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Marc Lou's Free Distribution Checklist

A 10-step checklist to get your first 1,000 visitors for $0

From the Xiry library · Updated 11 October 2026

A zero-budget marketing playbook by indie hacker Marc Lou outlining ten specific platforms and tactics to drive initial traffic to a new product. It focuses on community launches, video, and social outreach, paired with the strategy of creating a free utility tool to act as a permanent distribution board.

The list

Anyone can get 1,000 visitors for $0 by doing this:

- Post in r/SideProject

- Post in Show Hacker News

- Launch on Uneed

- Launch on TinyLaunch

- Launch on Product Hunt

- Make a short video for Instagram

- Make a longer video for YouTube

- Write 280 characters for a tweet

- Write your story on IndieHackers

- Cold outreach an influencer, give your product for free

No visitors yet? Build a free tool (aka. your own advertising board) and repeat all the above.

What it's for

  • Plan a zero-dollar product launch campaign across online communities
  • Drive initial traffic and early adopters to a newly launched side project
  • Brainstorm free tool ideas to serve as ongoing lead magnets

Key points

  • Community posting targets including r/SideProject and Show HN
  • Product launch directory targets including Uneed, TinyLaunch, and Product Hunt
  • Short-form and long-form video content ideas for Instagram and YouTube
  • Story-driven text formats for Twitter/X and Indie Hackers
  • Influencer outreach strategy offering free access in exchange for attention
  • Side-project marketing fallback: building a free tool as an owned ad board

Pricing

Free

Details

Type
List
Category
Marketing & Sales
Topic
Launch Strategies
Open source
No
Platforms
other
For
Indie hackers, solo founders, and bootstrapped product creators
Tags
distribution, marketing, indie hacker, growth, launch, bootstrapping

Why it was saved

  • @marclou, 1 April 2025: Concrete, actionable distribution playbook for launching a product with zero budget; each entry is a specific place or format to post.

Related

Updated