a single source, nothing corroborates it

Publish your own numbers in unglamorous detail

Two builders with no obvious connection reached the top of the site by opening their books: one disclosed the real financials of a project, the other wrote a long teardown of a tiny business he assumed was too dull to interest anyone. It held the top slot for over a day and sent roughly fifty thousand people to a quiet blog. Specific and verifiable is the format this audience rewards.

The method

1. 01

   Write the post for the community you want it to travel in: on Hacker News, disclosing the real financials of your own project is the format that reaches the front page

2. 02

   A long, unglamorous teardown of your own tiny business, complete with real figures, can reach the top of Hacker News even when you assume it is too detailed to interest anyone.

What it returned

• 487

  A year of watching the community informed the choice; the post took 487 votes, 200+ comments, 51,052 unique visitors and 300+ retweets and mentions

• 24

  The author's Storemapper deep dive held the top of Hacker News for more than 24 hours and brought roughly 50,000 unique visitors to a normally quiet blog in a few days

Sources

• What Does the #1 Spot on Hacker News Get You?Nathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · It was expected. · 2011-12-06
• Storemapper Update: 50% revenue growth in 3 months - Tyler TringasTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · 2014-11-06