Answers to the questions makers ask about launching
Each page answers one question a maker types before or after a launch, in the first sentence, then shows the reasoning and what to do next. Where nobody can know the number, such as how many visitors a launch brings, the answer says so instead of guessing.
Is it worth it?
Whether to do the thing at all.
Is Product Hunt Worth It for a Small Launch? A Decision Rule
Is Product Hunt worth it? A decision rule that depends on who will show up on launch day, plus how to set a bar and test your page before you commit.
Are Paid Launch Platforms Worth It? Do the Break-Even Sum First
Paid launch platforms sell speed, dates and links, not customers. A break-even sum, red flags to check and when paying is reasonable for a first launch.
Do Launch Directories Give Backlinks, and Are They Worth Having?
Most launch directories link to your site, but some links are followed and some are not, and nobody can price them. How to check the link you got yourself.
Free vs Paid Launch Platforms: Which Route Fits Which Maker
Free launch routes cost a wait, a badge or some work; paid routes remove that cost. A side-by-side of what each charges you and who should pick which.
Should You Launch on More Than One Platform? How Many and In What Order
Yes, launch on several platforms, but one at a time. How many you can handle, which to submit first because of queues, and when to stop adding more.
Should You Launch Before the Product Is Ready? Four Gates to Pass
Launch before it is finished, but not before a stranger can finish the core task. Four readiness gates, one-shot launch slots to save and cases to wait.
Do You Need a Website to Launch a Product? What to Link Instead
You do not need a full website to launch, but you need one public address a stranger can open. What can stand in for a site and what the page must say.
Do You Need a Logo to Launch? Where It Matters and Where It Does Not
You can launch without a logo almost everywhere, but a store listing needs an icon. Where a missing logo costs you, and a wordmark you can make today.
When and how long
Timing questions have honest answers, and the honest answer is often it depends on this.
What Is the Best Day to Launch a Product? Why No One Knows, and How to Test
No best day holds for every product. What each platform’s clock decides, how to choose a day you can defend, and how to test timing with your own audience.
How Long Does a Product Launch Last? Three Clocks and How to Read Yours
A launch runs on three clocks: the ranking window, how long the listing stays up and how long attention lasts. What platforms say, and how to measure it.
Can You Launch the Same Product Twice? What Counts as New
You can relaunch where the rules allow it, if something a stranger would notice has changed. What counts as new, what platforms say and how to write it.
How Long Before a Launch Should You Start Preparing? Work Back From the Slowest Step
Start as early as your slowest fixed step needs: some queues, store tests and reviews have lead times you cannot shorten. A table of them and a plan.
What to Do After You Launch Your Product: A Plan Based on What Happened
After launch, reply to people, fix the one step that stopped them and read your numbers. What to do next if nobody came, a few did or many did.
Getting people and feedback
Upvotes, first users and what to do when nobody comes.
How to Get Upvotes on a Launch Without Spamming or Cheating
Earn upvotes on a launch honestly. Why vote rings, mass friend requests and paid votes break platform rules, and what to do instead.
How to Get Your First Users for Free: Pick the Source by Product Type
Free ways to find your first users, matched to what you built: a routing table by product type, a first-contact rule and how to count them.
Why Nobody Visited My Launch, and How to Find Where It Broke
No visitors after your launch? Work down a short list of causes, from an unconfirmed listing to a broken tracking tag, and fix the right one.
How to Get Useful Feedback on an MVP: Questions, Sessions and Sorting
Get feedback you can act on: what to ask, who to ask, how to run a 15-minute session and how to tell a real problem from a passing opinion.
How to Respond to Launch Comments: Praise, Criticism, Bugs and Spam
Reply to every kind of launch comment, from praise to bug reports to harsh criticism, in a tone that keeps the thread alive and honest.
How to Launch With No Following: Replace the Three Jobs an Audience Does
No followers and no list? Break down what an audience does on launch day, then replace each job with something free you can start now.
How to Measure a Launch: Source Tags, One Core Number and a Verdict Date
Measure a launch honestly: tag each link with its source, count people who finish your core task, set a verdict date and ignore vanity numbers.
Writing and showing the product
Names, taglines, screenshots and video.
What Makes a Good Product Tagline? A Five-Point Scorecard With Rewrites
Judge a tagline with five checks, see six weak ones rewritten, and learn how to pick between candidates when no audience is there to ask.
How to Write a Product Description for a Launch Page, Paragraph by Paragraph
Write a launch description in three short paragraphs: who it is for, how it works and what state it is in. Includes a six-pass edit.
How to Take Product Screenshots That Explain the Product in Four Frames
Take launch screenshots that show the result first: which four frames to capture, how to seed believable data and how to crop, name and caption them.
How to Record a Demo Video for a Launch: Script, Length and Free Tools
Record a launch demo video in an afternoon: pick one task, script it in four beats, choose a length that fits and cut what slows it down.
How to Name Your Launch Post: Title Shapes for Boards, Show HN and Communities
Name your launch post for the place it appears: a board listing, a Show HN and a community thread each reward a different title shape.
How to Reuse Your Launch Content Across Platforms Without Copy-Pasting
Write one launch kit, then adapt it for each place: what to keep word for word, what to change and what never to paste twice.
How to Launch in Another Language: Translating the Page, URLs and Where to Post
Launching in a second language: when to translate, how Google says to structure language versions with hreflang, and where to announce.
Special cases
AI-built products and half-finished ones.
Is It OK to Launch an AI-Built App? What the Rules Say and How to Disclose
Yes, you can launch an AI-built app. What Google and Hacker News say about generated content, and what honest disclosure looks like on a launch page.
How to Launch an Unfinished Product Without Losing Trust
Say what works today, what does not and what you want to learn, in the first lines of the page. Where early work is welcome and how to show progress.
More free launch help
- Launch playbooks: Step-by-step plans for one launch.
- Where to launch: The real places that fit each kind of product.
- Checklists and templates: Checklists, copy-and-edit templates and listing specs.
- Glossary: Plain-English definitions of launch terms.
- Resources: Dated reference pages built to be cited.
- Launch platform alternatives and comparisons: Product Hunt, Uneed, Peerlist and the rest, side by side.
- App idea lists and build guides: from finding an idea to shipping it.
Ready to publish? Launch your product here for free: one email, no account, no queue.