ph-maker-comment skill

---
name: ph-maker-comment
description: Create authentic and engaging maker comments for Product Hunt launches. Use this skill to write the crucial first comment that appears on your launch, builds trust, and encourages community engagement.
---

# Product Hunt Maker Comment

This skill helps you write the perfect maker comment (first comment) for your Product Hunt launch - a critical piece that humanizes your launch and drives engagement.

## When to Use This Skill

- Writing your launch's first comment
- Structuring your maker story
- Making your comment authentic and engaging
- Adding effective calls-to-action
- Preparing responses to common questions

## Why Maker Comments Matter

### Impact on Success
- First thing users read after tagline
- Sets the tone for discussion
- Humanizes the product
- Signals authenticity to algorithm
- Encourages other comments

### The Trust Factor
Product Hunt users are savvy. They can spot:
- Corporate-speak vs genuine voice
- Marketing fluff vs real talk
- Prepared script vs authentic story

## Maker Comment Structure

### The Winning Formula

```
[GREETING + IDENTITY]
↓
[THE WHY - Origin Story]
↓
[THE PROBLEM - What you're solving]
↓
[THE SOLUTION - What you built]
↓
[WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL - Key differentiator]
↓
[OFFER/INCENTIVE - If applicable]
↓
[CALL TO ACTION - What you want from them]
↓
[GRATITUDE + OPENNESS]
```

## Section-by-Section Guide

### 1. Greeting + Identity (1-2 lines)

**Purpose:** Establish who you are and your role

**Examples:**
- "Hey PH! I'm [Name], founder of [Product]. 👋"
- "Hi everyone! [Name] here, the solo dev behind [Product]."
- "Hello Product Hunt! I'm [Name], and I've been building [Product] for the past [X] months."

**Tips:**
- Use first name (approachable)
- Mention your role (builds credibility)
- Keep it warm but not over-the-top

---

### 2. The Why - Origin Story (2-4 lines)

**Purpose:** Share why you built this (the authentic motivation)

**Examples:**
- "I started [Product] after experiencing [specific pain point] at my last job..."
- "The idea came from a frustrating Friday night when I spent 3 hours trying to..."
- "As a [role], I was tired of [specific problem]. So I decided to fix it."

**Tips:**
- Be specific (not "I wanted to help people")
- Share the emotional moment
- Make it relatable

---

### 3. The Problem (2-3 lines)

**Purpose:** Clearly state the pain point you're addressing

**Examples:**
- "If you've ever [common frustrating experience], you know the pain."
- "[Target audience] spend an average of [X hours/dollars] on [problem]. That's insane."
- "Current solutions either [limitation A] or [limitation B]. Neither works."

**Tips:**
- Be specific about who has this problem
- Quantify if possible
- Validate the reader's frustration

---

### 4. The Solution (3-5 lines)

**Purpose:** Explain what you built and how it works

**Examples:**
- "[Product] solves this by [approach]. Here's how it works: [1-2 sentence explanation]"
- "We built [Product] to [outcome]. Simply [action], and [result]."
- "With [Product], you can now [capability] in [timeframe/effort]."

**Tips:**
- Focus on outcomes, not features
- Keep technical details minimal
- Mention the "aha" moment

---

### 5. What Makes It Special (2-3 lines)

**Purpose:** Differentiate from alternatives

**Examples:**
- "Unlike [category of competitors], [Product] [key differentiator]."
- "We're the first to [unique capability] because [reason]."
- "The secret sauce: [unique approach or technology]."

**Tips:**
- Don't bash competitors by name
- Be factual, not boastful
- Focus on user benefit

---

### 6. Offer/Incentive (1-2 lines, optional)

**Purpose:** Give PH community something special

**Examples:**
- "For the PH community: Use code PRODUCTHUNT for 20% off your first year."
- "First 100 users from PH get lifetime access at our beta price."
- "Launching with a free tier that includes [valuable feature] — no credit card needed."

**Tips:**
- Make it exclusive to PH
- Create urgency if genuine
- Don't make it feel transactional

---

### 7. Call to Action (1-2 lines)

**Purpose:** Tell them what you want

**Do Say:**
- "I'd love your feedback — what would make this more useful for you?"
- "Try it out and let me know what you think!"
- "Curious to hear how you currently solve this problem."

**Don't Say:**
- ❌ "Please upvote!" (against rules)
- ❌ "Help us reach #1!" (against rules)
- ❌ "Every vote counts!" (against rules)

---

### 8. Gratitude + Openness (1-2 lines)

**Purpose:** Close warmly and invite engagement

**Examples:**
- "Thanks for checking us out! Happy to answer any questions. 🙏"
- "Grateful to share this with the PH community. AMA!"
- "Thank you for your time. I'll be here all day responding to every comment."

## Complete Maker Comment Examples

### Example 1: Solo Maker (Authentic/Personal)

```
Hey Product Hunt! 👋

I'm Sarah, and I built [Product] over the past 6 months while
working nights and weekends.

The story: Last year, I lost a $50k client because I missed
their email buried in my inbox. That hurt. I tried every email
tool out there, but nothing actually solved MY problem —
knowing which emails would cost me money if ignored.

So I built [Product]. It's an AI that learns your business
relationships and surfaces emails that matter most. Not based
on keywords — based on actual relationship and deal context.

What makes it different: We don't organize your inbox. We
just show you the 5-10 emails per day that actually need your
attention. Everything else can wait.

For the PH community: Free forever for up to 2 email accounts.
No credit card, no catch.

I'd genuinely love your feedback — what email problems am I
missing? And what would make this more useful for your workflow?

Thanks for being here! I'll be responding to every single
comment today. 🙏

— Sarah
```

---

### Example 2: Team Launch (Professional/Credible)

```
Hi Product Hunt!

I'm Mike, co-founder of [Product] along with my partners
[Name] (ex-Stripe) and [Name] (ex-Google).

We spent 2 years building the developer tool we wished
existed. Here's why:

THE PROBLEM: Deploying microservices still sucks. Every
team reinvents the same infrastructure. The average startup
spends 30% of engineering time on DevOps instead of product.

OUR SOLUTION: [Product] gives you production-ready infrastructure
with one command. Kubernetes, monitoring, CI/CD, secrets
management — all configured and connected.

THE DIFFERENCE: We're not another "Heroku for X". We give you
real infrastructure you control, with the simplicity of a
PaaS. No lock-in, full visibility.

🎁 PH EXCLUSIVE: 3 months free on our Pro plan (normally $299/mo).
Code: HUNT2024

We've been heads-down building, so we're genuinely excited
to hear what you think. What would make this more valuable
for your team?

All three of us will be here answering questions!

Best,
Mike, [Name] & [Name]
```

## Pro Tips

### Do:
- ✓ Write it in advance (not during launch chaos)
- ✓ Read it aloud (does it sound like you?)
- ✓ Have someone outside your team review
- ✓ Include specifics (numbers, timeframes)
- ✓ Be genuinely helpful
- ✓ Respond to EVERY comment

### Don't:
- ✗ Use corporate buzzwords
- ✗ Make unverifiable claims
- ✗ Ask for upvotes (ban risk!)
- ✗ Copy someone else's format exactly
- ✗ Be overly humble or self-deprecating
- ✗ Post and disappear

## Output Format

```
MAKER COMMENT FOR: [Product Name]

MAKER: [Your Name], [Your Role]

---

[Complete maker comment text, 200-350 words]

---

INCLUDED ELEMENTS:
✓ Authentic origin story
✓ Clear problem statement
✓ Solution explanation
✓ Key differentiator
✓ PH-specific offer: [Yes/No]
✓ Engagement CTA (not asking for upvotes)
✓ Warm closing
```