I just launched a developer tool with zero audience. Here is every free channel I tried, ranked by actual results.
Tier 1: Works immediately
Dev.to Articles
Result: 80+ views in 6 hours
Write tutorials, not announcements. Target keywords developers actually Google. Each article is a permanent search result.
Best performing: "How AI Coding Agents Will Choose Your SaaS Boilerplate" (30 views)
GitHub Gists
Result: Indexed by Google within hours
Create code snippets for common problems. Each gist links back to your project. Target: "prisma saas schema", "stripe webhook nextjs", "auth.js v5 setup".
GitHub Issue Comments
Result: Direct engagement with potential users
Search for issues where people need what you built. Comment with genuinely helpful code references. Not spam — real value first.
Tier 2: High potential, delayed payoff
Awesome List PRs
Result: 8 PRs pending to lists with 30K+ combined stars
Find awesome lists in your niche. Fork, add your project, submit a PR. If merged, you get permanent placement in front of thousands of developers.
Target lists I submitted to:
- awesome-nextjs (11K stars)
- awesome-tailwindcss (15K stars)
- awesome-saas-boilerplates (3K stars)
- awesome-prisma (657 stars)
Satellite GitHub Repos
Result: Extra search surface area
Create focused repos targeting specific search terms ("nextjs-stripe-subscription-example"). Each is a thin README pointing to your main project.
Tier 3: Blocked in 2026
Result: API access denied for new accounts
Reddit requires developer policy approval for API access. New accounts cannot create apps. Manual posting works but you need an established account.
Hacker News (Show HN)
Result: Restricted for new users
"We are temporarily restricting Show HNs because of massive influx." Need to be an established community member first.
Twitter/X
Result: Developer API requires application
Can not automate without a developer account, which takes days to approve.
Product Hunt
Result: Requires scheduled launch and community presence
Not a day-one channel. Need to build presence first.
The meta-lesson
In 2026, every major platform is gatekeeping new accounts. The playbook of "create account, post, go viral" is dead.
What works: content marketing through platforms that allow API access (Dev.to) and platforms you already have access to (GitHub).
What I am building
LaunchKit — a SaaS starter kit with auth, billing, AI chat, and email. The marketing tactics above are how I am getting it in front of developers.
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