How to get eyes on my new project without paying f

I've been working on a platform that lets users manipulate text through various AI-powered tools. The core functionality is up and running at this point. The real challenge though turned out to be visibility, getting people to actually find the site is a whole different beast compared to the development itself. SEO would obviously help, but there's simply no budget for it right now. So the question is what's the best approach to gaining initial traction and collecting real user feedback without spending a dime?

Launching with zero budget is tough but plenty of successful products started exactly that way as long as you approach it smartly. The key is figuring out where your target audience already spends time and showing up in those spaces with something genuinely valuable rather than just dropping your link and disappearing. Reddit has communities for virtually every niche out there and if you actually participate in conversations and help people solve problems your tool will come up organically when it makes sense. The same goes for Twitter, get involved with people talking about AI and productivity, build real connections before you ever bring up what you are building. Some will say to hit Product Hunt immediately but honestly the platform is so crowded these days that without existing momentum your launch will just get buried and nobody will notice.

Getting twenty engaged early users is worth far more than a thousand people who leave after two seconds, quality matters a lot more than raw numbers when you are just starting out. Instead of shouting into the void, find the spots where people are already hunting for exactly what you built. One option worth trying is Open Hunts  https://openhunts.com/ . The platform exists specifically to help tech products get discovery without burning money on ads. The audience there is not scrolling mindlessly, they come to find new tools and actually put them through their paces. Write up your project with an honest explanation of what problem it tackles and you will get the kind of feedback that actually moves the needle, plus those users tend to spread the word when something clicks for them.