I Built a SaaS. Nobody Came. Here's What I Learned the Hard Way.

I'm a solo founder. I built my first SaaS, and like most founders, I thought the hard part was building it.

It wasn't.

After launch, I was spending more time on content than on the actual product — writing blog posts, creating social media visuals, finding the right image for every single post. It was killing my momentum.

So instead of fixing my distribution problem, I did what every developer does — I built another tool.

That tool became ThumbAPI — a REST API that generates ready-to-use thumbnails from just a title. One POST request, sized for YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, blog covers, or X. Built because I was tired of Canva and broken AI image prompts.

But then I had the exact same problem again. I built something useful. Nobody knew it existed.

Here's what I learned.

Building is 20% of the work. Distribution is 80%.

I launched on Product Hunt. Got some upvotes, some traffic, almost zero signups. I posted on Hacker News. Two points, three comments. I thought the product would speak for itself.

It doesn't. Nothing does.

Every founder I've read about — Bannerbear, Transistor, Plausible — they all say the same thing in hindsight. Building is the easy part. Getting people to care is the real job.

Product Hunt is not a growth channel. It's a moment.

The traffic spike from Product Hunt lasts 48 hours. If you don't have other channels ready when that wave hits, it disappears and you're back to zero.

I didn't have other channels ready. Now I'm building them one by one, the slow way.

Reddit will ban you. Until it won't.

Every subreddit has rules against self-promotion. And they should — nobody wants their community turned into an ad feed.

But there's a difference between "check out my product" and "I had this problem, built something, want to try it?" The first gets removed. The second starts a conversation.

I learned to lead with the problem, not the product. Always.

Nobody finds your WordPress plugin just because it's on WordPress.org

I built a WordPress plugin that auto-generates featured images from a post title — same API, easier for non-developers. Got it approved on WordPress.org.

Zero installs.

WordPress.org is not a discovery platform. It's a directory. People find plugins through Google, YouTube tutorials, or recommendations. Being listed means nothing if nobody is pointing to you.

What actually works (so far)

Honestly, I'm still figuring this out. But here's what has moved the needle even slightly:

• Writing posts that lead with the problem, not the product
• Being specific — "tired of Canva + AI prompt loop?" lands better than "thumbnail API"
• Showing up in communities where my actual users are, not where developers are
• Treating every comment and reply as a conversation, not a funnel

Where I am now

ThumbAPI is live. The API works. The WordPress plugin is approved. I have a free tier with no credit card required.

And I'm still learning how to tell people it exists.

If you've launched something and gone through this — what actually worked for you? I'm genuinely asking.

ThumbAPI generates thumbnails via UX/UI option or a single REST API call. Built for n8n, Make.com, Zapier, and automation workflows. Try it free at thumbapi.dev

Thumbnail for this blogpost is generated by. thumbapi.com