# Product Hunt Launch Checklist
This is a short checklist I've curated to help prepare [ProductHunt](https://producthunt.com) launches, taking info from various sources, as well as my experience launching the [[Obsidian Starter Kit]] over there.
## Before the launch
- Evaluate previous launches
- What went well? What could be improved? What did you learn?
- Research examples and ask for advice
- Reach out to people who have upvoted similar products
- Product readiness
- Conduct market research
- Make sure you understand your prospects, their problems, questions, etc
- Scan social media for similar products/communities
- Scan Reddit for similar products/communities
- Create a product positioning statement
- Explain why you're launching
- Define what the product does, what differentiates it from other offers, why it is special and unique
- Clarify the target audience
- Test the product
- Make sure people in the target audience have tried it
- Collect feedback
- Iterate based on their feedback
- Test the purchase steps
- Ensure the checkout system works perfectly
- Work on branding
- Clarify the product's identity (name, images, packaging, color palette, typography, tagline, etc)
- Write useful documentation
- Build an audience
- Build in public and share your progress
- Create a community around the product
- Capture stats before the launch (e.g., sales, followers, MRR, etc)
- Join Product Hunt's communities
- Telegram
- WhatsApp
- LinkedIn
- Twitter
- ...
- Tease and build hype
- Your existing customers
- Your past customers
- Your audience
- Your communities
- Your friends
- Prepare social media posts and announcements
- ...
- Prepare a list of supporters (people who will vote for your product)
- Find a Product Hunt Hunter (a super user on PH). Or not. They help with social proof
- Prepare a special offer for the launch
- Launch post
- Prepare assets: cover image, thumbnail, screenshots, video, copywriting, testimonials, etc
- Focus on benefits, the problems it solves, and who it's for
- Make sure to mention special offers
- Pick a launch day & time.
- Time should be 12:01 PST to ensure the launch is up for 24 hours
- Day: some are less competitive than others. From highest competition to lowest: Wednesday > Thursday > Tuesday > Monday > Friday > Saturday & Sunday
- Research launched planned for the day you have in mind
- Product’s name: just the name, nothing else
- Tagline: Explain what the product does
- Description: more info about the product, what it does, and who it's for
- First comment: expand on the product, its benefits, and the special offer
- Link from your website to the Product Hunt page
## During the launch
- Set a day aside for this
- Notify supporters
- Promote the launch on social media, to your audience, newsletter, on your blog, etc
- Keep an eye out for mentions on social media/Twitter and retweet/engage with them
- Send an email to your audience to remind them
- Share your progress on social media
- Reply to all comments and keep the conversation going
- Respond with custom videos
- If you aren't featured after an hour get in touch with the PH team
- Turn it into an event worth celebrating
## After the launch
- Capture stats
- How many visitors
- How many extra users/subscribers
- How much money did you make
- How many followers did you gain
- ...
- Share your results with your audience, communities, on social media, etc
- Draft a thank you to your supporters and post across your social media and email lists
- Congratulate your competitors
- Add your product to Product Hunt collections
- Add your product as an alternative to similar products on Product Hunt
## Lessons learned from my past launches
### Obsidian Starter Kit
- I should have prepared emails/social posts a few days before
- I should have warned my community at least 3 times, not only the day before and on launch day
- I should have prepared the correct link to the launch post
- I should have planned a few threads discussing key ideas around the topic, using those to raise more awareness about the topic and the launch
- I should have prepared a video specifically for the launch
- I should have improved the landing page before the launch
- I should have announced the associated discount earlier as a way to get more people to explore
- I should have prepared posts to clearly explain the product and its benefits
- I should have invested more time in finding additional places where to share the launch announcement
## References
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/product-hunt-professional-launch-checklist-basic-guide-plan-4cw2f
- https://www.shopify.com/blog/product-launch-checklist