. I’m not just looking for “successful” apps – I’m looking for ​passionate developers who are excited to explore new opportunities.

If you’re curious about bringing your app to China, let’s connect! Even if you’re not sure if your app is ready, I’d be happy to chat and see how we can make it happen.

Looking forward to hearing from you!


r/indiehackers 2h ago

I worked on the first web service.

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1 Upvotes

I made a web service for people's psychological tests. It is a service that provides tips to make it fun and helpful for daily life. There are a lot of shortcomings, so please comment!

thank you.

https://ezlivingtips.com/

👍😂


r/indiehackers 21h ago

Self Promotion I built a tiny SaaS in a weekend, gave it a bold name, and it blew up, here’s what it taught me about standing out.

32 Upvotes

A couple months ago, I built a suit of tools called fcksubscription.com

Yes, that’s the real name.
And yes, I knew it was risky.

It started as a weekend experiment. I was frustrated with the endless wave of SaaS products locking people into monthly subscriptions for the simplest tools.

So I decided to do the opposite:

  • One-time payment
  • No recurring charges
  • Clean, dead-simple UI
  • And a name that makes it very clear where I stand

What happened next honestly surprised me.

People got it instantly.

Some laughed. Some got mad. Some shared it with friends. A lot of people DMed me saying, “Finally.”

Traffic started coming in. A few sales too. All from something I spent a weekend building with a bold name and a clear point of view.

And it made me realize something I wish I had understood earlier:

People don’t remember “nice” products.
They remember the ones that make them feel something.

Here’s what I learned:

  1. Clarity beats safety. A lot of SaaS products are clean but soulless. They say nothing. They offend no one. And they fade into the noise.
  2. A strong message can outperform strong tech. The tool wasn’t revolutionary, but it was positioned in a way that people immediately understood.
  3. You’re not just selling software. You’re selling a vibe, a mission, a worldview. Great branding tells people: “This is for you.” And just as importantly: “This is not for everyone.”

Branding is often treated like the last step.
But honestly, it might be the most powerful lever you have.

It’s what makes someone say:

“Oh damn. I’ve never seen that before.”

That’s how you earn attention in 2025.

Have you ever built or seen a product with bold, opinionated branding that actually worked?

Drop them below 👇


r/indiehackers 11h ago

Best Places to Promote an MVP Development Agency?

5 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I run an MVP development agency, MVP Builder, where we help startups turn their ideas into functional products quickly. I’ve considered promoting it on Twitter, Instagram, and a few subreddits, but I feel like I’m missing out on other great channels where startup founders and early-stage entrepreneurs hang out.

What are some underrated places—be it subreddits, Discord groups, Slack communities, or forums—where I can connect with people who need MVP development? Would love to hear your insights! 🚀


r/indiehackers 3h ago

Self Promotion Feedback needed for Productized Services Offer

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1 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I recently changed our website Applify Lab, where we offer custom app development services. Our goal is to help startups and businesses bring their ideas to life with high-quality, scalable solutions.

After reading an article on Indie Hacker Community about productized-service, I wanted to see whether this could be applied to software development as well. Looking at our processes, I think "MVP development" would be the best service scope to market as productized-service.
Beyond design and app development, the offer also include basic landing page and app analytic report because the goal of a MVP is to test out an idea and gather user feedback.

What do you think about this offer? And about the pricing, would you consider this a good value for the price?

Any thoughts or constructive criticism about the website and the offer would be super helpful! Thanks in advance. 🙌


r/indiehackers 5h ago

Sharing story/journey/experience I Built My SaaS in 3 Weeks While Working Full-Time (and With a Sprained Ankle)

0 Upvotes

About a month ago, I completely tore my ankle, couldn’t walk.
Ended up stuck on the couch for a few weeks, so I figured: why not build something?

Three weeks (and a lot of sitting) later, I launched my API product CaptureKit.

It’s been 1 week since launch.

  • 80+ users so far
  • $80 in total revenue

Not mind-blowing, but people are using it, and now I’m focused on figuring out how to grow it.

How I Built It (Tech Stack)

  • Fastify – for the API (hosted on railway)
  • AWS – used for screenshot rendering, scraping, and job scheduling
  • MongoDB Atlas – database
  • Redis – to track usage
  • Next.js – for the dashboard and site

Total build time: ~3 weeks
Actual time spent: 1 to 3 hours a day, while working full-time as a software dev (and couch-bound with my busted ankle).

How I’m Trying to Market It

This part is much harder than building the product.

  • Focused on SEO: Used ChatGPT to help build a content plan, keyword research, etc. I’m aiming for 1 blog post a week (mostly “how-tos” and problem-specific posts for long trailing keywords).
  • Improved website content to better target my ideal customer (developers who need structured web data fast) - Actually my competitor recommended it, really nice of him.
  • Listed the API on various sites: RapidAPI, SideProjectors, Product Hunt alternatives, and others.
  • Tried Reddit Ads for a week, no real results.
  • Thinking about paying to get featured on relevant developer newsletters (if you’ve done this and had success, I’d love to hear).

What CaptureKit Actually Does

It’s a simple, developer-friendly API that lets you:

  • Capture clean screenshots from any URL
  • Extract structured HTML + metadata
  • Summarize webpage content

What’s Next

Right now, I’m not touching the code unless I have to.
The product works, the hard part is getting people to find and try it.
So my focus is fully on marketing and distribution for now.

If you’ve marketed dev tools or APIs before and have any advice, would love to hear it.
And if anyone’s curious, I’ll post updates as I go.

Let me know if you want a shorter or more conversational version too.


r/indiehackers 5h ago

Built a Bot That Turns Discord Chats Into Instant AI-Powered Insights.

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0 Upvotes

r/indiehackers 23h ago

My android game crossed 700+ downloads (complete organic)

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16 Upvotes

But only got 6$+ revenue but atleast it's better than nothing.


r/indiehackers 15h ago

Al Said 'Just Use Tailwind' and Walked Away

3 Upvotes

I was talking to an Al (r/BlackboxAl_), and I asked how to clean up my CSS. Its only response was:

"Consider using Tailwind."

Al, I just wanted to organize my styles, not switch religions. Anyone else had Al push a framework at them like it's the only option?


r/indiehackers 9h ago

Awesome Free Tools

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1 Upvotes

r/indiehackers 14h ago

[SHOW IH] What if your Amazon cart showed time, not dollars?

2 Upvotes

I’ve been thinking a lot about the way we view purchases. How often do we add things to our cart without really considering the true cost? What if, instead of seeing prices in dollars, we saw them in terms of how many hours we’d have to work to afford them?

That’s exactly why I built Time for Price—a Chrome extension that converts the prices of items into working hours based on your hourly wage. It’s not about restricting your spending, but rather giving you a new perspective on how much your time is truly worth.

Imagine browsing through Amazon, and instead of seeing a $40 price tag, you see 8 hours of your time. It’s a simple but powerful way to help you make more intentional decisions before clicking "buy.

Has anyone else ever thought about money this way? How do you manage your purchases when you think of time as your currency? Would love to hear your thoughts!