Launch Day Checklist (Product Hunt / HN / Twitter)
33 items to do in the 14 days before, during, and after a launch — by hour.
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Published 2w agoUpdated 2d ago 2,867
Most launches flop because the prep was lazy. This checklist front-loads everything that has to happen before noon on launch day.
T-14 days
- Choose the launch date (avoid major news cycles, Mondays, Fridays).
- Identify the hunter (Product Hunt) if not self-launching.
- Build the 30-person seed list (people who'll comment / upvote).
- Draft hero image and 3-frame demo GIF.
- Write the launch tweet and HN post — both versions, scheduled.
T-3 days
- Pre-launch DM to the 30-person seed list with launch date + ask.
- Final smoke test of the site under load.
- Email your existing list with the heads-up.
- Charge phone, set Slack to do-not-disturb except #launch.
Launch day — by hour
- 00:01 PT: PH live, first tweet, HN post.
- 06:00 PT: Email blast.
- 08:00 PT: Personal DM to top 5 supporters.
- All day: reply to every PH comment within 30 minutes.
- 22:00 PT: Recap tweet with stats.
T+1 day
- Public thank-you post.
- Convert sign-ups to onboarded users within 48 hours.
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