🚀 Product Hunt 1st Launch Prep

📋 Pre-Launch Checklist (3+ months before)

Create Product Hunt personal account ✅ 2025-11-20
Wait minimum 1 week before posting ability unlocked ✅ 2025-11-20
Fill out profile (bio, website, Twitter link) ✅ 2025-11-20

🎯 Launch Strategy

Goals & Metrics

What does success look like?

Define primary goal: Product of the Day ranking Distribution/reach Feedback collection

Customer acquisition ✅ 2025-11-20 Investor attention Team recruitment Brand recognition

^ It’s definitely customer acquisition

Target Metrics:

Upvotes target: 15
Comments target: 5
Website traffic goal: 30
Signups/conversions goal: 5
Social mentions goal: 10

Launch Timing

Choose launch day: _______________
Choose launch time (recommended: 12:01am PST for full 24hr cycle)

So I think we’ll do a Saturday, starting PST

Time zone considerations:

My timezone: it will be GMT +1 (Zurich)
Launch time in my TZ: 10am

📝 Content Preparation

Required Content

Product URL

Primary landing page ready -starsailors.space (obviously)

Product Name (no emojis, just the name)

Name: STAR SAILORS

Tagline (max 60 characters - clear, no gimmicks)

Draft 1: _______________
Draft 2: _______________
Draft 3: _______________
Final: _______________

Description (max 500 characters)

Draft your description here:







Character count: _____/500

Launch Tags (choose up to 3)

Tag 1: _______________
Tag 2: _______________
Tag 3: _______________

Visual Assets

Thumbnail (required - 240x240, under 3MB)

Design thumbnail
If GIF: ensure first frame works as static image
No strobing effects or quick cuts
File size under 3MB
File location: _______________

Gallery Images (minimum 2 required - 1270x760 recommended)

Video (optional - 53% of Product of Day include video)

Create demo video (Loom, etc.)
Upload to YouTube (NOT private)
Get full URL (not shortened)
YouTube URL: _______________

Interactive Demo (recommended)

Build demo using: Arcade / Storylane / Hexus / Supademo / Layerpath / ScreenSpace
Demo link: _______________

Product Details

Pricing

Free
Paid
Paid (with free trial/plan)

Promo Code (optional - for PH community)

Offer description: _______________
Promo code: _______________
Expiration date: _______________

Additional Links

App Store: _______________
Google Play: _______________
GitHub: _______________
Other: _______________

X Handle

Product X handle: _______________

Team & Credits

Makers (need PH usernames)

Maker 1: _______________ (username: _______________)
Maker 2: _______________ (username: _______________)
Maker 3: _______________ (username: _______________)
Maker 4: _______________ (username: _______________)

Shoutouts (max 3 - tools that helped build the product)

Tool 1: _______________
Tool 2: _______________
Tool 3: _______________

💬 First Comment (CRITICAL - 70% of top products have this)

Draft your first comment here:

Structure to include:
- Introduction to team
- Key features (bullet points with emojis)
- Who it's for (target users, use cases)
- Our story (humble, personal)
- Goals (ask for specific feedback)
- Pricing/special offers
- Call to action


Draft:

Tone guidelines:

Humble and helpful (not marketing-speak)
Simple language
Highlight who it’s for
Use emojis sparingly (as bullet points)
Ask for FEEDBACK (never ask for upvotes)

📣 Promotion Strategy

Pre-Launch (Build Anticipation)

Tease launch on social media (X, LinkedIn, etc.)
Email existing users/community
Reach out to early supporters
Build Product Hunt coming soon page
Drive pre-launch followers

Channels to notify:

Launch Day Outreach

Personal Network

List of supporters to notify: _______________
Draft personal message (no copy-paste spam)
Schedule send times

Social Media Posts

X launch thread draft
LinkedIn post draft
Instagram/TikTok (if relevant)
Schedule posts

Community Engagement

Monitor PH comments all day
Respond authentically to all feedback
Thank supporters
Answer questions promptly

⚠️ Guidelines & Rules

DO NOT:

❌ Pay anyone to hunt or promote
❌ Use bots or spam
❌ Run giveaways for upvotes
❌ Ask people to upvote (ask for feedback instead)
❌ Use company/brand account (only personal)
❌ Create fake accounts
❌ Use marketing-speak or gimmicky language

DO:

✅ Self-hunt (79% of featured posts are self-hunted)
✅ Focus on authentic engagement
✅ Be humble and helpful
✅ Engage with comments all day
✅ Provide value to community
✅ Use personal accounts only
✅ Follow community guidelines

📊 Launch Day Plan

Team Assignments

Who’s doing what:

Community management (PH comments): _______________
Social media: _______________
Email outreach: _______________
Press coordination: _______________
Analytics tracking: _______________

Hour-by-Hour Plan

12:01am PST (Launch)

Confirm post is live
Post first comment
Share launch link with team

Morning (6am-12pm PST)

_______________
_______________
_______________

Afternoon (12pm-6pm PST)

_______________
_______________
_______________

Evening (6pm-12am PST)

_______________
_______________
_______________

📈 Post-Launch Activities

Immediate (Day 1-2)

Thank everyone who engaged
Respond to all comments
Share results with team
Document lessons learned

Week 1

Follow up with interested users
Implement quick feedback wins
Share launch story on blog
Thank supporters publicly

Week 2+

Analyze metrics vs goals
Plan improvements based on feedback
Consider follow-up launch for major updates
Build relationships with engaged users

📚 Resources & References

Product Hunt Guidelines:

Products must be new or have substantive updates
Must be usable (not closed beta unless community can participate)
Must provide unique value
Must be high-quality and interesting to community

Helpful Links:

PH Launch Guide: _______________
Our landing page: _______________
Press kit: _______________
Demo environment: _______________

🎯 Final Pre-Flight Check

24 Hours Before:

1 Hour Before:

Team online and ready
Final product check
Celebration plans ready 🎉

Quartz 4

Explorer

Product Hunt 1st Launch Prep