The ultimate guide to launching on product hunt : a checklist for success!
TL;DR : Your guide on how to successfully launch on product. Product Hunt is a platform for startups to showcase products to tech enthusiasts and investors, essential for gaining visibility and user acquisition. Shadow, an AI meeting assistant, will be launching publicly on Product Hunt. Effective launch strategies include understanding the platform, creating engaging content, and building anticipation through community engagement. Post-launch, it's important to analyze results and maintain momentum by continuously engaging with users and incorporating their feedback.
Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Your Product Hunt Launch
Product Hunt is a platform where startups can showcase their products to a community of tech enthusiasts, early adopters, and potential investors (If you’re reading this, give us a call). A successful launch can lead to significant visibility and user acquisition, as well as more feedback to make your product better.
For startups like us, who offer AI-driven post-meeting task automation, a well-executed Product Hunt launch is crucial for reaching a wider audience and gaining valuable insights.
Shadow is an advanced AI meeting tool designed to automate and streamline post-meeting tasks, making it easier for teams to focus on more critical activities. Its key features include automated transcription, detailed summaries, and seamless integration with various communication platforms. Launching Shadow on Product Hunt has always been on our road map. It’s actually the first time we’ll be going live following our beta phase. Like all other startups that are popping up daily on Product Hunt, we’re hoping to gain traction, receive feedback, and get Shadow out to a wider audience.
Being that it is our first time launching (publicly no less), I thought I’d share with you the steps and tips we’ve been following. Like they say, building in public is important for early stage startups, and so is every decision we choose to make here on out. Hopefully, our experience can help you avoid common pitfalls and optimize your own Product Hunt launch for maximum impact. While this six step plan may look daunting, it covers everything from pre-launch preparations to steps you can take to keep the momentum going after the official launch.
Product Hunt is a platform where new tech products are launched and discovered. It allows startups and developers to showcase their products to a community which in turn provides visibility, feedback, and user acquisition opportunities. Users can browse, upvote, and comment on product based on the contents of the launch page. The launch page includes a tagline, description, media (images, videos, GIFs), maker’s comment, and a section for comments and reviews.
Your tagline should be concise and attention-grabbing. For example, ours is “Shadow: Your Personal Bot-Free AI Meeting Assistant" The description should provide a clear value proposition and key features without jargon. Companies with more publicity tend to go for the wittier route, but for us, we made sure that you could tell what we were providing at first glance.
Use high-quality images and videos to demonstrate your product in action. Tools like Canva or Adobe can help create professional visuals if you’re doing things in house. A demo video showcasing key features is essential—take inspiration from "Figma’s" launch. We worked with Zelios Agency and they were instrumental in delivering our message. Highly recommend Alex and the team!
Share the story behind your product, the problem it solves, and your vision. For example the story behind Shadow is actually quite personal. As a VC executive overwhelmed with back to back meetings, Jay our Founder, came up with the idea of Shadow so that he didn’t have to be strapped to his desk.
Anticipate and prepare answers to common questions about integrations, customization, and pricing. Include these in your maker’s comment or address them in the comments section once the product goes live. The comment section is sometimes a first look or reflection of the company’s CX.
Notify your email subscribers, social media followers, and existing users about the upcoming launch using teaser posts and countdowns to build excitement. We created a 3 step email sequence and personalized it to everyone on our waitlist.
Explain the value of your product and ask for their support in promoting your launch. Product Hunt is a really supportive community and everyone shares the dream of building a valuable product. It’s one of those, scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours scenario, where if you’re willing to take the time to provide feedback so is everyone else.
Create a landing page with a call-to-action for users to join a waitlist or sign up for updates. This way you can connect with your existing community and continue to keep track of your growth. Some tools we investigated during our launch to build a list of interested users are LaunchRock or KickoffLabs.
Product Hunt’s traffic peaks midweek, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Launching early in the day (around 12 AM PST) can maximize visibility. But there are pros and cons to launching during this time. Since this is a well known fact, there is bound to be more competition during these days. You can also consider launching on the weekend where there isn’t as much traffic as it increases your chances of ranking in the top launches of the day.
Assign roles for handling comments, social media, and analytics to ensure a smooth launch day. Most start-ups consist of small teams without the resource for and extensive list of dedicated customer service representatives. If this is the case for you, it’s crucial that role are divided for maximum efficiency.
Inform your network about the launch through a pre-launch email, including a link and instructions for upvotes and comments. Encourage beta testers and early adopters to provide early support with pre-written posts. If you’re interested in the email sequence we made, feel free to reach out to us on Linked In.
The grind doesn’t just stop once you launch, it’s actually just the beginning. Encourage your followers to visit Product Hunt on launch day, upvote, and leave comments. Use engaging visuals and compelling copy to announce your launch to your existing community since they’re familiar with your product already. You can share images, videos, and infographics, and encourage your audience to share the content as well.
Stay active on Product Hunt throughout the day, responding to comments promptly and thoughtfully. Thank users and address their questions professionally. I don’t know about you but I sure don’t like being left on read.
Track performance metrics such as upvotes, comments, traffic, and conversions. I recommend setting this up prior to your launch on google analytics. You can start by creating a Google Analytics account if you don't have one. Next, add your website as a property in Google Analytics and obtain the tracking ID. Install the tracking code on your website by embedding it in the HTML of your pages. Use UTM parameters in the links you share on Product Hunt to differentiate this traffic from other sources. Finally, create specific goals in Google Analytics, such as sign-ups or page views, to measure the success of your launch. This setup will allow you to monitor traffic, engagement, and conversions driven by your Product Hunt campaign.
You want to follow up with users frequently and ensure them that this isn’t the end of your growth. You could send a thank-you email to users to summarize feedback or outline the next steps. Share updates about new features and milestones, highlighting how user feedback has been incorporated. Our team chose Slack as our main community but email, social media, it all works. It’s also possible to have different channels for different uses such as one that’s dedicated to notifying your supporters of new updates and another for connecting.
Planning and engaging effectively are key to a successful Product Hunt launch. By following this guide, you can optimize your launch strategy. At Shadow, we’re always looking to learn from others. Share your experiences and tips to help others succeed on Product Hunt.
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