GlossaryLaunching
What should you do on launch day?
Also called: launch day checklist, product launch day
Definition
Launch day is the day a product or release goes live publicly on a launch platform or to an audience. It's mostly about being present: answering comments, fixing issues quickly and telling your own people.
Launch day, explained
Most of launch day's outcome is decided before it starts. The page, images, maker comment, demo, pricing and onboarding should be finished and tested. The site should handle a spike. You should know exactly who you'll tell and in what order: waitlist, existing users, newsletter, communities, personal network.
On Product Hunt, launch day runs on Pacific Time, and Product Hunt's own guidance says launching at 12:01 a.m. Pacific is best for makers who are planning ahead and have no other constraints, because it gives the full day. Weekly platforms run on a week-long cycle instead, which takes pressure off a single day.
During the day, the job is conversation. Reply to every comment quickly and specifically, thank people, answer the hard questions honestly, and fix bugs as they're reported, saying so in the thread. Post in the places you planned, with an honest message: we're live, here's what it does, we'd love your feedback. Most serious platforms forbid asking for upvotes directly; ask people to visit and comment instead.
Watch the funnel, not just the leaderboard. Are visitors signing up? Are sign-ups activating? A spike of traffic that bounces off a confusing onboarding is the most expensive lesson a launch can teach.
Plan the day after, too. Follow up with everyone who signed up, write down every piece of feedback, thank the people who helped, and update your product page and listings with anything you learned. The listing stays online long after the day's ranking is forgotten.
Why it matters for founders
The attention on launch day is short and valuable. Being ready and present turns it into users and feedback; being unprepared spends it on bugs and silence.
Example
A founder launches at 12:01 a.m. Pacific, messages the waitlist at 6 a.m., answers 80 comments over the day, ships two fixes reported in the thread, and emails every new sign-up the next morning.
Common mistakes
- Finishing the launch page on the day.
- Asking directly for upvotes where it's against the rules.
- Watching the leaderboard instead of replying to comments.
Sources
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Related terms
- Launch strategyA launch strategy is the plan for introducing a product or major release to the world: who you want to reach, which channels and platforms you'll use, in what order, and how you'll turn launch attention into lasting results.
- Maker comment (first comment)A maker comment is the first comment a founder posts on their own launch page, explaining why they built the product, who it's for and what feedback they want. It sets the tone for the whole discussion.
- UpvoteAn upvote is a vote of support for a launch on a platform like Product Hunt. Upvotes largely decide where a launch sits on the leaderboard for its day or week.
- Launch weekA launch week is either a week-long cycle on a weekly launch platform, where products compete on one leaderboard for seven days, or a company's own week of announcing a new feature every day.
- Launch assetsLaunch assets are the materials you prepare before launching: product name, tagline, short and long descriptions, logo, screenshots or gallery images, a demo video, and links. Every platform and directory asks for some version of them.