Post regular updates to niche communities with humble building-in-public tone
Reddit /r/selfhosted is unique: self-promotion is encouraged for open source projects. Post monthly version updates using 'I' voice (not 'we'), humble tone, and explicitly ask for GitHub stars. This generates consistent traffic without self-promotion bans. Lemmy provides similar benefits with reliable upvotes for open source content.
When to use
For open source products where developers are the primary distribution channel to business users
Don't do this
Avoiding Reddit due to general anti-self-promotion rules or posting sporadically without asking for engagement
3 Founders Who Did This
Posted monthly updates to /r/selfhosted with each new version, using humble first-person building-in-public style and asking for stars; also posted on Lemmy for consistent traffic
Posted to r/excel with simple title 'AI XL formula generator' mentioning it was free, just title + link. Became top post of the day, then top post of the week.
Posted product improvements and answered virtual staging questions in real estate forums with a helpful, building-in-public tone