| name | launch-strategy |
| description | Use when the user wants to plan a product launch, go-to-market campaign, or release strategy. Also use when the user mentions 'launch plan,' 'how do I launch,' 'Product Hunt,' 'launch checklist,' 'pre-launch,' 'go-to-market,' or 'how to announce my product.' |
Launch Strategy
Expertise in building launch campaigns that match the product's actual maturity stage. A prototype launch and a production launch are different operations — same channels, different expectations, different blast radius risk.
Maturity Stage Adaptation
The biggest launch mistake: using production-stage tactics at prototype stage. Amplifying a product that isn't ready creates churn and reputation cost.
Prototype: Validate before amplifying. Hacker News (Show HN) and relevant subreddits are the right channels — feedback density per effort is highest here. Do NOT run paid ads or press outreach at this stage. Goal: 10-20 honest user conversations.
Pilot (first real launch): Product Hunt is viable if you've been building community for 90 days. Email list is your most reliable channel. Goal: 25-50 power users who will become references. Press is not worth the effort yet.
Candidate (full launch): Press, paid ads, and partner channels are worth the effort now because the product can handle the volume and the story is clear. Press requires 4 weeks lead time minimum. Goal: measurable top-of-funnel with conversion to paid.
Production: Ongoing demand generation, not a launch event. Optimize existing channels before adding new ones.
8-Week Launch Timeline
Weeks -8 to -4: Build the Audience
Pre-launch converts at 30-40%. Day-of cold traffic converts at 2-5%. Build the waitlist.
Actions:
- Launch a waitlist landing page (email + clear value prop + one screenshot)
- Post daily on LinkedIn and Twitter/X about the problem you're solving (not the product)
- Identify 20-30 potential "super users" — people who have this problem acutely
- Reach out personally to potential super users; get them on waitlist
- If targeting Product Hunt: create PH account, engage with the community before you need it
Weeks -4 to -2: Warm the Audience
Actions:
- Send 2-3 teaser emails to waitlist (share progress, ask for feedback on early screenshots)
- Build out social proof: beta user quotes, early metrics, case study snippets
- Brief 3-5 media contacts if Candidate stage (not press releases — personal emails with an embargo)
- Prepare Product Hunt assets if relevant: tagline, description, first comment, gallery
Week -1: Final Preparation
Checklist:
Launch Day
Morning sequence:
- Email blast to waitlist at 8am audience timezone
- Post on LinkedIn + Twitter/X with the story, not the pitch
- If Product Hunt: go live at 12:01am PST (leaderboard resets at midnight)
- Post in relevant communities (HN Show HN, subreddits, Slack groups) — only where you've been active
- Personal outreach to 10-20 contacts who should see this
During the day:
- Respond to every comment, reply, and question within 30 minutes
- Re-share with a different angle mid-day
- Update the team on real-time metrics
Week +1: Capitalize on Momentum
Actions:
- Send a "thank you + results" email to waitlist (share launch numbers — transparency builds trust)
- Reach out to everyone who signed up but hasn't activated
- Write a "lessons learned from launch" post (performs well organically)
- Brief any media contacts who haven't published yet
Product Hunt Strategy
Product Hunt day-1 upvotes are a proxy for warm community size, not product quality.
Requirements for a successful PH launch:
- 90 days of community building before launch day
- Hunter outreach 2 weeks before (pick someone with 500+ followers on PH)
- Target 200 upvotes in first 24 hours to stay in top 10
- Go live at 12:01am PST — the leaderboard resets at midnight
PH launch assets:
- Tagline: 60 characters, specific outcome, no generic claims
- Description: 260 characters, what it does + who it's for + why now
- Gallery: 4-6 screenshots, product in use, not marketing
- First comment: Founder's story — why you built this, what you learned in beta
- Demo video: 60-90 seconds, show the product doing the thing
Common failure: launching on Product Hunt with a cold audience. The launches that win are community events, not discovery events.
Channel Priority by Stage
| Channel | Prototype | Pilot | Candidate | Production |
|---|
| Personal outreach | ✓ Primary | ✓ Primary | ✓ Support | ✓ Support |
| Email list | ✓ Build | ✓ Primary | ✓ Primary | ✓ Primary |
| HN / Reddit | ✓ Primary | ✓ Support | ✓ Support | — |
| Social (organic) | ✓ Build | ✓ Primary | ✓ Primary | ✓ Primary |
| Product Hunt | — | ✓ If ready | ✓ Primary | — |
| Press / media | — | — | ✓ Primary | ✓ Support |
| Paid ads | — | — | ✓ Test | ✓ Scale |
| Partnerships | — | ✓ Build | ✓ Primary | ✓ Primary |
Press Outreach (Candidate Stage Only)
4-week minimum lead time. Media contacts need time to investigate, write, and schedule.
What works:
- Personal emails, not press releases
- One angle, not a feature dump ("We're the first tool that helps [ICP] do [specific thing]")
- Exclusives for top-tier outlets (only one outlet gets the story before it's public)
- Data or research that makes the story newsworthy beyond "company launches product"
Who to contact:
- Journalists who cover your category (search recent articles in your space)
- Industry newsletters with your ICP as their audience
- Podcast hosts in your space
Common Rationalizations
| Rationalization | Reality |
|---|
| "We'll launch when the product is perfect" | Perfect is a moving target. Launch at Pilot stage — users tell you what perfect actually means. |
| "We don't need press — our community is enough" | For Candidate stage, press provides the credibility signal that converts skeptics. Community converts believers. |
| "Product Hunt is pay-to-win" | The teams that win PH spent 90 days building relationships on the platform before launch day. That's community, not pay-to-win. |
| "We can compress the pre-launch to 2 weeks" | You can, at Prototype stage. At Candidate stage, the press lead time alone is 4 weeks. |
