I’ve been living this exact struggle with https://recipe-finder.org/. As a dev, you think, "If I build a great UI and a solid feature set, they will come." Spoiler: They don't.
I have poured literal blood, sweat, and tears into this project over the last few months. I’ve tried the organic "hustle" on every platform imaginable. I’ve spent more time battling the Pinterest algorithm and trying to make "aesthetic" pins than I have refactoring my backend—which, for a coder, feels like a strange form of torture. I've tried Reddit, Twitter, and niche forums, and you’re right: the moment it feels like a "pitch," people tune out.
What I’ve learned (the hard way):
The Struggle is the Story: People don't want a tool; they want to know why you spent your weekends building it.
Platform Fatigue: Marketing across "all platforms" is a recipe for burnout. Pinterest is a beast of its own, and if you don't speak that visual language, it's a steep climb.
Value First: I started getting more traction when I stopped saying "Try my site" and started sharing specific solutions (like how I handled grocery sync or recipe scaling logic).
Honestly, I’m still figuring it out too. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and sometimes it feels like I’m running it through mud
Long story short...still figuring it out...still learning, and to be honest as a dev, i have zero knowledge in marketing,
If u guys have any tips would be great if everybody would share!
