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Cheat Sheet for Your Product Hunt Lucky Launch

by Julia GoncharovaSeptember 3rd, 2024

Too Long; Didn't Read

From finding enthusiasts to preparing materials, here is your cheat sheet for a successful product hunt launch.

featured image - Cheat Sheet for Your Product Hunt Lucky Launch

👉 What You Need to Win

Just three things to work on:

Cheerleaders

• A list of people (500+), interested in your product and ready to support it.

• Not just your mom, neighbor, or early user—active Product Hunt users.

How to gather them? We’ll discuss below.

Good Weather and Mood on Launch Day

• The right day for launch, your team’s mood, and how well you work together.

• Everyone knows to launch at 12:01 am PST, but there are some lesser-known tips and tricks that can make all the difference. We’ll cover those here.

Your product should be The Next Big Thing

• A product that will captivate Product Hunt users, including tech enthusiasts, IT students, investors, journalists, and entrepreneurs. Don't waste time on this platform if your product doesn’t fit these categories.

• Quality presentation (headline, description, images, video, first comment) is crucial. Learn from past winners and see some sneaky tips in the FAQ below.

Common Mistakes

• ❌ Asking for votes: Ask for feedback, comments, opinions, and help spreading the word, but not for upvotes. This is against the rules, as are contests that reward people for upvotes.

• ❌ Paying a hunter or assuming you need one.

• ❌ Using mass vote buying: This works but is risky—you might get disqualified if someone reports you.

👉 How to Gather Cheerleaders

You can’t win just because your product is better. Success on Product Hunt is about user engagement. Winning products attract not just customers but also investors. You need a minimum of 500 supporters.

Who won't lead you to victory:

• ❌ Recently registered users

• ❌ Users without karma (kitty points)

• ❌ Old Product Hunt users who haven’t been active for a long time

Methods to gather cheerleaders:

Makers on Product Hunt Look at makers of products that might support you. Many have links to X or LinkedIn. Reach out, show what you’re working on, and ask what is the best way to contact them on launch day.
Product Hunt Enthusiasts on X Search using hashtags like #buildinpublic and so on. Reach out, show what you’re working on, and ask what is the best way to contact them on launch day.
Your users, colleagues, and employees Ask around—many people in your circle might be active on Product Hunt and happy to support you.
Join and engage in communities where you can post on launch day.

⚠️ Don’t forget to record all these people in your Cheerleaders’ spreadsheet.

You Can Join the Exclusive Makers Community in Telegram https://forms.gle/RXVfDTFnVBYH28rQ6

👉 The Launch Day

Choosing the Right Launch Day

Tuesday and Thursday:

• High Traffic: Ideal for products seeking maximum exposure and engagement.

• High Competition: Prepare for fierce competition, but the potential reward is high.

Monday and Wednesday:

• Moderate Traffic: Good balance between exposure and competition.

• Less Intense: Suitable for products with a solid following but less competition.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday:

• Low Traffic: Easier to rank #1, but less overall visibility.

• Low Competition: Ideal for niche products or those not seeking high traffic.

The best day depends on your goal: If you need a badge but not the audience, choosing Fri-Sun may be a good option.

📅 It’s crucial to keep an eye on competitors, not just the day of the week. For example, we postponed our Unicorns Club launch from Thursday after spotting a strong competitor. We checked if they were rescheduling and moved our launch to Monday. Objectively assess your chances; if you feel you can compete with a top product, go for it. For first-time launches, consider avoiding direct competition with well-known products.

The Launch Day Timeline

Get into the Top Products Early

• You have 4 hours to get into the top products for the day.

• From the first minute, post about your launch everywhere—community, social media, etc.

• Use social media features that boost posts (e.g., LinkedIn status update, Facebook new job).

Start Outreach

• You have 24 hours of voting ahead. Coordinate outreach with your support team. • Divide the people from your Cheerleaders’ spreadsheet by messaging channels and among team members, and message them throughout the day.

💬 Have at least 2 additional people to help with outreach. One person can’t handle this volume alone, so ensure you have at least 2 team members.

• How to do outreach: Ask for feedback, not votes. Remind why your product is useful and ask for honest feedback.

Respond to Every Comment

• Upvote and reply to every comment. Ask your team to thank each participant personally.

Days after your launch

• Don’t forget there’s Product of the Week and Month!

• Ask users for reviews, continue responding to comments, and gather votes.

• Even if you didn’t make the top 3, use the launch to build trust and credibility.

👉 FAQ

Do I need to prepare materials and create a Coming Soon page?

Recently, there’s been pre-moderation. Launching on the same day reduces your chances of passing moderation and being featured. Create a Coming Soon page, but don’t aggressively push for notifications—it may not significantly boost your launch, but every bit helps.