Launch-day checklist
By Leo I, founder of StartupList. Updated .
Get your page, your product and your people ready the week before, so that on the day you only answer comments and fix what breaks. Afterwards, write to everyone who signed up and note which places sent them.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| A week before | Write the page: what it does, who it's for and the price, with screenshots or a short video |
| A week before | Make sure people can sign up and try it without help |
| A few days before | Tell your users, followers and newsletter the date, and ask them to come and comment |
| The day before | Test your sign-up and your emails, and have answers ready to the questions you expect |
| On the day | Post early, answer every comment, and share the launch with your own audience |
| The week after | Write to everyone who signed up, add the launch badge to your site, and note which places sent people |
A week before
Have these ready:
- A page that says in one sentence what your product does and who it's for, with the price.
- Screenshots, or a video under a minute long, of the product doing its job.
- A sign-up that works without talking to you, and a first email that helps people get started.
- A way to see where visitors come from, such as tagged links or your analytics' referrers.
The day before
Check the basics one last time:
- Sign up yourself, from a new account and on a phone.
- Write short answers to the questions you expect: the price, privacy, and how it compares with what people use now.
- Clear your diary for the day.
On the day
Spend the day where the launch is:
- Post early in the site's day. Product Hunt's starts at 12:01 AM Pacific.
- Answer every comment, and thank the people who try it.
- Tell your own audience it's live. Don't ask for upvotes where the rules forbid it, as Product Hunt's and Hacker News's do.
The week after
Turn visitors into users:
- Write to everyone who signed up, and ask what they hoped it would do.
- Put the launch badge on your site.
- Note which places sent people, and which sent the users who stayed, then plan your next launch for a few weeks later.
Questions
What day of the week should I launch?
Pick a day you can give your full attention to. Busier days bring more visitors and more competition, so a quieter day can suit a product without a big audience to bring.
How long should I prepare?
A week is enough for most launches, if the product already works. Most of that week goes on the page, the screenshots and telling your audience the date.
What if my launch is quiet?
Treat it as practice. Ask the people who did sign up what nearly stopped them, improve the page, and launch somewhere else a few weeks later.