Ask HN: How do I find first paying users for my app?

I started multiple side projects and kept on building but now I realize that there is an even bigger aspect to all this, you can build all you want but If you cant market or sell it then its all useless. I have joined multiple platforms and trying to understand how to get my word across people without straight up advertising or anything but still struggling. Should i just use paid ads or what. Any tips would be appreciated.