Ask HN: How did you build an audience for a consumer-focused SaaS or app? | Hacker News

It is a mistake in 2019 to think about building an audience first and revenue later. The one model for free publishing that makes sense is content marketing: (e.g. "I wrote a book about X. If you have a problem with X and hire somebody else, now you have two problems.") Other than that, free publishing is a game that (at best) Google wins. If you have a plan to make money, then you can determine a customer acquisition cost you can afford. Otherwise it's your funeral.