The complete launch timeline from T-30 to T+7. 40 action items across 8 phases – everything you need to ship a top-5 launch.
40
Action items
8
Timeline phases
37 days
T-30 to T+7
5 tools
Linked helpers
Run "Is PH Worth It?" analysis for your category
Use data to confirm Product Hunt is the right channel for your product category.
Not every product fits PH. B2C developer tools and SaaS consistently outperform niche enterprise products – validating fit early saves weeks of wasted prep.
Research top 5 competitors in your PH category
Study their launches, taglines, positioning, and community reception.
Competitor launches reveal the tagline formulas, gallery styles, and comment strategies that resonate with your specific audience segment.
Step by Step
Research your category, study recent winners, and join maker communities before you need them.
Pick your launch day, define your value prop, and set up a teaser landing page.
Generate your tagline, write your maker comment, prepare screenshots and a demo video.
Draft your launch thread, prepare DM templates, and coordinate with supporters.
Schedule your product on PH, test everything, and pre-write responses to common questions.
Post your maker comment within 5 minutes, share across all platforms simultaneously.
Timeline Overview
A successful Product Hunt launch takes 30+ days of preparation. Here's the timeline breakdown across 8 phases.
Lay the groundwork – research, validate, and find your people.
Define your pitch and set the stage for launch day.
Create all the assets you need for a compelling launch.
Rally your supporters and prepare your outreach.
Last checks before the big day. No surprises tomorrow.
The first few hours matter most. Execute fast.
Common Questions
Turn your launch prep into a blog post. Feather makes it easy to publish your Product Hunt story.
Try Feather →Study 10 recent Product of the Day winners in your space
Analyze what worked – their timing, visuals, comments, and social strategy.
PH trends shift quarterly. What won POTD six months ago may not work today – recent winners show the current playbook.
Identify potential hunters or decide to self-hunt
Reach out to hunters with relevant audience, or prepare to self-launch.
Hunters with large followings get your product in front of their subscribers at launch – but self-hunting gives you full control of timing and messaging.
Join maker communities
Engage in Indie Hackers, X maker circles, and PH discussions before you need them.
Communities can tell when someone shows up only to promote. Four weeks of genuine participation turns strangers into supporters who share your launch organically.
Pro tip
Spend 80% of this phase listening, not pitching. The makers who dominate launch day are the ones who showed up in communities weeks earlier with genuine curiosity – not a link.
Pick your launch day using the Day Picker
Choose the optimal day based on competition data and traffic patterns.
Launching on a day with fewer high-profile products can be the difference between #1 and #6. Data-driven timing maximizes your visibility window.
Define your one-line value proposition (60 chars max)
Distill your product into a single sentence that makes people click.
Your tagline is the first thing voters see in the feed. Products with clear, benefit-driven taglines under 60 characters get 40% more clicks than vague ones.
List 3-5 key features with clear benefits
Focus on outcomes, not specs. What does the user get?
Voters scan your description in under 5 seconds. Benefit-first bullet points convert scanners into upvoters far better than technical feature lists.
Draft your personal "why I built this" story
Authenticity wins on PH. Write the origin story behind your product.
PH is a maker community first. Personal stories about the problem you experienced create emotional connection that feature lists never will.
Set up a teaser landing page or waitlist
Start building buzz before launch day. Collect early interest.
A waitlist gives you a warm audience ready to upvote on day one. Even 50 pre-launch sign-ups can create the early momentum that triggers PH's ranking algorithm.
Pro tip
Your launch day matters more than you think. Tuesdays through Thursdays consistently see higher traffic, but also more competition. Check the Day Picker for low-competition windows.
Done with the research phase?
Track your progress across all 40 steps with a free dashboard. Save, sync, and pick up where you left off.
Your pitch is shaping up nicely
Save your checklist progress and get a Launch Readiness Score that updates as you complete each step.
Ready to execute on launch day?
Get a personal launch dashboard to track every step. Real-time progress, no items forgotten.
You have the full playbook
Start your 30-day countdown with an interactive tracker. Complete each phase and watch your readiness score climb.
Respond to every comment within 30 minutes, post progress updates, and thank supporters.
Analyze results, write a lessons-learned thread, and plan your long-term growth strategy.
Stay engaged all day. Momentum compounds.
The launch is just the beginning. Capitalize on the momentum.
First Comment Generator