291 lines
7.2 KiB
Markdown
291 lines
7.2 KiB
Markdown
# FRE-632: HN Karma Building Plan (If Needed)
|
|
|
|
**Trigger:** No qualified HN account exists (karma <50 or account <30 days old)
|
|
**Owner:** CMO
|
|
**Timeline:** 7-14 days to reach 100+ karma
|
|
**Status:** ⏳ On standby (awaiting founder response)
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
## Overview
|
|
|
|
If no team member has a qualified HN account (100+ karma, 30+ days old), we need to build karma before submitting Show HN. This plan ensures we're ready within 7-14 days.
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
## HN Karma Basics
|
|
|
|
**How Karma Works:**
|
|
- Upvotes on your submissions: +1 per upvote
|
|
- Upvotes on your comments: +1 per upvote
|
|
- Downvotes: -1 (can go negative)
|
|
- No karma for upvoting others
|
|
|
|
**What Gets Upvoted:**
|
|
- Insightful technical comments
|
|
- Relevant article submissions
|
|
- Helpful answers to questions
|
|
- Authentic participation
|
|
|
|
**What Gets Downvoted:**
|
|
- Self-promotion (especially early)
|
|
- Shallow comments ("Great post!")
|
|
- Obvious marketing
|
|
- Controversial takes without substance
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
## 14-Day Karma Building Plan
|
|
|
|
### Week 1: Foundation (Target: 50+ karma)
|
|
|
|
**Daily Time Commitment:** 30-45 minutes
|
|
|
|
#### Day 1-2: Profile Setup + First Comments
|
|
|
|
**Actions:**
|
|
- [ ] Create HN account (if none exists)
|
|
- Username: Professional (real name or company)
|
|
- Email: Personal Gmail (not company domain)
|
|
- Profile: Real name, company affiliation, brief bio
|
|
- [ ] Read HN Guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
|
|
- [ ] Browse front page, identify relevant threads
|
|
- [ ] Comment on 3-5 threads (quality over quantity)
|
|
|
|
**Comment Topics (High Relevance):**
|
|
- Screenwriting software
|
|
- Writing tools
|
|
- Tauri (Rust-based desktop apps)
|
|
- SolidJS (frontend frameworks)
|
|
- SaaS pricing models
|
|
- Real-time collaboration tech
|
|
- CRDT/operational transformation
|
|
- SQLite/edge databases (Turso)
|
|
|
|
**Comment Quality Checklist:**
|
|
- [ ] Adds value to conversation
|
|
- [ ] Shares specific experience/insight
|
|
- [ ] Asks thoughtful follow-up questions
|
|
- [ ] No self-promotion
|
|
- [ ] 2+ sentences (substantial)
|
|
|
|
#### Day 3-5: Consistent Participation
|
|
|
|
**Actions:**
|
|
- [ ] Comment on 5-7 threads/day
|
|
- [ ] Submit 1-2 relevant articles (not about Scripter)
|
|
- Examples: "New Tauri 2.0 features", "SolidJS performance benchmarks"
|
|
- Source: Tech blogs, GitHub repos, official docs
|
|
- [ ] Engage with replies to your comments
|
|
- [ ] Track karma progress
|
|
|
|
**Article Submission Guidelines:**
|
|
- Must be genuinely interesting (not promotional)
|
|
- Technical content preferred
|
|
- Official docs/blog posts work well
|
|
- GitHub release pages
|
|
|
|
#### Day 6-7: Momentum Building
|
|
|
|
**Actions:**
|
|
- [ ] Continue 5-7 comments/day
|
|
- [ ] Submit 1-2 more articles
|
|
- [ ] Review top comments for patterns
|
|
- [ ] Adjust strategy based on what resonates
|
|
|
|
**Week 1 Target:** 50+ karma ✅
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
### Week 2: Acceleration (Target: 100+ karma)
|
|
|
|
**Daily Time Commitment:** 45-60 minutes
|
|
|
|
#### Day 8-10: Deep Engagement
|
|
|
|
**Actions:**
|
|
- [ ] Comment on 7-10 threads/day
|
|
- [ ] Focus on threads with high engagement
|
|
- [ ] Provide detailed technical insights
|
|
- [ ] Answer questions in your expertise areas
|
|
|
|
**High-Value Comment Types:**
|
|
- **Technical deep-dives:** "Here's how CRDTs work in practice..."
|
|
- **Experience sharing:** "We migrated from Firebase to Turso, here's what we learned..."
|
|
- **Comparative analysis:** "SolidJS vs React for our use case..."
|
|
- **Helpful resources:** "For anyone interested, this deep-dive covers..."
|
|
|
|
#### Day 11-14: Peak Participation
|
|
|
|
**Actions:**
|
|
- [ ] Maintain 7-10 comments/day
|
|
- [ ] Submit 1-2 more articles
|
|
- [ ] Engage in Show HN threads (comment on others' launches)
|
|
- [ ] Build relationships with active community members
|
|
|
|
**Show HN Engagement Strategy:**
|
|
- Comment on 3-5 Show HN posts/day
|
|
- Provide genuine feedback
|
|
- Ask thoughtful questions
|
|
- Share relevant experience
|
|
- **Do NOT** mention Scripter yet
|
|
|
|
**Week 2 Target:** 100+ karma ✅
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
## Content Calendar
|
|
|
|
### Week 1 Topics
|
|
|
|
| Day | Comment Topics | Article Submissions |
|
|
|-----|----------------|---------------------|
|
|
| 1 | Tauri, desktop apps | - |
|
|
| 2 | SolidJS, frontend | - |
|
|
| 3 | Screenwriting tools | Tauri 2.0 announcement |
|
|
| 4 | SaaS, pricing | SolidJS performance blog |
|
|
| 5 | CRDT, real-time | - |
|
|
| 6 | Writing software | Screenwriting tech article |
|
|
| 7 | Edge databases | Turso/SQLite post |
|
|
|
|
### Week 2 Topics
|
|
|
|
| Day | Comment Topics | Article Submissions |
|
|
|-----|----------------|---------------------|
|
|
| 8 | Show HN feedback (3 posts) | - |
|
|
| 9 | Show HN feedback (3 posts) | - |
|
|
| 10 | Technical deep-dive | GitHub trending project |
|
|
| 11 | SaaS growth | Indie hacker success story |
|
|
| 12 | Show HN feedback (3 posts) | - |
|
|
| 13 | Collaboration tools | Remote work research |
|
|
| 14 | Final push | - |
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
## Tracking Progress
|
|
|
|
### Daily Log Template
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
## Day X - [Date]
|
|
|
|
**Time Spent:** [minutes]
|
|
**Comments Posted:** [count]
|
|
**Articles Submitted:** [count]
|
|
**Karma Gained:** [+X]
|
|
**Current Karma:** [total]
|
|
|
|
**Top Comments:**
|
|
1. [Thread title] - [brief description, karma if visible]
|
|
2. [Thread title] - [brief description]
|
|
|
|
**Learnings:**
|
|
- What worked:
|
|
- What didn't:
|
|
|
|
**Tomorrow's Focus:**
|
|
- [ ] [specific goal]
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
### Progress Milestones
|
|
|
|
| Day | Target Karma | Status |
|
|
|-----|--------------|--------|
|
|
| 1 | 5-10 | ⏳ |
|
|
| 3 | 20-30 | ⏳ |
|
|
| 5 | 40-50 | ⏳ |
|
|
| 7 | 50-60 | ⏳ |
|
|
| 10 | 80-90 | ⏳ |
|
|
| 14 | 100+ | ⏳ |
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
## Risk Mitigation
|
|
|
|
### Risk: Slow Karma Growth (<5/day)
|
|
|
|
**Causes:**
|
|
- Comments not resonating
|
|
- Wrong topics
|
|
- Low visibility timing
|
|
|
|
**Solutions:**
|
|
- Shift to more popular threads (front page)
|
|
- Comment earlier in thread lifecycle
|
|
- Focus on technical depth over breadth
|
|
- Ask for feedback from experienced HN users
|
|
|
|
### Risk: Negative Karma (Downvotes)
|
|
|
|
**Causes:**
|
|
- Perceived self-promotion
|
|
- Controversial takes
|
|
- Low-effort comments
|
|
|
|
**Solutions:**
|
|
- Review downvoted comments for patterns
|
|
- Avoid any mention of Scripter until 100+ karma
|
|
- Focus on helping, not promoting
|
|
- Apologize if you misstep ("Fair point, I misunderstood")
|
|
|
|
### Risk: Time Constraints
|
|
|
|
**Causes:**
|
|
- Competing priorities
|
|
- Underestimating time needed
|
|
|
|
**Solutions:**
|
|
- Block 45 min daily on calendar
|
|
- Batch comment writing (20 min sessions)
|
|
- Use HN mobile app for quick engagement
|
|
- Delegate to another team member if needed
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
## Success Criteria
|
|
|
|
### Ready for Show HN Submission When:
|
|
|
|
- [ ] Karma: 100+ (minimum 50)
|
|
- [ ] Account age: 14+ days (30+ preferred)
|
|
- [ ] Comment history: 30+ quality comments
|
|
- [ ] Article submissions: 5-10 relevant posts
|
|
- [ ] Profile: Complete with real info
|
|
- [ ] No recent downvote streaks
|
|
|
|
### Submission Checklist:
|
|
|
|
- [ ] Karma target met
|
|
- [ ] Account age acceptable
|
|
- [ ] Profile complete
|
|
- [ ] No promotional history (clean record)
|
|
- [ ] Show HN post draft ready
|
|
- [ ] Technical review complete with FE
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
## Resources
|
|
|
|
**HN Guidelines:** https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
|
|
**HN Search:** https://hn.algolia.com/ (find relevant threads)
|
|
**Karma Tracker:** Check profile page daily
|
|
**Best Times to Post:** 10 AM - 2 PM PT (highest traffic)
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
## Trigger Decision
|
|
|
|
**If founder response = "No qualified account":**
|
|
- Start Day 1 immediately
|
|
- Target: 100+ karma by May 10-14
|
|
- Adjust HN submission date to May 14
|
|
|
|
**If founder response = "Qualified account exists":**
|
|
- Archive this plan
|
|
- Proceed with May 7 submission (with Product Hunt)
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
**Status:** ⏳ On standby awaiting founder response
|
|
**Next:** Execute Day 1 if no qualified account exists
|