Launch World
Your product works. Your launch is a mess.
Ten things are broken in this room, and none of them are code. Clean them up, pick where you're posting, and leave with a plan for the week either side of launch day. Nothing here posts, publishes, or emails anyone — it's a rehearsal.
Launch readiness
Needs work · 0/10 cleanedNo score out of 100 — a made-up number would just make you feel ready. These are the things still open, by name.
Messaging
Needs workCan a stranger tell what this is in one line?
- • Write one line: who it's for, what it does, what changes.
Assets
Needs workThe picture, the demo, the profile people actually see.
- • Pick what the preview image should show.
- • Choose what people can see without signing up.
Trust
Needs workReasons to believe you and a way to reach you.
- • Tick the profile basics.
- • Choose where the feedback lands.
Conversion
Needs workWhat the visitor is meant to do next.
- • Write what happens in the week after you post.
Technical
Needs workIt works on a phone, and you'd know if it stopped.
- • Walk the phone checks.
- • Tick your break-glass plan.
Analytics
Needs workYou can tell a good day from a loud one.
- • Tick the events worth having before you post.
Distribution
Needs workSomewhere to post, and a plan for after.
- • Write the post: the problem, what you built, who it's for, what you want back.
The launch room
Work through them in any order. Everything you type stays in this browser.
1. Messaging
The tagline says “A modern platform for the future of work.”
Nobody can picture that. People decide in about five seconds, and vague words spend all five.
Write one line: who it's for, what it does, what changes.
2. Assets
Shared links show a grey box and the filename.
Every share, every post, every DM shows that box. It's the first impression you didn't choose.
Pick what the preview image should show.
3. Assets
There's no demo. The only way to see it is to sign up.
Asking for an account before showing anything is the single biggest drop-off on launch day.
Choose what people can see without signing up.
4. Technical
On a phone the header covers the button and the table scrolls sideways.
More than half your launch traffic arrives from a phone, in a feed, one-handed.
Walk the phone checks.
5. Analytics
No analytics. Launch day will be a number of people you can't count.
Without events you can't tell 900 curious visitors from 9 people who actually used it.
Tick the events worth having before you post.
6. Technical
If it breaks at 9am you'll find out from a stranger's comment.
Launch traffic finds the bug your five test users never did.
Tick your break-glass plan.
7. Trust
Your posting profile is a default avatar and an empty bio.
On every launch channel the account is half the credibility. Empty profiles read as spam.
Tick the profile basics.
8. Distribution
No launch post. Just a link with “check it out 🚀”.
A bare link asks strangers to do the work of understanding you. Most won't.
Write the post: the problem, what you built, who it's for, what you want back.
9. Trust
There's nowhere to send feedback except a form nobody answers.
Launch day is the most feedback you will ever get in 24 hours. Catch it or lose it.
Choose where the feedback lands.
10. Conversion
No plan for day two. The launch is treated as the finish line.
Most sign-ups arrive after the launch post, from people who saw it and came back later.
Write what happens in the week after you post.
Where are you launching?
Different products, different rooms. Posting a B2B tool on Hacker News is not a strategy.
Product Hunt
FreeA launch day with a ranking and a comment thread
Pick a quiet day, line up a few honest first comments, be online all day.
Open Product Hunt →Indie Hackers
FreeThe build story behind the product
Numbers and mistakes get read; polished announcements don't.
Open Indie Hackers →Hacker News
FreeShow HN if it's technical enough
Hit or miss. Never resubmit angrily.
Open Hacker News →Your own list
FreeEveryone who said 'tell me when it's out'
Highest conversion of anything on this list. Email them first, not last.
Where to submit
Every link goes straight to that site's submit page. Messy does not post anything for you — you press the buttons, on your own accounts.
Product Hunt
FreeThe big launch day
Schedule it — launches go live at 00:01 PT. Have the gallery and a 30s video ready.
Submit to Product Hunt →DevHunt
FreeWeekly leaderboard for dev tools
Best fit if your user writes code. Much easier to reach #1 than PH.
Submit to DevHunt →Hacker News (Show HN)
FreeOne plain post
Title: 'Show HN: <what it does>'. No adjectives. Stay in the thread all day.
Submit to Hacker News (Show HN) →Indie Hackers
FreeThe build story
Share the numbers and what broke. Announcements get ignored.
Submit to Indie Hackers →Reddit r/SideProject
FreeEarly feedback crowd
Also try the subreddit for your actual users. Read their self-promo rules first.
Submit to Reddit r/SideProject →Peerlist Launchpad
FreeWeekly launch board
Friendly audience, real comments, low effort to enter.
Submit to Peerlist Launchpad →Uneed
Free / paid boostDaily tool listing
Quick win the week before your Product Hunt day.
Submit to Uneed →Fazier
FreeLaunch board for makers
Good warm-up launch to test your tagline and screenshots.
Submit to Fazier →Microlaunch
FreeSmall-product launches
Low traffic, but a real backlink and a few honest first users.
Submit to Microlaunch →BetaList
Free / paid skip-queuePre-launch and early beta
Submit before you launch, not after. The queue is weeks long.
Submit to BetaList →There's An AI For That
Free / paid fast-trackThe biggest AI directory
AI products only. Steady long-tail traffic once listed.
Submit to There's An AI For That →Futurepedia
Free / paidAI tool directory
Set and forget. Worth the ten minutes.
Submit to Futurepedia →SaaSHub
FreeAlternatives-to listings
People searching '<competitor> alternative' land here.
Submit to SaaSHub →AlternativeTo
FreeComparison traffic
List yourself as an alternative to the tool people already know.
Submit to AlternativeTo →G2
Free listingB2B buyer research
Only worth it if businesses buy you. Reviews are the whole game.
Submit to G2 →Lovable Launched
FreeShowcase for apps built on Lovable
If you built it here, launch it here. Friendly crowd, fast feedback.
Submit to Lovable Launched →TinyLaunch
Free / paid boostDaily launch board for small products
Fast to submit and you get a badge the same day.
Submit to TinyLaunch →LaunchIgniter
FreeMaker launch listing
Quick listing with a do-follow badge — good pre-launch warm-up.
Submit to LaunchIgniter →LaunchNest
FreeDirectory listing with a domain-rating badge
Cheap backlink. Add their badge to your footer so their check passes.
Submit to LaunchNest →Launch my project
A plan for the fortnight around launch day, built from the channels you picked above.
- Day -7Lock the one-line description of your project and test it on three people who don't know what you do.
- Day -6Record the 20-second demo and make the preview image from a real screenshot.
- Day -5Fill in your Product Hunt profile properly and start being visible there.
- Day -4Add analytics events and error reporting. Break something on purpose and check the alert arrives.
- Day -3Run the whole sign-up flow on a real phone. Fix whatever you find.
- Day -2Write the launch post. Sleep on it, then cut a third of the words.
- Day -1Line up Indie Hackers as the follow-up, email your list a heads-up, clear your calendar.
- Day 0Post on Product Hunt early. Answer everything. Ship nothing new.
- Day +1Post what broke and what you fixed. Email every sign-up personally.
- Day +2Ship the smallest change the most people asked for. Post it on Indie Hackers.
- Day +3Book five 15-minute user calls. Actually run them.
- Day +5Cut the step where people drop off. Measure it again.
- Day +7Publish the honest numbers for your project and what you're doing next.
Launch playbooks
Pick a channel and Messy stays beside you, start to finish, with the words written for you. You do the posting — nothing here goes out on your behalf.
Product Hunt
A single big day with a ranking, comments and a traffic spike.
The trap: Treating it as an advert. The comment thread is the launch — not the listing.
What you need ready
- • Tagline under 60 characters, no adjectives
- • Gallery: 3–5 real screenshots, first one readable as a thumbnail
- • A 30-second video showing the thing working, no intro slide
- • A first comment from you explaining why you built it
Step by step
- A week before
Set up your profile
Real photo, real bio, follow a few makers and comment on other launches. A day-old account with no history gets less reach.
- 3 days before
Draft the listing
Name, tagline, topics and gallery. Save it as a draft — you can schedule the launch for 00:01 Pacific.
- 1 day before
Schedule, then tell your list
Schedule for a quieter day (Tuesday–Thursday). Email everyone who asked to be told, with the direct link ready to send tomorrow.
- Launch, 00:01 PT
Post your first comment
Why you built it, what it does today, what it doesn't do yet. Honesty outperforms polish here.
- All day
Answer every comment
Within minutes, in your own voice. Never argue with criticism — thank it and say what you'll do.
- Day after
Post the result
Share the numbers and the best piece of feedback. This second post often gets more real users than the launch.
Copy-ready drafts
Tagline
does one useful thing well
First comment
Hi Product Hunt 👋 I'm the maker of Your project. I built it because the thing that used to take far too long. Your project is for people with this problem — it does one useful thing well. What it does today: the core flow works end to end, and you can try it without signing up for anything long. What it doesn't do yet: I've deliberately kept v1 small, so tell me what's missing and I'll build it in public. Try it: https://example.com I'm here all day — ask me anything, including the awkward questions.
Anything in [square brackets] is yours to fill in — Messy won't invent numbers or technical details about your project.
And then what?
The funnel every launch is measured by: Visitors → Sign-ups → Activation → Usage → Conversion → Retention.
Visitors — People who saw the page at all.
Sign-ups — They believed you enough to give an email.
Activation — They reached the moment it works.
Usage — They came back without being asked.
Conversion — They paid.
Retention — They're still here next month.
Launch day
Be present, not perfect
- • Post early in the morning for your biggest audience
- • Reply to every single comment and email
- • Fix only what's actually broken, ship nothing new
- • Write down every objection you hear twice
Watch: Visitors → sign-ups. If people arrive and don't sign up, it's the message, not the product.
First 24 hours
Turn attention into accounts
- • Post what broke and what you fixed
- • Email everyone who signed up, personally
- • Ship the smallest top-requested change
Watch: Sign-ups → activation. Did they reach the moment the product is for?
First 7 days
Find out if it sticks
- • Talk to five users for fifteen minutes each
- • Cut the step most people abandon
- • Share the honest numbers publicly
Watch: Activation → usage. Second visits matter more than first ones.
First 30 days
Decide what this actually is
- • Pick the one use case people keep returning for
- • Charge someone, even a small amount
- • Write the next month's plan from evidence, not hope
Watch: Usage → conversion → retention. Retention is the only number that can't be bought.