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How to Get Your First 10 SaaS Users Without Paid Ads (2026 Guide)
Get your first 10 SaaS users without paid ads. Learn how to find your ideal customer, use Product Hunt, directories, Reddit and SEO, and follow a practical 30-day plan.
•By Admin
By Suman, Founder of Makerora · Last updated: October 30, 2026 · 10-minute read
Disclosure: Makerora, a SaaS discovery directory, is our product. It appears below alongside other options and is judged on the same criteria as the rest.
You can get your first 10 SaaS users without paid ads by choosing one narrow customer segment, talking directly to people who have the problem, and adding two or three discovery channels: a Product Hunt launch, relevant software directories, and one online community. Follow up personally with every sign-up. Expect weeks of consistent effort rather than a single launch-day spike.
This guide covers the full process: defining your ideal customer, running conversations, launching and listing your product, using SEO and AI search, turning early users into referrals, and a 30-day plan with tracking targets. It is written for indie hackers, solo founders, and early-stage teams.
Quick summary: the 6 steps to your first 10 SaaS users
Step
What to do
Typical time
1. Define your ICP
Write down who has the problem, what they use today, and where they gather
Week 1
2. Talk to people
Send 10–15 personalized messages and ask about their problem first
Weeks 1–2
3. Create discovery points
Launch on Product Hunt and list on 3–5 relevant directories
Week 3
4. Join communities
Contribute on Reddit, Indie Hackers, X, or LinkedIn before promoting
Weeks 2–4
5. Publish search content
Write one article around a real customer question
Week 3 onward
6. Convert and retain
Follow up, improve onboarding, ask for honest feedback and referrals
Week 4
Why is it so hard to get your first 10 SaaS users?
It is hard because a new SaaS product has no brand recognition, reviews, search traffic, or existing audience, and the founder usually does not yet know which customer segment values the product most. An established company has years of these advantages. You are starting from zero.
Four challenges show up again and again:
Nobody knows your product exists. Your website cannot generate interest if the right people never discover it.
You don’t know your best customer yet. Your first idea of the ideal customer often differs from who actually needs the product, and features you consider essential may not matter to early users.
You have limited credibility. People wonder whether a new tool is reliable and whether the company will still exist next year.
You are doing everything yourself. Solo founders handle development, support, marketing, and sales at once, so spreading effort across every channel usually backfires.
The fix is not publishing more content or joining more platforms. Focus on reaching a small number of people who genuinely experience the problem your product solves.
Your first 10 users are not just customers. They validate your product, show you your market, and sharpen your positioning.
How do you define your ideal customer before promoting a SaaS?
An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a short description of the people who most need your product: who they are, what problem they face, what they use today, and where you can reach them. Promoting to everyone rarely works, because a developer tool, an ecommerce app, and a productivity platform solve different problems for different people.
Start by answering five questions:
What problem does my SaaS solve?
How do people solve it today?
How often do they run into it?
What makes existing solutions inconvenient?
Why would someone switch to my product?
For example, a tool that monitors application errors might target independent developers, small development teams, startup engineering teams, and developers who maintain several applications. That is far clearer than “everyone who uses technology.”
You don’t need market research software. A simple table is enough:
Question
Example answer
Who is the customer?
Independent developers
What problem do they face?
Finding application errors
What do they use today?
Existing monitoring tools
What do they want?
Faster debugging
Where can you find them?
Developer communities and X
Why should you talk to potential users before selling?
Conversations reveal how people describe the problem in their own words, which improves both your product and your messaging. Ask:
How do you currently handle this problem?
What is the most frustrating part?
Which tools have you already tried?
What would make you consider another solution?
Don’t turn these conversations into sales pitches. Understand the problem first.
Which channels work for getting early SaaS users without ads?
The most reliable no-ad channels for a first 10 users are direct outreach, communities, directories, Product Hunt, social media, and SEO. They differ a lot in speed and effort. The comparison below is our editorial assessment, not measured data, so test and track your own results.
Channel
Best for
Effort
Speed of first signal
Direct outreach
Validating the problem, first conversations
Medium
Fast (days)
Reddit / Indie Hackers
Meeting people who describe the problem
Medium
Medium
X and LinkedIn
Build-in-public, reaching professionals
Medium
Medium
Product Hunt
A concentrated launch and early feedback
High (preparation)
Fast (launch day)
Software directories
Ongoing passive discovery
Low
Slow to medium
SEO and AI search
Long-term inbound traffic
High
Slow (weeks to months)
Referrals
Growth from satisfied users
Low
Depends on user satisfaction
Choose two or three channels where your target customers already spend time instead of using all of them.
How do you launch a SaaS on Product Hunt?
Product Hunt is a platform for launching and discovering new technology products. A launch can introduce your product to a relevant audience and collect early feedback, but it does not guarantee 10 customers, so plan to follow up with interested visitors afterward.
Before you submit, prepare:
A working product website.
A clear product name and tagline.
A concise product description.
High-quality screenshots.
A demo video or GIF, where useful.
A clear statement of who the product helps.
Someone available to answer questions on launch day.
State the real benefit. Instead of “We built an amazing productivity platform,” write “Organize your team’s projects, track tasks, and manage deadlines from one workspace.”
Treat the launch as a conversation, not an upvote contest. Answer comments honestly and explain what you learned while building. Avoid fake accounts and artificial engagement, which violate platform guidelines. Read the official Product Hunt Launch Guide before planning your campaign.
Which SaaS directories should you submit to?
Listing your SaaS on relevant software directories creates extra discovery points, because people use directories to find new apps, compare software, and look for solutions to specific problems. Each directory has a different audience and process, so prioritize relevance over volume.
Offers paid submission options; review current pricing, eligibility, and refund terms
What should a good directory listing include?
A good listing explains clearly what your software does and who it is for. Prepare the product name, official website, short tagline, clear description, main features, target audience, logo, relevant screenshots, and pricing information if applicable. Avoid exaggerated claims and keyword stuffing.
How do you measure whether directories work?
Submitting to 20 directories does not produce 20 customers. Track referral visits, product page views, website clicks, registrations, trial activations, and paying customers per directory, then keep the ones that send relevant users. Our guide to the Best SaaS Directories to Submit Your Product in 2026 covers more options.
How do you use Reddit and Indie Hackers to find early users?
Use them to understand customer problems and contribute useful answers, not to broadcast promotion. Joining a community only to advertise your SaaS is rarely a good long-term strategy.
Reddit. Subreddits exist for almost every software category, such as SaaS, programming, web development, entrepreneurship, productivity, ecommerce, and AI. Read each subreddit’s rules first, then look for discussions where people describe a problem your product might solve. If you built a website performance tool, join conversations about monitoring, debugging, and optimization. Share practical knowledge even when your product isn’t relevant. Where self-promotion is allowed and genuinely relevant, explain how your product helps without exaggeration. Never use repeated promotional comments, fake accounts, or workarounds for community restrictions.
Indie Hackers.Indie Hackers is a community for independent founders. Use it to learn from other founders, share lessons from building, discuss customer acquisition challenges, and ask for feedback. One thoughtful conversation with a relevant founder can be worth more than a promotional post seen by hundreds of unrelated people.
How do you get SaaS users from X and LinkedIn?
Share real progress and message relevant people individually. You don’t need thousands of followers, only access to people who understand the problem you solve.
On X, share what you are building, problems you hit, features you released, lessons from user conversations, and improvements based on feedback. A post that works because it is honest:
Building a SaaS product is one thing. Getting the first few people to actually use it is another. I’m learning that talking to potential users, understanding their problems, and improving the product matters more than announcing new features. Back to building.
On LinkedIn, write about common problems in your industry, how your product approaches them, lessons from building, and practical advice for your target audience. Search for professionals who match your ICP and read their profile before messaging.
What is a good founder outreach template?
A good template is short, specific, and asks for perspective rather than a purchase. Personalize every message and never send identical copy to hundreds of people:
Subject: Quick question about [specific problem]
Hi [Name],
I came across your work in [industry or area] and noticed you work with [specific context]. I’m building [Product Name], a tool that helps [target audience] with [specific problem]. I’m speaking with people who face this challenge to understand how they handle it. Would you be open to sharing how you approach it?
No pressure if you’re busy. I’d genuinely appreciate your perspective. Thanks!
If someone doesn’t respond, don’t keep contacting them. Respect opt-outs.
How do SEO and AI search help you get SaaS users?
SEO attracts people who are actively searching for a solution, and useful content keeps attracting visitors after you publish it. It is not an instant acquisition method, but unlike paid ads it doesn’t stop when you stop spending.
Write around customer problems. For an email marketing SaaS, topics include how to build an email list, best email marketing tools for small businesses, email automation for startups, and how to improve campaign performance.
Publish honest comparison articles. People compare software before choosing. Examples: best project management tools for startups, alternatives to popular developer tools, best AI tools for small businesses. Explain differences, limitations, and use cases instead of declaring your own product the winner.
Make your product page answer six questions: what the SaaS does, who it is for, what problem it solves, how it works, what it costs, and how to get started. Use descriptive headings, meaningful page titles, screenshots, and clear calls to action.
Link related pages. A guide on customer acquisition can link to a guide on SaaS directories, and directory pages can link to individual product listings. Internal links help visitors navigate and help search engines understand how pages relate.
How do you make content easier for AI search to cite?
There is no guaranteed way to appear in AI-generated answers, but you can make your content easier to understand and quote. Answer the main question early, use descriptive headings, give clear definitions, include useful examples, support claims with trustworthy sources, keep product information accurate, and avoid generic repetitive content. Also make sure your pages render their main content in plain HTML and that your robots.txt does not block search-related crawlers you want to be cited by.
Google’s guidance on AI features and your website explains how established search requirements apply to AI-powered search experiences. Use Google Search Console to monitor impressions, clicks, queries, and indexing. More impressions do not necessarily mean more customers, so track sign-ups and conversions separately.
How do you turn your first users into referrals?
Talk to every early user, make onboarding smooth, and ask for introductions only after they have had a genuinely good experience. Getting someone to try your SaaS is only the start; you need to know whether they find it useful enough to keep using.
Talk to users after signup. Ask what made them try the product, whether setup was confusing, which feature is most useful, what would improve the experience, and what is missing. Don’t just ask whether they like it; learn how they actually use it.
Improve onboarding. A new user should immediately know what to do. Consider a short welcome message, a simple setup guide, one clear first action, helpful empty states, contextual tips, and accessible support.
Ask for referrals naturally. For example: “Glad the product has been useful. If you know someone dealing with the same problem, feel free to share it.” Add a formal referral program later, once you understand your acquisition and retention economics. Never pressure users to recommend something they haven’t found useful.
Collect honest testimonials. Ask permission before publishing feedback, preserve its meaning, and never fabricate quotes or imply a few testimonials represent your entire customer base.
What are the most common mistakes when getting early SaaS users?
The most common mistakes are targeting everyone, building features before understanding customers, relying on one launch post, spreading across too many platforms, and confusing traffic with customers. The table summarizes eight mistakes and how to fix each.
Mistake
Why it hurts
Fix
Targeting everyone
A product for everyone communicates value to nobody
Start with a specific audience, expand later
Building features before understanding customers
More features don’t automatically add value
Prioritize problems users actually report
Relying on launch announcements
One post is not a distribution strategy
Keep sharing, joining communities, and talking to people
Joining too many platforms
Quality of participation drops
Pick a few channels where your users already are
Confusing traffic with customers
A thousand visitors are not a thousand users
Measure sign-ups, activation, trials, and purchases
Ignoring early feedback
Early users notice problems you missed
Find recurring issues and fix them first
Expecting instant SEO results
Search engines need time to crawl and evaluate pages
Publish useful content, monitor, and improve
Using artificial engagement
Fake reviews and manipulation damage trust
Earn attention through real contributions
What is a practical 30-day plan to get your first 10 SaaS users?
A practical plan is four weeks: audience research, conversations, discovery, then conversion and retention. The targets below are activity goals, not guaranteed customer results.
Week 1: Understand your audience
Goal: identify the people most likely to need your product.
Define your ideal customer profile.
Write down the main problem your product solves.
Research 20 relevant potential users.
Identify communities where your audience participates.
Review competing solutions.
Improve your main landing page.
Output: a clear target audience, a prospect list, and a more focused message.
Week 2: Start conversations
Goal: speak with potential customers and learn about their problems.
Contact 10–15 relevant people with personalized messages.
Ask how they currently solve the problem.
Participate in relevant online discussions.
Share two or three useful social posts.
Ask for feedback on your positioning.
Fix confusing parts of your website.
Output: meaningful conversations and a better understanding of customers.
Week 3: Improve discovery
Goal: give potential customers more ways to find your SaaS.
Prepare a Product Hunt launch if appropriate.
Submit to 3–5 relevant directories.
Share a useful build-in-public update.
Publish one search-focused article.
Connect with relevant founders and professionals.
Review referral traffic from existing sources.
Output: more discovery points and early feedback from relevant audiences.
Week 4: Improve conversion and retention
Goal: turn interested visitors into active users.
Follow up with people who showed genuine interest.
Improve signup and onboarding.
Fix important usability problems.
Ask early users about their experience.
Request honest feedback and testimonials where appropriate.
Invite satisfied users to share the product.
Review signups, activation, and referral sources.
Output: clarity on which channels and improvements help you acquire and retain users.
30-day tracking sheet
Metric
Target
Relevant prospects researched
20
Personalized outreach messages
10–15
Meaningful conversations
5–10
Relevant directory submissions
3–5
Useful social posts
6–8
Search-focused articles
1
Product feedback conversations
3–5
First genuine users
10
Adjust these working targets to your time, product category, and audience. If you get fewer than 10 users, the information you collect still shows what to change.
Frequently asked questions
How can I get my first 10 SaaS users?
Start by identifying a specific target audience. Speak with potential customers, share your product in relevant communities, submit it to suitable directories, publish useful content, and send personalized outreach. Focus on solving a real problem rather than maximizing website visits.
Can I grow a SaaS without paid ads?
Yes. Founders can use organic channels such as SEO, product directories, founder communities, social media, direct outreach, and referrals. These need time and consistent effort, and results vary by product and audience.
How do I promote a SaaS product for free?
Create useful content, participate in relevant communities, connect with potential users, share your development journey, and use directories with free submission options. Review each platform’s rules and eligibility requirements before promoting.
Is Product Hunt enough to get SaaS users?
No. Product Hunt can introduce your product to a launch audience, but it should not be your only channel. Keep speaking with potential customers, collecting feedback, improving onboarding, and building long-term discovery channels.
Are SaaS directories useful for new startups?
They can be, because they give people more places to discover software. Their value depends on audience relevance, listing quality, and actual reach. Track referral visits and conversions instead of assuming every listing will bring customers.
How long does it take to get the first SaaS customers?
There is no universal timeline. Some founders find interested users quickly through existing relationships, while others need months of customer research and product improvements. It depends on the problem, market, product readiness, and distribution strategy.
Should I offer my SaaS for free to get early users?
A free trial, limited free plan, or early-access arrangement lowers the barrier to trying your product. Choose a model that also shows whether users get enough value to consider paying, make the terms clear, and don’t promise features you can’t deliver.
How many marketing channels should a new SaaS founder use?
Start with two or three channels where your target customers are already active. Focus on consistent participation and measurable results before expanding to other platforms.
Final thoughts: focus on your first 10 real users
Getting your first 10 SaaS users without paid ads is possible, but it takes more than launch announcements. Understand your customers, explain your value clearly, take part in relevant communities, publish useful content, and build real relationships. Your first 10 users may come from different conversations, communities, referrals, and discovery channels, so build a repeatable process instead of relying on one-time promotion.
Looking for another place to showcase your SaaS? Explore Makerora, a SaaS discovery directory where founders can showcase their software and help people discover useful products.
Build something useful. Talk to real people. Grow one user at a time.
