llms.txt
# First 1,000 Users
> Short, practical guides on how founders, builders and indie hackers get their first 1,000 users, mapped by stage and product type.
## Idea and validation
- [Run ten problem interviews](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/problem-interviews/): Talk to ten people who have the problem before writing code, and ask what they do about it today rather than what they would buy.
- [Check search demand for the problem](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/search-demand-check/): Use free keyword tools to see whether people search for the problem and which words they use to describe it.
- [Find where your users already talk](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/find-where-users-talk/): List the subreddits, forums, Discord servers and Slack groups where your users ask questions, and read them for a week before posting.
- [Pre-sell to five people](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/pre-sell/): Ask potential users to pay or commit before the product exists. A small payment is stronger evidence than a waitlist signup.
## Waitlist
- [Set up a waitlist landing page](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/waitlist-landing-page/): One page that states the problem and who it is for, and collects an email address, so you have people to contact when there is something to try.
- [Build in public](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/build-in-public/): Post regular, specific updates about what you are building and what you learned, so people follow the project before it launches.
- [List on pre-launch directories](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/coming-soon-directories/): Submit your waitlist page to directories that feature upcoming products, to collect early signups and your first links.
- [Add a referral step to your waitlist](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/waitlist-referrals/): After signup, give each person a link to share and a concrete reason to share it, such as earlier access.
## Private beta
- [Cold outreach to your first 20 users](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/cold-outreach-first-20/): Find 20 specific people who have the problem, write to each of them individually, and offer to set them up yourself.
- [Recruit beta testers in niche communities](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/beta-in-communities/): Post in the communities your users belong to, describe the problem plainly, and ask for a small number of testers.
- [Onboard every beta user on a call](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/onboarding-calls/): Set up the first users yourself on a short call and note where they get stuck.
- [List on beta-testing platforms](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/beta-directories/): Submit to sites that connect products looking for early testers with people who want to try new things.
## Launch
- [Post a Show HN on Hacker News](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/show-hn/): Share something people can try right away, write a plain first comment, and answer every question for the rest of the day.
- [Launch on Product Hunt](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/product-hunt-launch/): Prepare the listing and assets in advance, launch at 12:01 a.m. Pacific time, and tell your own list and communities on the day.
- [Submit to startup directories](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/startup-directory-submissions/): List your product on relevant startup and software directories for a steady trickle of visitors and links back to your site.
- [Share your launch on Reddit](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/reddit-launch-post/): Post in the few subreddits that allow project posts, follow each one’s rules, and write as a member rather than an advertiser.
- [Get featured in new-product newsletters](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/launch-newsletters/): Send a short, specific pitch to newsletters that cover new tools in your category.
## First 100 users
- [Ask your users for referrals](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/asking-for-referrals/): Ask users who got value from the product to introduce it to one specific person, right after they got that value.
- [Answer questions where they are asked](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/answer-threads/): Search communities and Q&A sites for people describing the problem, and give a useful answer that mentions the product only where it helps.
- [List in integration marketplaces](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/integration-marketplaces/): Publish the product in the app directories of tools your users already use, such as Slack, Shopify, Zapier, Notion or the Chrome Web Store.
- [Email every new signup personally](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/personal-welcome-emails/): Send each new user a short personal email asking why they signed up, and reply to every answer.
## First 1,000 users
- [SEO for early-stage products](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/seo-early-stage/): Write a small number of pages that answer specific problem searches your users make, instead of competing for broad terms.
- [Write honest comparison pages](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/alternative-pages/): Publish "alternative to" and comparison pages for tools your users already consider, with accurate tables and clear trade-offs.
- [Cross-promote with adjacent products](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/cross-promotion/): Agree with a non-competing product that serves the same users to mention each other in emails, docs or onboarding.
- [Sponsor a niche newsletter](https://firstthousandusers.com/guides/sponsor-niche-newsletter/): Buy one placement in a small newsletter your users read, measure signups, and repeat only what works.
## Optional
- [About](https://firstthousandusers.com/about/): how guides are written and structured
