Guide
How to get users after building your app with Lovable
In this article
Lovable gets you to a working product fast. The hard part now is getting people to find it.
This guide is for a solo founder with a live app and almost no users. The first aim is 5 to 10 people who use the app and come back, rather than thousands of visits. After that, you want a repeatable way to reach more people like them.
- Fix what leaks visitors before you send any: domain, signup, mobile.
- Pick 1 narrow audience and 1 channel, and stay with them before you add more.
- Talk to 20 people who have the problem before you buy anything.
- Add a page that answers the exact question your customer types into an AI assistant.
- Track the 1 event that shows someone got value, rather than counting page views.
Fix what leaks visitors
Each visitor takes effort to win, so check the basics before anyone arrives.
- Use a custom domain. A default preview address makes the app look unfinished, and people are less keen to share it.
- Sign up in a private window with a fresh email. Check the confirmation email lands in the inbox, not spam.
- Open every screen on your phone, the way someone tapping a shared link will see it.
- Add a link preview image and a plain title, so a shared link looks like a product.
- Make the headline say who it is for and what changes for them.
Pick 1 audience and 1 problem
Write 1 sentence: I help [specific person] get [specific outcome] without [current frustration]. If you can't fill it in, you aren't ready to promote the app yet.
| If your app is | Start with |
|---|---|
| A niche tool for a painful problem | Targeted subreddits, specialist forums, Discord servers |
| For businesses or professionals | Direct messages on LinkedIn, offers of free setup |
| A visual or consumer app | Short screen recordings on TikTok, Reels and Shorts |
| For founders or developers | Product Hunt, Indie Hackers, build-in-public posts |
Talk to 20 people who have the problem
Find people already complaining about the problem. Send a short, personal message. Open with their problem and leave the fact that you built an app until later in the message.
I noticed you're dealing with [problem]. I built a small tool that helps [type of person] get [result]. Could you try it for 10 minutes and tell me where it falls short? No pitch, I want honest feedback.Watch 3 people attempt the core task. Where they get stuck, that's something to fix in the product. Ask the ones who stay for a referral, a testimonial or a payment.
Measure 1 activation event
Pick the action that proves a person got value: a booking made, a project saved, a report created. Ask Lovable to log it.
Add analytics for these events: landing_page_view, signup_started, signup_completed, activation_completed, invite_sent. Activation means [YOUR KEY ACTION].Then read the funnel from the weakest step. Visitors but no signups means fix the landing page. Signups but no activation means shorten the path to value. Activation but no return means give people a reason to come back, such as a weekly report or an alert.
Get named where AI assistants look
People ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity which tool to use. Ask each of them how to get users for an app you built with Lovable, and look at which sources the answer cites. If they're launch directories, community forums or how-to guides, those are the places to be present on.
- List the app on Product Hunt and 1 or 2 directories your customers use. The listing itself becomes a source an answer can cite.
- Reply in the threads where your customer already asks about the problem. Answer the question they asked and leave out the pitch.
- Publish 1 page on your own site that answers the exact question your customer types, in their words. Say plainly who the app is for and what it does not do.
- Re-ask the question in each engine every few weeks and note whether you appear and which sources are cited.
What to skip for now
Skip paid ads until people use the product repeatedly and you know what a retained user is worth. Skip adding features until 5 people have asked for the same thing.
Where AfterLaunch fits
AfterLaunch asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity your customers' questions, shows where you are missing and which sources they cite, then ranks and drafts the next growth move. You or your AI finish the work, and you approve what ships. It starts with a free scan.
How many users should I aim for first?
5 to 10 people who use the app and come back. That is enough to learn what resonates before you widen the audience.
Do I need a custom domain?
You don't need one to build, but it helps when you share the app. A default preview address makes it look unfinished, and a domain of your own makes it look like a real product.
Should I launch on Product Hunt?
It's worth doing once the core flow is stable. Think of it mainly as a listing that AI answers can cite, and plan other ways to reach people as well.
When should I pay for ads?
After people use the product repeatedly, signup works and you can measure which visitors become active users.
The free scan asks the AI engines your customers' questions and shows where you are named, who is named instead and which sources they cite.
Scan my site