Free tool
The product launch checklist
Everything to have ready before, on and after launch day, for a small team launching a product of its own. Tick things off as you go — your progress stays in this browser.
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1. Get the product page right
Two weeks beforeWrite a one-line pitch
Say what it does and who it is for in under 60 characters. "Invoices for freelancers in two clicks" beats "The future of billing".
Make a logo that reads small
It will mostly be seen at the size of a thumbnail. A square mark that is still recognisable at 56 pixels does more than a detailed wordmark.
Show the product being used
Two or three screenshots of real screens, or a short video of the main flow. Mock-ups of a laptop on a desk tell a visitor nothing.
Answer the four questions in the description
What does it do, who is it for, how is it different from what they use now, and what does it cost. If a stranger has to guess any of them, they leave.
State the price plainly
Free, freemium or paid, and from how much. "Contact us" on a small product reads as expensive or unfinished.
2. Make sure the site holds up
One week beforeRun the launch readiness check
HTTPS, speed, mobile, the title and description search results show, and the preview image a shared link gets.
Check my siteSign up as a stranger
In a private window and on a phone, from the landing page to the first useful thing the product does. Fix every place you hesitate.
Know where visitors come from
Analytics that record the referrer, and a sign-up event you can count. Otherwise you will not know which post or listing worked.
Expect everyone at once
Launch traffic arrives in a burst. Cache the landing page or put it behind a CDN, and check what happens to your free-tier limits.
3. Tell people it is coming
The week beforePick a day you can be online
Most of the work of a launch is replying. Choose a day you can spend answering, not one squeezed between other commitments.
Ways to book a dayPut a "launching soon" badge on your site
Everyone who visits before the day is someone who could show up on it. Awesome Indie gives you the badge once your launch is booked.
Tell the people who already know you
Your email list, your community, past customers, friends who use products like yours. A short note with the date is enough.
Write the launch posts in advance
One for each place your users actually read — X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, a relevant subreddit, Indie Hackers — in the voice of that place, with the real link.
4. Launch day
On the dayShare your launch page early
Post the link everywhere you prepared, in the morning of your audience’s time zone, so it has the whole day.
Reply to every comment within hours
Questions on your page are the most valuable feedback you will get all year, and a quick, specific answer is what makes a visitor try the product.
Ask people to try it, not to upvote it
Asking for votes reads as spam and puts people off. Ask for honest feedback; the votes follow from people who liked it.
Watch sign-ups and errors
Keep an eye on your error logs and the sign-up funnel. A broken step on launch day costs more than at any other time.
5. Keep it going
The week afterSwap in the "Featured on" badge
Once you have launched, the badge links your site to your launch page — social proof for visitors and a link that keeps working.
Follow up with everyone who commented
Tell them what you changed because of what they said. Early users who feel heard become the people who recommend you.
Post an update when you ship something
A launch is one day; a product page that keeps getting updates keeps getting visits. Post each meaningful release as an update.
Write down what worked
Which posts and listings brought visitors and sign-ups, and which did nothing. The next launch starts from that list.
Launching on Awesome Indie is free, and every upvote counts as one.
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