Product launch checklist for a small product
A product launch checklist has five parts: prepare a one-sentence description and a page a stranger can use without help, publish somewhere free, answer every comment in the first 48 hours, post in one or two communities over the month, and measure each channel separately. On a free board with no queue there is no launch day to schedule, so the list is about readiness, not timing.
What is a product launch checklist for?
A launch checklist exists to catch the boring failures that waste a first impression: a page that does not say what the product does, a signup form that breaks on a phone, a link that sends every visitor to the wrong place. None of those is hard to fix, and all of them are easy to miss when you have been staring at the product for months.
This list is written for a small product with one maker or a tiny team and no existing audience. It does not promise traffic or customers, and it does not assume a big launch day. It assumes you will launch in a few places over a month, learn from each, and keep what works. If you are still choosing places, read where to launch a side project first.
What should be ready before you launch?
Most of the work happens before anything is public. Go through these in order, and stop at the first one you cannot tick.
- The problem is real. At least a few people outside your family have told you they have it. If you have not checked, do that first with the validation planner and the guide on how to validate an app idea.
- One sentence says who it is for and what it does. A stranger should be able to repeat it back. The launch copy generator drafts a tagline and description you can edit.
- A first-time visitor can understand the page without you. The top of the page shows what the product is, a screenshot or short demo, and one clear action.
- The main path works on a phone. Most visitors from a launch board or a community post arrive on whatever device they were holding.
- People can try it with little friction. If an account is required, say why on the page, or offer a demo mode, because a sign-up wall is where many first visitors leave.
- You can be reached. A contact address or form, and a way to join a list, so interest does not disappear.
- The price is stated. Free, free with paid extras, paid or open source. If it is paid, say what a visitor gets before paying. The guide to pricing a micro SaaS helps if you have not decided.
- You can tell channels apart. Prepare a different tagged link for each place you will post, and make sure your analytics will record the tag.
- Basic pages exist. If you collect email addresses or any personal data, publish a short privacy page that says what you keep and why.
Is there a checklist you can copy?
Here is the whole list in plain text. Paste it into a note or an issue tracker, delete what does not apply and add your own items.
BEFORE [ ] A few people outside my circle confirmed they have the problem [ ] One sentence: who it is for and what it does [ ] The page explains the product to a stranger in 10 seconds [ ] The main path works on a phone [ ] A visitor can try it with little friction (demo, or a clear reason for the signup) [ ] Contact address or form is on the page [ ] Price or "free" is stated [ ] One tagged link per channel, tested in my analytics [ ] Privacy page exists if I collect any data LAUNCH [ ] Publish on a free launch board with the one-sentence description [ ] Open the page as a stranger would and check every link [ ] Share the tagged link with the few people who asked to hear about it FIRST 48 HOURS [ ] Reply to every comment and question [ ] Fix the top three things first visitors tripped over [ ] Write down every question I was asked (they become page copy) [ ] Note visits and signups per tagged link FIRST MONTH [ ] Week 1: one post in a community where the problem is discussed [ ] Week 2: one more channel, if I can reply for hours [ ] Week 3: one or two free directories, each with its own tagged link [ ] Week 4: compare channels, keep one, drop the rest MEASURE [ ] Visits per channel [ ] Signups or trials per channel [ ] Conversations and replies per channel [ ] People who came back a second time
Do you need a launch day?
It depends on where you launch. Some platforms are built around timing. Product Hunt runs a daily ranking that resets at midnight Pacific, Peerlist runs its Launchpad every week on Monday, and DevHunt groups developer tools into weekly batches. On those you plan around the clock: pick the day, tell the people who might help, and keep the hours free to reply.
The launch board on this site has no launch day. There is no queue and no scheduling, so a product is live as soon as you press Publish. The checklist for that is short:
- Fill in the form with the sentence and page you prepared: product name, URL, tagline, description, up to three categories, pricing, maker name and email.
- Open the single link in the confirmation email, read the preview, fix anything that is wrong and press Publish. If you do not, the launch stays private and expires after 24 hours.
- Open your launch page as a stranger would. Check the tagline, the link to your product and the categories.
- Share the tagged link with the people who asked to hear about it, and nobody else yet.
- A published launch is final, so if you spot a factual mistake now, write to support@postyourbuildideas.com with the page address and the correction.
Because nothing is scheduled, you can launch when you are ready to answer comments, which is the one thing a launch day cannot do for you.
What should you do in the first 48 hours?
The first two days decide whether the launch teaches you anything. Reply quickly and honestly, and treat every confused visitor as information.
- Answer every comment. A short, specific reply from the maker is often the reason a first visitor tries the product. Comments on the launch board are threaded, so reply under the one you are answering.
- Fix the top three problems. If two people got lost at the same step, that step is broken. Change it before you do any more promotion.
- Write down the questions. Each question a stranger asks is a line your page failed to answer. Add the answers to the page or an FAQ.
- Do not ask for votes. Asking friends or fake accounts to vote tells you nothing about demand and breaks the rules of most places. If someone genuinely likes it, they will vote without being asked.
- Record numbers daily. Visits and signups per tagged link, in a table you keep. Memory rounds everything up.
What should the first month look like?
Spread the launch over four weeks, one channel at a time, so you can tell what each did. A small set of channels with replies beats a long list posted in one afternoon.
| Week | Channel | What to do | What to record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A free launch board plus one community | Publish, then post where the problem is discussed, following the rules | Visits, comments, who the visitors were |
| 2 | Show HN or a second community | Only if people can try the product without signing up and you can reply for hours | Visits, signups, objections raised |
| 3 | One or two free directories | Submit with a distinct tagged link each, and note any queue or condition | Visits and signups per directory |
| 4 | Review | Compare channels by conversations and signups, not raw visits | A decision: repeat, change or drop each channel |
For the community post itself, keep it short and specific. Here is a skeleton to adapt to each community's rules.
Title: [What it is, in plain words] I built [product] because [the problem, in one sentence, as you saw it happen]. What it does today: [one or two concrete things]. What it does not do yet: [honest gaps]. You can try it here without an account: [tagged link] I would like feedback on [one specific question]. I will be around to answer questions for the next few hours.
Read each community's self-promotion rules before posting, and use a different tagged link in each place. The guide on launching without an audience covers direct outreach and answer pages for the weeks after.
What should you measure?
Measure each channel on its own. A launch that sent two hundred visitors who left tells you less than one that sent ten visitors, three of whom signed up.
| Measure | Why it matters | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Visits by tagged link | Shows which channel reached people at all | Judging a channel by visits alone |
| Signups, trials or first uses | Shows whether the people reached cared | Counting a signup you prompted by hand |
| Conversations and replies | Shows what people actually think | Ignoring comments because the numbers look small |
| Return visits | Shows whether the product was worth a second look | Not checking at all |
| Bugs and confusions reported | Shows what to fix before more promotion | Fixing features nobody mentioned |
Enter the visits and signups from each place into the launch directory traffic calculator to compare conversion side by side. A directory that sends five visitors who sign up beats one that sends fifty who leave. Treat the first results as a sample, not a verdict, and repeat before you decide.
What comes after the first month?
Keep the channel that produced useful conversations, and put your time into it. Publish a page that answers one question your visitors keep asking, and share what you build and learn honestly, as described in the guide on building in public. Decide your price from real conversations, not from a guess.
If the numbers say nobody wants this, that is also a result. You have lost a month rather than a year. Pick the next project, or browse the ideas board for something other people posted and will not build, each with a generated build prompt. If you have an idea you will never build yourself, you can post it for free.
Frequently asked questions
What should be on a product launch checklist?
Five groups of tasks: a one-sentence description and a page a stranger can understand, a place to publish, a reply plan for the first 48 hours, a spread of posts over the first month, and a record of visits and signups per channel. Add anything specific to your product, such as store review or a legal page.
How far in advance should I prepare a launch?
On a platform with a fixed launch day, prepare a week or more ahead so the page, the copy and the people who might help are ready. On a free board with no queue and no scheduling, such as this site's launch board, the preparation is the same but you can publish the day you are ready to reply.
Do I need a launch day to launch a product?
No. A launch day suits platforms that rank products by day, but it puts pressure on a maker with no audience to gather votes at a set time. A product on a free board is live as soon as you press Publish, and you can spread posts over several weeks instead.
What should I do the day after I launch?
Reply to every comment, fix the top few problems visitors hit, and write down each question you were asked. Check your tagged links to see which channel sent anyone. Do not launch somewhere new until you have changed something real, because a second launch with the same page teaches you nothing.
How do I know whether the launch worked?
Compare channels on conversations and signups from relevant people, not on raw visits. If a channel produced a few useful conversations, repeat it. If nothing produced any, the problem is more likely the page or the idea than the channel, so go back to what visitors saw and what you promised them.
Created with AI assistance and edited for this site. Examples are illustrative and do not represent customer research. About the publisher.