https://dangauthier.page/tags/indie-dev/ Recent content in Indie Dev on Dan Gauthier Hugo en-us Mon, 04 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://dangauthier.page/posts/your-first-20-dms-giveaway-is-a-liability/ Mon, 04 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://dangauthier.page/posts/your-first-20-dms-giveaway-is-a-liability/ <p>If you&rsquo;re an indie developer, you know the grind. You’ve spent months building your app, and now it’s time to get it in front of real users. A promo code giveaway on Twitter or Reddit seems like the obvious first step. It is what I do, it’s what everyone does.</p> <p>I felt it was also a strategic mistake.</p> <h3 id="the-real-cost-of-a-free-giveaway">The Real Cost of a &ldquo;Free&rdquo; Giveaway</h3> <p>The “first 20 DMs get a code” approach isn’t just inefficient - it’s a liability. Every manual giveaway burns hours of your most valuable resource: time. It creates a frustrating user experience, especially for folks in different time zones, and it leaves your most powerful growth opportunity completely untouched.</p>