Assets and listing
Do this work days ahead. Launch morning is for posting and talking, not for exporting screenshots. See the full Product Hunt launch guide if you want the strategy behind each item.
- Tagline under 60 characters
- Maker first comment written and saved
- Thumbnail that reads at 240x240
- Gallery of 4 to 6 product shots
- Demo clip under 60 seconds
- Landing page live with a sign-up action
- Pricing or waitlist copy is final
Audience and hunter
Votes from strangers rarely arrive first. Prepare the people who already know you. Confirm a hunter or hunt the product yourself. Read how to reach Product Hunt hunters if you still need one.
- Launch date locked (Tue–Thu is a common pick)
- Hunter confirmed, or you hunt it yourself
- Three supporters ready to comment in the first hour
- Launching Buddy installed in Chrome
- Twitter DM text saved
- Social posts drafted for morning and afternoon
Install Launching Buddy before launch day so the DM step is one click.
Install ExtensionLaunch morning
Product Hunt days start at midnight Pacific Time. You do not need to post at 3 a.m. in your local time if that makes you sloppy. You do need the post live early, and you need to stay available.
- Sleep. Do not rewrite the listing at midnight
- Publish close to 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time
- Post your first comment as the maker
- Run Launching Buddy DMs to Product Hunt followers
- Share one public tweet with the hunt link
- Pin the Product Hunt tab and keep notifications on
First three hours
The homepage ranking moves fast. Comments with detail help more than empty praise. For upvote tactics, see how to get more upvotes.
- Reply to every comment in the first three hours
- Ask supporters to add a real use-case comment, not “congrats”
- Fix a blocker if a tester hits a bug
- Post a short update if the gallery needs a better shot
- Avoid begging for upvotes in replies
Seven days after launch
Traffic after day one is still useful. Treat late comments as sales conversations. Keep the same tone you used in your launch DMs.
- Reply to late comments for seven days
- Email or DM people who asked for access
- Ship one visible fix from launch feedback
- Write a short recap on your site or blog
- Note which DM line and which gallery image worked
