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Startup Launch Checklist: 47 Tasks Before, During & After Launch Day

#saas #productivity #startup #marketing

Startup Launch Checklist: 47 Tasks Before, During & After Launch Day

After launching 30+ products (including getting #1 on Product Hunt multiple times), I've distilled everything into this battle-tested checklist.

No fluff. Just the tasks that actually matter.

📋 Phase 1: Pre-Launch (2-4 Weeks Before)

Product Readiness

Task Priority Notes
Core features working and tested 🔴 Critical Ship MVP, not perfection
Onboarding flow < 2 minutes 🔴 Critical Test with 5 real users
Mobile responsive 🟡 High 60%+ traffic is mobile
Loading speed < 3 seconds 🟡 High Use PageSpeed Insights
Error handling & 404 pages 🟢 Medium Don't show ugly errors
Analytics installed 🔴 Critical GA4, Mixpanel, or Posthog

Content & Assets

Task Priority Notes
One-line pitch (< 10 words) 🔴 Critical "X for Y" or "X without Y"
Landing page copy done 🔴 Critical Focus on benefits, not features
Demo video (< 90 seconds) 🟡 High Show, don't tell
Screenshots (5-8 high-quality) 🟡 High Include social proof
Logo & favicon 🟢 Medium Consistent branding
Press kit / media assets 🟢 Medium Logos, screenshots, founder bios

Community Building

Task Priority Notes
Build email waitlist 🔴 Critical Aim for 500+ before launch
Create Discord/Slack community 🟡 High For early adopters
Engage in relevant subreddits 🟡 High Be helpful, not promotional
Connect with 10+ potential users 🔴 Critical DMs, not cold emails
Find 3-5 micro-influencers 🟡 High 1K-10K followers, high engagement

🚀 Phase 2: Launch Week

Launch Day Tasks

Task Time Platform
Submit to Product Hunt 12:01 AM PT producthunt.com
Post launch thread on Twitter/X + 30 min twitter.com
Post on HackerNews (Show HN) + 1 hour news.ycombinator.com
Send email to waitlist + 2 hours Your ESP
Post in relevant subreddits + 3 hours reddit.com
Notify Discord/Slack community + 4 hours Your community
Reach out to influencers Throughout DMs

Real-Time Monitoring 

⏰ Every 2 Hours:
- Check Product Hunt ranking
- Respond to ALL comments within 30 min
- Monitor Twitter mentions
- Track signups/conversions
- Note feedback themes
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Quick Win Actions

Action Impact Effort
Reply to every PH comment 🔥 High Low
Thank everyone who shares 🔥 High Low
Post progress updates 🔥 High Low
Share behind-the-scenes Medium Low
Go live on Twitter Spaces Medium Medium

📊 Phase 3: Post-Launch (First 30 Days)

Week 1: Momentum

Task Goal
Write launch retrospective Document learnings
Publish "how we built it" article SEO + credibility
Collect 10+ testimonials Social proof
Fix critical bugs reported User retention
Email launch results to waitlist Keep engaged

Week 2-4: Sustain & Scale

Task Goal
Submit to 20+ directories SEO backlinks
Start content marketing Organic growth
Set up referral program Viral growth
Implement top feature requests User satisfaction
Reach out to podcasts Authority building

Directory Submission Checklist

Directory Type DA
BetaList Startup 60
SaaSHub SaaS 55
AlternativeTo Alternative 75
G2 Software 90
Capterra Software 85
GetApp Software 80
StackShare Dev Tools 70
Awesome Lists Open Source Varies

🎯 Launch Day Timeline Template 

🌅 Day Before:
22:00 - Final checks, go to bed early

🚀 Launch Day:
00:01 PT - Submit to Product Hunt
00:30 PT - Post Twitter launch thread  
01:00 PT - Show HN submission
03:00 PT - Send waitlist email
06:00 PT - First Reddit posts
08:00 PT - Morning engagement push
12:00 PT - Midday progress update
16:00 PT - Afternoon engagement push
20:00 PT - Evening thank you thread
23:00 PT - Day 1 recap post

📈 Day After:
- Write retrospective
- Thank supporters personally
- Plan week 1 content
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💡 Pro Tips from 30+ Launches

What Actually Moves the Needle

  1. Personal outreach > broadcast - DM 100 people, not 1 tweet to 10K
  2. Launch when ready - Tuesday-Thursday, avoid holidays
  3. Respond in < 30 min - Speed = perceived care
  4. Show vulnerability - "We're small but passionate" works
  5. Stack launches - PH + HN + Reddit on same day = compounding

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Launching on Monday or Friday

❌ Not having a waitlist before launch

❌ Ignoring negative feedback

❌ Over-promising features

❌ Treating launch as the finish line (it's the start)

📚 Resources

Need deeper playbooks? Check out these battle-tested guides:

What's your launch checklist missing? Drop a comment below 👇

I've helped launch products that reached 60K+ GitHub stars and millions of users. Happy to answer questions!

Want the full playbook? Get the complete, open-source Product Hunt Launch Playbook on GitHub — with step-by-step frameworks, templates, and real case studies. Star it to bookmark for later.

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