Looking for a way to bring thousands of new people to your site, while simultaneously discovering what your customers and promoters really think about your product? Of course you are. And so were we…
That’s why on May 15th, we featured 15Five on Product Hunt. We knew that this would be a great way to dramatically increase traffic and brand awareness. What we didn’t know was that it would also be one of the most exciting days we have ever had.
The Next Big Thing
Our hi-tech startup team is fascinated with new products. We are curious about what other companies are innovating, but are also on the lookout for new apps that we can use to increase productivity and efficiency. Product Hunt is a one-stop shop for this purpose. They featured over 11,500 new products last year alone.
Last month instead of just finding other products, we put 15Five out there for others to discover. I began the discussion with an explanation of what we do:
We created 15Five out of the belief that much of the management philosophy behind traditional performance management evolved during the industrial revolution and is no longer effective, and more often than not counter-productive. Treating people like assets or resources of companies, and trying to coerce them to perform through a system of external rewards and punishments is dehumanizing, hence why 70% of the American workforce is now considered disengaged.
Instead we believe that the best companies and teams create cultures that tap into the innate drive and potential of their people, where strong relationships and trust are built, and where people are supported in being their best selves. As a result these teams have an increased ability to work together at a high level to achieve extraordinary results.
We’re building 15Five for teams who share this belief, creating a quick weekly cadence of communication that ensures that managers know how to best support their people, that everyone stays focused on the right things, that they regularly have the conversations that matter, and where strong relationships and trust are built in the process.
The Battle Raged On
A lively Slack conversation ensued throughout the rest of the day, with everyone on the team excitedly posting updates about our position or uplifting comments we were receiving from our customers and advocates. Product Hunt kicked things off:
We were chasing Makerbook for the lead position all day and finally pulled ahead after about 3 hours:
Even when we had more votes than our nemesis, we still did not pull into 1st position immediately. We learned that several factors go into the ranking including time of posting, pace of upvotes and comments, and who was commenting and voting. Apparently votes from loyal Product Hunters count for more than votes from those who are new to the site.
We finished with 679 upvotes, in the top 10% of products hunted. We had received more votes than Facebook Messenger and the best was yet to come.
A SaaS Love Story
Product Hunt is notorious for increasing traffic (I’ll get to the numbers in a sec). A welcome surprise was all of the comments from people who have really benefited from using 15Five, supporting our product and our mission:
I made sure to check-in throughout the day to thank people for their comments and respond when appropriate:
There is something incredibly satisfying about reading the many reasons that people love your product and company. I took the opportunity to delve deeper with customers regarding their experiences and solidify our relationship.
Best Day Ever
That week we saw our highest traffic on record:
209% increase in sessions
571% increase in new users
86% increase in new trials started
We also saw an impact on traffic during the following weeks. Nearly 3,000 new visitors clicked-through to see what all the fuss was about.
The entire team is proud of 15Five’s growth over the past three years. We have built a fantastic product that is beloved by many customers, promoters and advisors. But our message to transform the modern workplace for the better sometimes gets lost in a sea of content by other tools offered online. With so many businesses competing for the attention of potential customers and fans, we are grateful for Product Hunt ‘s unique ability to broadcast our offering to the world.
