nickgallick Launch Playbooks
ProductHunt Launch
Timing
- Launch Tuesday-Thursday (best engagement)
- 12:01 AM PT (start of voting day)
- Have 10+ supporters ready to upvote and comment in first hour
Assets Needed
- Logo (240×240)
- Gallery images (4-6 screenshots, 1270×760)
- Tagline (60 chars max)
- Description (260 chars)
- First comment (founder story)
- Video demo (optional but high impact)
Day-of Playbook
- 12:01 AM PT: Post goes live
- First 30 min: Share link with inner circle (10+ people), ask for upvotes + genuine comments
- First 2 hours: Respond to EVERY comment personally (maker engagement is critical)
- Morning: Share on Twitter/X, relevant Slack/Discord communities
- Midday: Post update comment with any early traction stats
- Afternoon: Continue responding, share on LinkedIn
- Evening: Thank supporters, share final day stats
- Post-launch: Follow up with everyone who commented, convert to users
What NOT to Do
- Don't ask for upvotes explicitly (PH will penalize)
- Don't use upvote rings or paid services
- Don't launch on weekends
- Don't ignore comments
Reddit Launch
Where to Post
- r/SideProject — most welcoming for new products
- r/startups — for longer strategy posts
- r/webdev or r/reactjs — if technical audience
- r/[industry-specific] — targeted audience (highest conversion)
Post Template
Title: I built [product] to solve [problem] — it's free to try
Body:
Hey everyone, I've been working on [product] for [time].
The problem: [describe pain point]
What it does: [2-3 bullet features]
Built with: [tech stack — Reddit loves technical details]
[Link]
Would love your feedback. Happy to answer questions.
Reddit Rules
- 80% value, 20% pitch
- Never self-promote without providing value first
- Engage in comments for at least 24 hours
- Don't cross-post to too many subreddits simultaneously
- Account should have history (not brand new)
Hacker News Launch
Format
Show HN: [Product] – [plain English description]
Comment (post immediately after)
Technical details, honest motivations, stack choices, challenges faced. HN values authenticity over polish.
HN Rules
- No marketing language whatsoever
- Be honest about limitations
- Engage with criticism gracefully
- Technical depth wins respect
- Don't ask friends to upvote (HN detects and penalizes)
Twitter/X Launch Thread
Structure
- Hook tweet: bold claim or surprising result
- The problem: what's wrong today
- The solution: what you built
- Demo: GIF or video (auto-plays in feed)
- Key features: 3 tweets, one feature each
- Social proof: testimonial or stat
- CTA: link + offer
Tips
- Pin the thread to your profile
- Quote-tweet the hook with a personal angle
- Reply to every response in first 24 hours
- Schedule for 9-10 AM ET (peak engagement)
Email Launch Sequence
For waitlist / early access
- Welcome email (immediate): "You're in. Here's what's coming."
- Value email (day 2): "Here's the #1 thing [product] does for you"
- Launch email (launch day): "We're live. [CTA]"
- Social proof email (day 3 post-launch): "[X] people signed up. Here's what they're saying."
- Last chance email (day 7): "Have you tried [key feature]?"
SEO Launch (Long-term, starts at launch)
Day 1 Actions
- Verify site in Google Search Console
- Submit sitemap.xml
- Set meta titles + descriptions for every page
- Open Graph tags for social sharing
- Schema markup (Organization, Product, FAQ)
- robots.txt configured properly
- Canonical URLs set
- Confirm HTTPS active
Week 1 Actions
- Create 2-3 blog posts targeting long-tail keywords
- Set up internal linking strategy
- Build backlink outreach list (10-20 relevant sites)
- Submit to directories relevant to your niche
Reference Docs
- repos/launch-docs/julian-shapiro-intro.md
Changelog
- 2026-03-20: Initial launch playbooks