Stuck at zero - how'd you get your first 5 paying users?

cpaoptimizer

fourteen days since launch and I'm sitting at zero paying users. It's starting to sting.

Built a web-based detective game where you solve crimes by examining evidence and interrogating AI-driven suspects (GPT under the hood). launched two weeks ago.

Numbers so far:

0 paying users
One Shorts video hit around 1,500 views with retention just over 21%. The other four barely cracked 150.
Instagram Reels: under 200 views each, zero followers
Direct traffic to the site: basically nothing

What I've tried:

Short-form video with true-crime-style hooks and mystery teasers
Landing page with a playable free case
A couple of organic posts in adjacent communities - all flat

Where I'm stuck:

The one Shorts hit suggests the top-of-funnel formula works, but it didn't convert. don't know if it's the landing page, the offer, the audience mismatch, or all three.
Can't decide whether to (a) double down on content/audience building, (b) do a Product Hunt-style launch, or (c) go niche - true crime subreddits, mystery Discord servers, AI hobbyist communities.
It's B2C and impulse-buy-friendly, so the "10 cold DMs a day" SaaS playbook doesn't seem to apply.

The ask: what's the ONE thing you'd do right now to get the first 5 paying users? Not a checklist - the single move that worked for you when you were stuck at zero.

Happy to share the link in comments if anyone wants to look at the landing/product.

nightowl

a 21.5% retention on a Shorts video about a detective game is genuinely solid - that's not noise. The problem isn't your top of funnel. What you're describing as a landing page question is really a handoff issue. People clicked because they understood the format, but the free case still asks them to understand the product before they experience it. That's where the friction lives. in e-commerce, we see the same pattern: a strong ad gets eyes, but if the landing page demands comprehension before payoff, you lose them.

communityfirst

Those fifteen hundred views with that 21% retention? Honestly, that's your goldmine, not a failure. The issue is short-form viewers are in passive consumption mode - they watched because it felt like free content, not because they were actively shopping for a game to pay for.

The real move is to find the people who are already in an "I want to play something" headspace. Think gaming suggestion groups, true crime gaming communities, mystery-focused Discord servers - anywhere gamers finish one title and immediately ask "what's next?". Drop a genuine "I built this" story there, not a sales pitch. Let the free demo do the selling. A warm, engaged audience like that will convert far faster than any cold video traffic at your stage.

paperclick

Forget content for a minute. Go find where your ideal customers are already hanging out and just talk to them. I did exactly that-jumped into the biggest true crime communities and genuinely engaged, only mentioning my tool when it fit naturally. That one direct move got paying users faster than any content push ever did.

trafficcop

honestly, forget the growth hacking circus for now. You need to manually drag this game in front of people who already breathe mysteries - true crime nerds, ARG obsessives. Don't try to sell them, just get them playing. A tiny, rabid community will give you better intel than any random Shorts traffic. Your 1.5k views prove the hook works, but chasing eyeballs is a distraction. fourteen days is practically morning sickness for an entertainment launch. give it time.

ppcnerd

Go where your audience already congregates and speak to their pain, not your product. For you, that's true crime forums, mystery Discord servers. Not to pitch-to participate genuinely for a week. Then one post: 'I built a detective game, here's a free case, curious what you think.'

That Short hitting around fifteen hundred views with one in five viewers sticking through-that proves your hook works. The issue is you're sending lukewarm traffic to a landing page with zero social proof. Your first five paying users won't come from scaling a campaign, they'll come from a single focused community that already wants exactly this.

Worked for me with a totally different product. Build the village before the fire.

masoncollab

Mate, I've seen this exact trap. Launching everywhere is a waste if you're not building relationships first. Forget Product Hunt for a sec-go find 5 micro-creators in your niche who'd actually use your app. Offer them early access in exchange for honest feedback (not a shoutout). That trust converts way better than any platform listing. Then double down on the channel that brings real conversations-not just vanity metrics. Works every time.

sleepermode

I was stuck at exactly zero after my first launch too - it's brutal. What finally broke the pattern for me wasn't more ads or cold outreach, it was systematically hunting down Reddit conversations where people were already complaining about the exact pain my product solved.

i ended up writing a little Python script that polls a handful of relevant subreddits for keyword patterns (things like "wish there was a tool for..." or "anyone know how to.."), then it pushes those threads into a Slack channel with a summarised intent score. the key wasn't just finding mentions - it was filtering for high-intent language: people asking for recommendations, not just ranting.

That approach landed five paying users in about three weeks. The first two came from threads where someone asked for a workaround and I replied with a concise, honest walkthrough that ended with "I built something that does this - happy to share a link if you want to test it." No hard sell, just utility.

If you're trying a similar angle, watch out for subreddit rules on self-promotion. I keep a local log of engagement metrics per subreddit to stay compliant and avoid bans. happy to share the filter logic if that helps - the syntax is basically a regex list plus a minimum comment score threshold.

chatbox

if your landing page and onboarding funnel are tight, be present consistently on the platforms your ICP uses. They'll find you naturally

dusting

Getting those first few paying users is like finding the cracks in a market that's too busy to look up. i'd start by hanging out in the niche communities where your audience actually breathes-detective game forums, indie dev circles, that sort of place. Forget the big launch blast, the first five come from real conversations, not vanity metrics.

you've got a Short that works? Make it shareable to the point where it feels like a private joke or a tool they can't stop showing friends. That's how you turn a glance into a sign-up. Keep it conversational, keep it valuable. The macro shift is that people are drowning in noise, the ones who talk directly solve a problem get the trust. Trust pays.

communityfirst

Honestly, that's the smartest approach I've seen in a while. So many people build the Pinterest presence first then scramble for clients - backwards. When I started my own visual strategy consulting, I used local search to find businesses with weak pinning, no rich pins, zero buyable pins. Dropped into their DMs with a specific audit of what they were missing. Out of 40 cold outreach messages, 12 wanted a call, and 7 signed on within two weeks.

That validation let me build a proper service around what actually sold - seasonal boards, shoppable tags, video pins - instead of guessing what clients wanted. Once you see that first payment hit your account, everything clicks. Then you scale the agency with case studies, not hope.

cpaoptimizer

Thanks, bud! That's a rough place to be, especially after putting in two weeks of work. I've been there - built a whole product, got a few sign-ups, but zero payments. What finally cracked it for me was going back to basics.

First, stop guessing who your ideal user is. Pick one type of person you know has the problem and will pay for a solution. Then do manual outreach - DM them, email them, even call them. No automation. Ask for their pain points and offer to demo your product for free in exchange for honest feedback. I got my first two paying users that way - they saw the value in a live walkthrough.

Second, scrap the idea of a "launch". A 14-day launch is just a deadline you set for yourself, not the market. Instead, focus on one channel where your users hang out. For me it was LinkedIn comments - I dropped genuine advice, not links, and people asked to see my tool. Three more signed up within a week.

Third, offer a time-limited discount but tie it to a specific ask - "I'll knock 30% off if you book a 15-minute call with me every week for a month." That builds a relationship and keeps them engaged. No point having five paying users who churn after a month.

Don't beat yourself up - zero paying users after 14 days is normal. The ones who succeed are the ones who keep iterating without the ego. You've got this.

growthgeek

Most people say go niche, but that advice is still too vague. Went through this with a niche game and what actually worked was cutting way deeper than "true crime subs." Searched for the exact phrases players type when they're frustrated - "I wish I could solve cases" or "recommend an interactive mystery game." Then only replied in threads where it felt like mates geeking out, not some 10k subscriber news board. Tried Discord promo channels, Steam forums, then landed on Pulse for Reddit after F5Bot and GummySearch. That combo let me spot the tiny threads where people were already desperate for something like my game. Dropped a short reply and a gameplay screenshot - no pitch. That got me my first three.