How to Launch on Product Hunt: The Complete Checklist

A Product Hunt launch rewards preparation. Most of the work happens in the weeks before launch day. This checklist is organised into four stages. Tick each item off as you go.

Stage 1: Preparation (2 to 4 weeks before)

Create or tidy your Product Hunt account. Use a real name, a clear photo and a short bio, and start taking part in the community by upvoting and commenting on other launches. A brand-new empty account looks less trustworthy and can have limited abilities.

Check how posting access works. Product Hunt explains how to get permission to post and comment in its help centre (help.producthunt.com).

Study a few launches in your category. Note what their taglines, images and first comments have in common.

Decide your launch date. Pick a day when you can be online for most of it, and avoid clashing with a major holiday or a very large competing launch.

Write your product tagline in one short line that says what the product does and for whom, with no jargon.

Prepare your visuals: a clear logo, a gallery of 3 to 5 images or a short demo video, and one image that shows the product in use.

Write your maker comment, the first comment you will post on launch day. Tell the story: the problem you had, why you built this, and what feedback you want.

Offer something for the Product Hunt crowd, such as a discount, extended trial or early-access code. Keep the terms simple and honest.

Make sure the product works for a stranger who has never heard of you. Test sign-up and the first-use flow end to end.

Stage 2: Submission (launch week)

Submit the product page and double-check every field: name, tagline, links, topics, images and the video.

Pick the topics that match how people would search for your product.

Tag the people who built it as makers so they can comment and be credited.

Preview the page on desktop and mobile before it goes live.

Schedule the launch if you want it to go live at the start of the day, so you are present when traffic begins.

Stage 3: Outreach (launch day)

Post your maker comment as soon as the page is live.

Tell your existing audience first: customers, newsletter subscribers, community members and friends who understand the product. Ask them for honest feedback and to try the product, not just to vote.

Share the link where your audience actually spends time, such as your social accounts and relevant communities, and follow each community's self-promotion rules.

Reply to every comment quickly and thoughtfully. Engagement in the first hours matters.

Avoid vote-swapping groups and paid votes. They go against the platform's rules and can get a launch penalised.

Stage 4: Follow-up (after launch)

Thank everyone who commented or tried the product.

Reach out personally to people who showed real interest, such as those who asked questions or requested a demo.

Write down the feedback and sort it into fixes, feature requests and positioning issues.

Share the result, for example in a short post or newsletter, whether it went well or not. Honest launch write-ups attract their own attention.

Look at where your sign-ups came from and which message worked best, then reuse it elsewhere.

Keep your Product Hunt page up to date, since it keeps getting visitors after launch day.

Common mistakes

Starting preparation only a few days before launch.

Asking people to "upvote" instead of asking them to try the product and give feedback.

Launching without a clear offer or a working onboarding flow.

Going quiet after launch day.

Product Hunt's own rules and features change from time to time, so check its help centre for the latest guidance before you launch. StartupMonk is not affiliated with Product Hunt.