Community Outreach

/community-outreach

Find relevant community threads (Reddit, Hacker News, ProductHunt) and draft contextual, value-first responses. NOT spam — genuine helpful answers that naturally mention the product.

MCP Tools (use if available)

If MCP tools are not available, use WebSearch/WebFetch as fallback.

Steps

1. Parse project from $ARGUMENTS. - Read PRD/README to understand: problem, solution, ICP, key features. - If empty: ask via AskUserQuestion.

2. Extract search keywords: - Problem keywords (what users complain about) - Solution keywords (what users search for) - Category keywords (the market/niche) - Competitor names (for "vs" and "alternative" threads)

3. Search communities (run searches in parallel):

### 3a. Reddit For each keyword group, search via MCP web_search(query) or WebSearch: - "{problem} reddit" — pain point threads - "{solution category} recommendations reddit" — recommendation requests - "{competitor} alternative reddit" — competitor frustration - "{competitor} vs reddit" — comparison threads

For each result, extract: subreddit, title, URL, post date, comment count. Filter: prefer threads < 6 months old, > 5 comments (active).

### 3b. Hacker News Search via site:news.ycombinator.com: - "Show HN: {similar product category}" — similar launches - "Ask HN: {problem domain}" — questions in the space - "{competitor name} site:news.ycombinator.com" — competitor mentions

Extract: title, URL, points, comment count.

### 3c. ProductHunt Search via site:producthunt.com: - "{product category} site:producthunt.com" — similar launches - "{competitor} site:producthunt.com" — competitor pages

Extract: product names, launch dates, upvote counts, taglines.

### 3d. Other Communities (optional) - site:indiehackers.com "{problem}" — Indie Hackers - site:dev.to "{solution category}" — Dev.to (if technical product)

4. Forced reasoning — outreach strategy: Before drafting, write out: - Best 5 threads to engage with (highest relevance + activity) - Tone per community: Reddit (casual, self-deprecating), HN (technical, data-driven), PH (enthusiastic, builder) - Value-first angle: What genuine help can we offer BEFORE mentioning the product? - Red lines: No astroturfing, no fake accounts, always disclose you're the builder

5. Draft responses for top 5 threads:

For each thread:

   ### Thread: {title}
   URL: {url}
   Subreddit/Community: {community}
   Why relevant: {1 sentence}
   Draft response:
   {2-4 paragraph response that:
   - Directly addresses the question/problem
   - Provides genuine value (tips, experience, data)
   - Mentions the product naturally (last paragraph)
   - Includes "disclaimer: I'm the developer" for transparency
   }
   

6. Generate ProductHunt launch checklist:

   ## ProductHunt Launch Checklist
   ### Pre-Launch (1 week before)
   - [ ] Hunter identified (or self-hunting)
   - [ ] Tagline ready (< 60 chars): "{tagline}"
   - [ ] Description ready (< 260 chars)
   - [ ] 5+ screenshots/GIF prepared
   - [ ] Maker comment drafted (story + problem + solution)
   - [ ] Launch day scheduled (Tuesday-Thursday, 00:01 PST)
   ### Launch Day
   - [ ] Post live and verified
   - [ ] Maker comment posted immediately
   - [ ] Share in relevant communities (not vote-begging)
   - [ ] Respond to all comments within 1 hour
   - [ ] Share progress on Twitter/LinkedIn
   ### Post-Launch
   - [ ] Thank supporters
   - [ ] Collect feedback from comments
   - [ ] Update product based on feedback
   

7. Write outreach plan to docs/outreach-plan.md:

   # Community Outreach Plan: {Project Name}
   Generated: {YYYY-MM-DD}
   Product: {one-line description}
   ICP: {target persona}
   ## Target Communities
   | Community | Relevant Threads Found | Priority |
   |-----------|----------------------|----------|
   | r/{subreddit} | N | high/medium/low |
   | Hacker News | N | high/medium/low |
   | ProductHunt | N | high/medium/low |
   ## Top Threads to Engage
   {5 thread drafts from step 5}
   ## ProductHunt Launch Checklist
   {checklist from step 6}
   ## Search Keywords Used
   - {keyword1}: N results
   - {keyword2}: N results
   ---
   *Generated by /community-outreach. Review all drafts before posting.*
   

8. Output summary — communities found, top 3 threads to engage, PH readiness.

Critical Rules

1. Value first, product second — every response must genuinely help the person 2. Always disclose — "I'm the developer" or "disclaimer: I built this" 3. No vote manipulation — never ask for upvotes 4. No astroturfing — never pretend to be a user 5. Respect community rules — check subreddit rules before posting 6. Quality over quantity — 5 great responses > 50 generic ones

Common Issues

Web search not available

No relevant threads found

Responses sound promotional