I Built A SaaS Directory That Uses AI To Recommend Tools

ツ John — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 23:25:21 +0000

So I've always wanted to randomly build a tool directory for some reason.

They're usually pretty light in terms of tech requirements, and it's something completely different compared to what I've done with past projects.

I was sick a few weeks ago and decided to use my downtime to work on one.

There are a lot of these types of directories out there, so I wanted to try and figure out how to make mine stand out a little more.

What better way to do it than with AI? LOL

A problem I've heard and noticed when it comes to these directories is that there's simply too much to sift through. I've come across the same problem myself.

So I decided to sprinkle in a little AI. Basically, you describe a problem you're having and we'll recommend some tools that we think could help in some way or another.

The majority of tools are submitted by the community. They usually come from places like Twitter or Reddit. Then I manually review them to ensure everything looks good before pushing to the site, which is findcool.tools

Even though this was just a fun random project I wanted to start, I decided to launch it on Product Hunt. Much to my surprise, we received #3 Product of the Day.

Since then, I've been putting a little more time into it. We're almost at 150 tools submitted and over 150 newsletter subscribers.

Here's the tech stack I'm using for anyone interested:

Astro for the frontend
Google Sheets for my database
Google Forms for new tool submissions

Told you I was keeping the tech stack light... haha

All in all, this is turning into a fun project and I just wanted to spread the word that if you have a random idea, pursue it. You never know what will come out of it.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. You can find me over on Twitter/X

Have a tool you think would be a good fit for findcool.tools? You can submit it here.

❤️

I Launched 3 Projects On Product Hunt: Learnings + Tips

ツ John — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:27:04 +0000

Hey everyone,

I just wrapped up my 3rd launch on Product Hunt for findcool.tools where we received #3 Product of the Day (just wrote a thread about this project's launch stats on twitter if you're interested)

My last product launch did not receive a Product of the Day award but did win #1 Health/Fitness Product of the Week and #2 Health/Fitness Product of the Month.

My first product launch placed 63rd and did not win any awards.

Each launch has gotten better and better.

Here are some things I've learned and some tips I have:

Start building an audience weeks before launch. This can be a game changer.
- Post your Product Hunt launch preview link and ask for support, show demos, engage in comments about your launch and your product.
- Post a few times a day leading up to launch.
You don't have to build a feature-filled MVP, but make sure whatever you're launching works well.
- I've seen projects riddled with bugs because they're trying to include too much.
- I've seen projects kill it that do one single thing.
Suggest your tool to users before launch, if it's available.
- Getting initial feedback can be super helpful before the surge in Product Hunt traffic.
Have analytics in place
- This can be extremely helpful in observing user behavior and to see what other sources are sending you traffic
- I've built features that I thought would get tons of traction. Come to find out hardly anyone visits that specific page.
If your product links out to other products/services, make sure to include a referral param in the url.
- This helped me a lot with my latest launch because people could see firsthand the traffic we were sending.
Pick your launch day wisely.
- I've launched on weekdays and weekends. There are pros and cons to each.
- Product Hunt has much more traffic during the week, but also a lot more competition.
  - If you're super confident in your product, these could be good days to launch.
- Weekends see less traffic + less competition, so potential advantage to stand out.
On launch day, don't stop talking about your product.
- Post every few hours asking for support, and talk about updates/progress. Just try to keep your launch in front of your audience throughout the day.
- I've found, on Twitter, that posting every 2 or so hours worked well.
Reply to every comment on Product Hunt
- This goes a long way in showing that you appreciate people's support.

I'm sure there's more, but these are some of the things I've improved on across my multiple launches, and have seen each launch have more success than the last.

Hope this was helpful 🙂

Happy to answer any questions here or on Twitter/X. I typically talk about building projects in public and other random dev stuff.

Check out findcool.tools for awesome tools built by indie hackers like myself.

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DEV Community: ツ John

I Built A SaaS Directory That Uses AI To Recommend Tools

I Launched 3 Projects On Product Hunt: Learnings + Tips

Here are some things I've learned and some tips I have: