I launched Nick Launches, a launch directory, on May 3. Today is day 11. Every day since launch the numbers have moved up, and I want to show the actual curve, not just the highlight reel, because most "I launched X" posts skip the boring middle.
This is a build-in-public log, not a pitch. If something here is useful for your own launch, take it.
The growth curve, day by day
| Day | Date | Submissions | Signups | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | May 5 | 26 | 43 | 108 upvotes, newsletter at 43 |
| 4 | May 7 | 45 | 95 | Second paying customer |
| 6 | May 9 | 65 | 100+ | 4.45K views, +2,411% vs prior period |
| 7 | May 10 | ~70 | ~120 | DR jumped from 1 to 15 (Ahrefs), 71 referring domains |
| 8 | May 11 | ~80 | ~150 | DR 28, then 30 same day. 332 backlinks, 122 ref domains |
| 8 | May 11 | ~80 | ~150 | Started running paid ads to push traffic to listed products |
| 9 | May 12 | 96 | ~180 | 174 newsletter subs, 6K views, 1.4K users (+1,326%) |
| 10 | May 12 | 105 (88 live) | 193 | 368 upvotes, top builders thread |
| 11 | May 13 | 121 (99 live) | 221 | 422 upvotes, 197 newsletter, 7.4K views, 1.7K users |
| 12 | May 14 | +25 overnight | +50 | Submission tracker shipped, 100+ directories coming |
A few things stand out when you line it up:
- The flat day never came. I expected a launch-week spike then a long flat valley. Instead the daily floor keeps moving up.
- DR went from 1 to 30 in roughly a week. That is mostly a side effect of builders linking back to their listing, plus the submission tracker feeding outbound link velocity.
- Paid ads kicked in around day 8. They didn't replace the organic curve, they layered on top of it.
What's actually driving it
Honest answer: it isn't a viral loop, it isn't SEO yet, and it isn't a single big post. It's two unsexy things running in parallel.
1. Cold outreach on X, every single day. I reply to builders who just shipped, DM people who post screenshots of their MVP, and quote-tweet launches with a soft pitch to submit. Most of it is one-to-one. It does not scale, but it compounds, because the people I talk to start tagging others.
2. Paid ads pushing visibility to the listed products. This is the part most directory operators miss. The pitch to a builder is "submit your product and get traffic." If you can't deliver traffic, the supply side dries up after the launch-week novelty. So I'm running ads not to my homepage but to the products inside the directory. That keeps the offer real.
The combination is what's holding the curve up. Outreach brings supply. Paid ads keep the supply happy. Neither alone would be enough.
The free tool that pulls non-launching builders in
Not every visitor lands ready to submit a product. So I shipped a free Find Your First Users tool that generates an AI audience report for any product idea. You drop in a URL or description and it returns:
- Target user segments
- Pain points
- Reddit communities where those users hang out
- Search queries those users are actually typing
It's free with a usage limit, no signup wall on the first run. The point isn't tool revenue. It's that "I need to find users" is a problem every indie builder has, including the ones who aren't ready to launch yet. The tool brings them in, the directory keeps them.
A meaningful chunk of recent signups came in through that page, not the homepage. The lesson: in a two-sided product, a free utility that solves a problem adjacent to your core offer is a better top-of-funnel than a "here's our directory" landing.
Things I tried that didn't work
- A "submit your product" tweet with no context. Flopped. Same offer reframed as a reply inside an SEO thread drove submissions in an afternoon.
- Posting in r/SaaS. Removed by mods, even with the "I will not promote" disclaimer.
- Waiting for SEO. DR climbing is great but it has driven roughly zero conversions so far. The traffic is still 90%+ from X and ads.
Things I'd do differently if I started today
- Set up the submission tracker on day one, not day eleven. It is the single feature builders mention most.
- Comp early submitters with a premium badge from the start. The first 10 builders who submit to an unproven directory are doing you a favor. Pay them in visibility.
- Run a tiny ad budget from day one to anchor the "we send you traffic" promise. Even $20/day buys credibility.
The current offer
There are still a handful of free permanent backlink spots open in the launch tier. If you have an indie product, submit it here. Manual review, usually within 24h.
If you want the full series of posts behind this, I'm logging the journey on X at @nicklaunches.
A question for the dev.to crowd
If you've ever run a directory, marketplace, or any two-sided product, what was the metric that told you supply quality was holding up as the volume grew? Mine has been "rejection rate stays meaningful." Curious what others use. Drop it in the comments.
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