ph-safe-messaging

SKILL.md

---
name: ph-safe-messaging
description: Write Product Hunt compliant messages and requests. Use this skill to craft outreach, social posts, and supporter communications that follow community guidelines and avoid penalties.
---

# Product Hunt Safe Messaging

This skill helps you write messages that effectively rally support while staying within Product Hunt's community guidelines.

## When to Use This Skill

- Writing launch day emails
- Creating social media posts
- Briefing supporters
- Responding to "how can I help?" questions
- Crafting any public launch messaging

## The Core Principle

**NEVER explicitly ask for upvotes.**

Product Hunt guidelines are clear: asking or incentivizing people to upvote can trigger algorithm penalties or get your product unfeatured.

## Language Conversion Guide

### Forbidden → Allowed

| ❌ Don't Say | ✓ Say Instead |
|--------------|---------------|
| "Please upvote" | "Check it out" |
| "Vote for us" | "We'd love your support" |
| "Upvote if you like it" | "Let us know what you think" |
| "Every vote counts" | "Your feedback means a lot" |
| "Help us reach #1" | "Excited to share this with you" |
| "Click the upvote button" | "Take a look and share your thoughts" |
| "We need your upvotes" | "We need your feedback" |
| "Vote now" | "Check it out now" |

### Incentive Language

| ❌ Don't Say | ✓ Say Instead |
|--------------|---------------|
| "Upvote for 20% off" | "PH community gets 20% off" |
| "Voters get early access" | "Everyone from PH gets early access" |
| "First 100 upvoters win" | "First 100 signups from PH win" |
| "Vote to enter giveaway" | "Visit our PH page to enter giveaway" |

## Safe Message Templates

### Email Templates

#### Template 1: Simple Announcement
```
Subject: [Product] is live on Product Hunt!

Hey [Name],

We just launched [Product] on Product Hunt!

[One sentence about what it does]

→ Check it out here: [Link]

If you find it useful, we'd really appreciate you
sharing your thoughts in the comments. Honest
feedback helps us improve!

Thanks for your support,
[Your Name]
```

#### Template 2: Personal Ask
```
Subject: Would love your support today

Hey [Name],

Today's a big day — [Product] just went live
on Product Hunt.

After [X months] of building, it's finally out there.
A bit nervous, honestly!

If you have a moment to take a look: [Link]

Any feedback — good or bad — would mean a lot.
And if you think it's cool, sharing it would
make my day.

No pressure either way. Just excited to
share this with you.

[Your Name]
```

#### Template 3: For Active Users
```
Subject: We're on Product Hunt — your experience matters

Hi [Name],

As someone who's been using [Product], I wanted
to let you know we just launched on Product Hunt.

→ [Link]

If you have a moment, I'd love for the PH community
to hear about your experience. Your perspective
as a real user is incredibly valuable.

Of course, only if you genuinely have good things
to say — authentic feedback is what we're after!

Thanks for being an early believer,
[Your Name]
```

### Social Media Templates

#### Twitter/X

**Simple Announcement:**
```
🚀 Just launched [Product] on @ProductHunt!

[One line value prop]

Would love your feedback → [Link]

#ProductHunt
```

**Story Version:**
```
After [X months] of building, [Product] is
finally live on @ProductHunt.

[Why you built it]

Take a look and let me know what you think → [Link]
```

**Progress Update:**
```
Wow! [X] hours into our @ProductHunt launch:

• [X] people have checked it out
• [X] amazing comments and feedback
• Learning so much from this community

Thanks for the support! 🙏 → [Link]
```

#### LinkedIn

**Professional Announcement:**
```
Excited to share that [Product] launched on
Product Hunt today.

After [context], we built [solution] to help
[target audience] [achieve outcome].

If this sounds relevant to your work, I'd
genuinely appreciate you taking a look and
sharing your professional feedback.

[Link in comments]

#ProductHunt #[Relevant tags]
```

### Supporter Briefing

**What to Tell Supporters:**
```
Hey! Just a quick note on how to support our
Product Hunt launch:

PLEASE DO:
✓ Check out the product page
✓ Leave a genuine comment about your thoughts
✓ Share with anyone who might find it useful
✓ Answer any questions others have

PLEASE DON'T:
✗ Just write "Great product!" (low value)
✗ All comment at the exact same time
✗ Create new accounts just to support
✗ Copy/paste the same comment

The most valuable thing? Authentic engagement.
Tell us what you actually think!

Link: [Link]
```

### Responding to "How Can I Help?"

**When Someone Asks:**

❌ Don't say:
"Please go upvote!"

✓ Do say:
```
Thanks so much for asking!

Here's what would be most helpful:
1. Check out our page: [Link]
2. If you genuinely like it, leave a comment
   with your thoughts
3. Share with anyone you think would find it useful

Your honest feedback is what we're really after.
If you see things we should improve, I want to
hear that too!
```

### Handling Comment Requests

**When Preparing Comment Examples:**

❌ Don't say:
"Please post this exact comment: [script]"

✓ Do say:
```
Some ideas for what to comment about:
• What problem this solves for you
• A feature you find interesting
• A question about how something works
• Honest feedback on what could be better

Make it your own — authentic voices are way
more valuable than scripted comments!
```

## Platform-Specific Guidelines

### In Product Hunt Comments

**Allowed:**
- Thanking people genuinely
- Answering questions
- Sharing relevant information
- Acknowledging feedback

**Not Allowed:**
- Asking commenters to upvote
- Self-promotion on other products
- Spammy responses
- Begging for support

### In Direct Messages

**Allowed:**
- Following up on comments
- Answering specific questions
- Building genuine relationships

**Not Allowed:**
- Mass messaging users
- Asking strangers to upvote
- Spamming launch links

### In External Communications

**Allowed:**
- Announcing your launch
- Sharing the link
- Asking for feedback
- Offering genuine value

**Not Allowed:**
- Explicit vote requests
- Vote-for-reward schemes
- Misleading urgency
- Fake scarcity

## Safe Messaging Checklist

### Before Sending Any Message

- [ ] No explicit vote request
- [ ] No vote-for-reward language
- [ ] Focus on feedback, not voting
- [ ] Genuine, not manipulative
- [ ] Would you be embarrassed if PH saw this?

### Message Quality Check

- [ ] Personalized (not mass copy-paste)
- [ ] Clear what you're asking for
- [ ] Respectful of recipient's time
- [ ] Value offered (not just asking)
- [ ] Appropriate for the relationship

## Red Flag Phrases

### Avoid These Completely

```
"Upvote" (verb)
"Vote for"
"Click upvote"
"Every vote counts"
"Help us win"
"We need votes"
"Vote to support"
"Upvote if you"
"First to upvote"
"Vote now"
```

### These Are Fine

```
"Check it out"
"Take a look"
"Share your thoughts"
"Give us feedback"
"Let us know what you think"
"Support our launch"
"We'd appreciate your feedback"
"Leave a comment"
"Tell us what you think"
```

## Output Format

```
MESSAGE REVIEW FOR: [Product Name]

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
"[Original text]"

ISSUES FOUND:
- [Issue 1]: [Location in text]
- [Issue 2]: [Location in text]

REVISED MESSAGE:
"[Compliant version]"

COMPLIANCE CHECK:
✓ No explicit vote requests
✓ No vote incentives
✓ Focus on feedback/support
✓ Genuine tone
✓ Appropriate for platform

STATUS: [Compliant / Needs revision]
```