Where to promote your side project for free (and how to do it well)

Knowing where to promote your side project for free is half the battle. The other half is doing it in a way people actually respond to. There are more free places to share a project than anyone has time for, so this guide focuses on the ones that tend to be worth the effort for indie makers, and on how to show up in each without coming across as spam.

First, decide who you are trying to reach

Every free channel has a different crowd. Other makers will happily give feedback and encouragement, but they are not always your customers. Your real users are usually in communities organized around their hobby, job or problem. Before you post anywhere, write one sentence describing the person who would pay for your project. Then ask of each channel: does that person hang out here?

1. Communities where your users already talk

These are often the best free channels, because people there already care about the problem.

• Niche forums and subreddits for the profession or hobby, such as tabletop gaming, home cooking, freelancing or studying.
• Discord and Slack groups around a tool, language, game or interest.
• Facebook groups for local or hobby communities, which are still very active for many non-tech audiences.

Read the rules first. Many communities have a dedicated thread or day for self-promotion. Where promotion is not allowed, be helpful without linking and keep your project in your profile. Where it is allowed, share what problem it solves, say plainly that you made it, and ask for feedback.

2. Maker and launch communities

Places built for sharing new projects are a good way to get early feedback, a few first users and some links.

• Launch platforms where you schedule a launch day and the community votes on new products.
• Indie maker forums where people share progress, revenue lessons and launches.
• "Show" threads on developer news sites, where makers post what they built and get candid comments.

These crowds respond best to a clear explanation, an honest story and a quick way to try the project. Be ready to reply to comments the whole day.

3. Directories and marketplaces

Directories rarely create a big spike, but they bring steady discovery and give search engines another page that links to you. Choose ones that match your category: app stores for mobile apps, itch.io for games, Chrome Web Store for extensions, GitHub topics and awesome lists for open-source tools, and general indie directories for everything else. Write each listing for its audience, use a good cover image, and keep the price and stage honest.

4. Social platforms

Social media is free, but it rewards consistency more than one-off announcements.

• X has a large, active community of makers and early adopters. Replying thoughtfully to others in your niche is often what grows your reach.
• Bluesky and Mastodon have smaller but friendly tech and creative communities where genuine posts get real replies.
• LinkedIn works well for tools aimed at professionals and businesses.
• Short video platforms such as TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels suit products that are easy to show in a few seconds.

Pick one or two platforms and post regularly, rather than spreading thin across all of them. Share the build, small lessons and real use cases, not just the link.

5. Newsletters, blogs and podcasts

Many small newsletters and blogs in every niche are looking for things to feature. Send a short, personal note to the editor: what you built, who it helps, and why it might interest their readers. Do not send the same template to everyone. Small podcasts in your niche are also often open to interviewing makers with an interesting story.

6. Your own content

Content you publish on your own site is free and keeps working. A helpful guide that answers a question your users search for can bring visitors for years. Free templates, checklists or small tools related to your product are especially good, because people share and link to them.

7. Your existing users

Do not forget the people already using your project. Ask happy users if they know someone with the same problem, make sharing easy inside the product where it fits, and ask for an honest review on the platforms where reviews matter.

How to promote without being ignored

• Lead with the problem, not the product name. People care about what it does for them.
• Show, don't just tell. A short demo video or screenshot beats a paragraph of features.
• Be upfront that you built it, what it costs and what stage it is at.
• Reply to everyone who takes the time to comment, including critics.
• Do not copy and paste the same post everywhere. Adapt it to each community.
• Track where visitors come from with simple tags on your links, so you know which channels to keep.

A simple four-week plan

1. Week 1: write your one-sentence user description, set up your profiles, and list your project in three relevant directories.
2. Week 2: join two communities where your users talk and spend the week being helpful.
3. Week 3: share the project in one maker community and one user community, and reply to every comment.
4. Week 4: pitch two newsletters, publish one helpful guide on your site, and review which channels brought real users.

Keep the channels that worked and drop the rest. Free promotion costs time, so spend it where your users are.

Start with a free listing

One of the easiest places to begin: list your project free on the Digital Underground Developer Marketplace. Your listing gets its own indexed page, buyers go straight to your own checkout, and there is no fee or cut of sales. For a little extra visibility, enter the Maker League and put your project in front of other makers.