Ask HN: Why is it so hard to promote/market even when the product seems right

Posted by lywald on Monday November 02, 2026 @08:56PM
from the ask-hn dept.

I won't post my projects here as this is beside the point. All the time I'm seeing other people promote their stuff, and it is lost in the gates of oblivion.

Is this inherently inavoidable? Is there no solution to this conundrum? Where is the genius that will saves all the genius? Is there no riddle here to solve?

I wish someone old and wise would explain why this mess is unsolvable. An explanation to this lack of explanations. The product is right, but the customers do not care.

I think I read you need 10X more powerful than the competition to grab the attention away. We are men of honour, struggling for minutes of eyeballs. This is disheartening.

( 5 comments | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Why is it so hard to promote/market even when the... by akerl_ on Monday November 02, 2026 @09:05PM (#50347078)

Are you asking why marketing exists as a field?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Why is it so hard to promote/market even when the... by uberman on Monday November 02, 2026 @09:11PM (#50347110)

On the internet, we have become conditioned to belive that almost all products and information is free. I once woked for a company where people who used our product on average saved $5000 on thier large dollar one time pirchase. We tried pricing it at 500 then 100 then 50 with no customers at all. It was only when it was free that people loved it and saved huge bucks. No a single customer would pay to save themselves 5000

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Why is it so hard to promote/market even when the... by silverFork on Monday November 02, 2026 @10:08PM (#50347541)

I am not very wise but here is my rant. Are you yourself buying all the products that are 10x better than something that you are using already?. It takes time and effort and money to update the stuff. Comparing is difficult and hard to justify unless one is looking for a replacement.

So you have to focus on unhappy people who are looking to replace that functionality. Marketing it to general public may not work.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Why is it so hard to promote/market even when the... by bediger4000 on Monday November 02, 2026 @10:29PM (#50347694)

I think that all the previous advertisers and marketers have poisoned the well, so to speak. A great deal of advertising and marketing is sleazy, lying or otherwise filled with falsehoods. Advertisers have on the whole over advertised, which ruins whatever medium carries the ads.look at Google: great search, corrupted by advertising before "AI" put a,stake through the heart of advertising.

We've all gotten ripped off by advertising marketing, so we tend to ignore it, or subvert it when we can. I personally don't care that you say you're earnest and of good faith. Every other sleazebag before you has said the same thing, then sold me shoddy goods.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Why is it so hard to promote/market even when the... by dieselgate on Monday November 02, 2026 @11:36PM (#50348133)

I'm not sure the limiting factor is "hard to promote". Are people knocking on every door in a 5 minute walking radius of their house--for example. It totally depends on the product, if it's niche or a better-mousetrap

[ Parent | on HN ]