Ask HN: How to start up as an individual developer?

I have been trying to become an individual developer for a period, and have developed several tools or little projects (mainly open source). Some of them actually are very helpful at least to me, but unfortunately I am the only one to use them.

No pull requests, no issues, even no stars except the only one from myself. I found it hard for them to be seen. I feel down because if there are no users, I can't get any feedbacks and it's hard for me to improve my projects. I feel trapped into a hole and can do nothing but to stay at the origin and get drowned.

How can I promote my open-source projects (and maybe products in the future) ? I'll really appreciate it if someone with related experiences can offer me some advice.

11 points | by alexyan0431 2 days ago

7 comments

  • the__alchemist 16 hours ago
    This is normal. Projects used by others are the exception. They are usually driven by skilled marketing efforts or funding.
    [-]
    • alexyan0431 9 hours ago
      Yes. Marketing skills are significant, and I'm trying to learn more about it. It's just at the early stage for me though lol. I hope I can stick to it.
  • nicbou 1 day ago
    > No pull requests, no issues, even no stars

    This is the standard for most projects

    What is your objective?

    [-]
    • alexyan0431 1 day ago
      I totally agree! As most of developers do, I want my projects to be seen by more users. It's really helpful to find out the drawbacks in my projects and make me realize how to imporve my works. I need feedbacks, both positive and negative are welcome. So I'm writing this post to ask my seniors for advice and experiences on how to promote an open-source project.
  • OutrageousTea 20 hours ago
    Post it where your users already spend time and keep it simple—show what problem it solves, not just the code.
    [-]
    • alexyan0431 9 hours ago
      Agreed. I think that's the basis of promotion and marketing: find your users and make sure you can reach them. I'll try to be more focused on meeting the needs. Ty.
  • milkytron 1 day ago
    What do you find them useful for? Could they potentially provide value to another open source project if integrated?
    [-]
    • alexyan0431 1 day ago
      The inspiration came from scattered fragments of my observed needs in life, so it may be hard to intergrate the tools. But I can intentionally do this afterwards. Thank you for your comment.
  • didgetmaster 1 day ago
    You could start by putting a link to your projects or blogs in your HN profile.
    [-]
  • hnarayanan 1 day ago
    Please share some of your tools.
    [-]
  • ambertime 1 day ago
    [dead]