A product launch rarely happens when every screen is perfect. While the team fixes rough edges, the first user may be asking why signup fails on a phone. Before seeking press coverage, decide who should try the product and what feedback you need. Some founders need testers; others want developer discussion or a business audience. This guide compares launch venues and the preparation each one calls for.
What stage is appropriate for publication?
Before the product is released, you can collect a waiting list if it is already clear what a person will receive and when. For demonstration sites, this is not enough: the audience will want to press a button and see a working thing. If the product is ready for at least the first users, put together a clear page, a short demo, access conditions and an address for feedback. It is not necessary to portray a mature company; an honest “this is an early version, we are currently testing such and such a task” sounds better than a promise to change an entire industry by next Tuesday.
Identify one goal for the first exit. For example: get ten meaningful reviews from people who are already solving a similar problem. Then the announcement does not need a list of twenty functions, but a description of the problem, a link to the working product and a specific question. If the goal is applications, name the price or scope of the free test. If the goal is to find partners, explain what experience you lack. Without a goal, even strong coverage turns into a schedule that is difficult to put to use.
Sites for different types of launches
- Product Hunt: Launch Guide is designed for technology products that can be shown to a wide English-speaking audience. To submit, you need a personal account, product address, description and page materials. Prepare the first comment from the creator: what you did, why and what kind of feedback you are looking for. The service prohibits asking people to vote for a product; invite them to watch and discuss the launch.
- BetaList: Selection Criteria is suitable for a new technology startup before or shortly after launch. You need a separate page on your own domain with a clear description and a way to gain access or leave a request. According to submission conditions, the editors decide whether to show the project and have the right to change the presentation of the card; sending in itself does not provide placement.
- Show HN: Hacker News Rules is suitable for something that the reader can already try. A waiting page, fundraising page, or planning article does not fit here. The author must participate in the development himself and be ready to discuss the solution in the comments. The site currently has additional restriction for new members, so first get to know the community and check the current submission process.
- Indie Hackers is useful for talking to independent product creators. The history of the problem, solutions, early mistakes and a question to colleagues is appropriate here, and not just a link to the main page. Before posting, check out the live discussions and community rules; Don't turn every comment into a repeat advertisement for your startup.
- vc.ru: help is suitable for a Russian-language story about the product and team. A story about how they found a problem, made the first version and changed the solution after communicating with users will give the reader more than a set of slogans. Check the requirements of your chosen community and be prepared to answer questions about price, competitors, and service limitations.
- Trafstat: author's publication allows you to post material after registration. This is a place for a detailed history of the launch: who the product helps, how the hypothesis was tested, what is already working and what is not yet. Self-publishing gives you control over the text, but does not automatically ensure attention. The headline and first paragraphs should explain the benefit without your team knowing.
- RB.RU: become an author reviews columns about business and technology. Editorial content should be offered when the launch illustrates a broader problem or practical conclusion: for example, how the team tested demand in a complex niche. The author page contains requirements for originality; The full text already published elsewhere may not be suitable.
Prepare your product page before the announcement goes out
A person follows the link and should understand within a few seconds what he will receive. Check the title, access button, phone operation, and response speed of the form. If access is by invitation, explain when to expect an email. If the product requires payment, state it before registering or show clear rates. A small demo of the real interface is more useful than a stock image of a smiling team. For a technical audience, show how to test a basic script without time-consuming setup.
Prepare answers to expected questions: what data the service collects, what happens after the trial period ends, whether you can delete your account, how to report an error. There is no need to turn the announcement into a user agreement. It is enough to provide direct links and a person who will answer. If you are launching simultaneously on several sites, appoint someone on your team who will monitor the discussions. Silence under questions on launch day leaves a stronger impression than a card design that isn't sleek enough.
Write an announcement without a press release voice
Open the text from a specific task: “We manually collected invoices from three systems and constantly lost changes.” Then explain how much of that work the product now does, who it's for, and what you can try today. Give one honest example of use. If the result has so far been measured only on a few users, write so. The story of an early version doesn't have to prove massive success.
Separately prepare a short version for the card, a discussion version, and a letter to the editor. The Product Hunt card's purpose is to quickly show a feature and provide a path to the product. The purpose of a discussion on Indie Hackers is to spark meaningful conversation about a solution. The purpose of an editorial column is to explain a conclusion that is interesting even to a reader who has no intention of registering. The facts can be general, but the angle and examples must be relevant to the audience.
How to distribute publications over time
Don't schedule all submissions for one hour just for the feeling of a big launch. Test the product with a small number of users first and eliminate bugs that interfere with the main action. Then choose a platform where feedback will be most valuable. The rest of the publications can be prepared after the first answers: they will show what questions are unclear in the description and what functions people actually notice. If the site requires original text or editorial approval, take this into account before releasing your own version.
For Product Hunt, it's helpful to populate your page early and be available on launch day. For Show HN, it is more important that the product can be tried without obstacles, and that the creator can explain the technical solutions. For a regional B2B service, an English-language launch may be less useful than a Russian column for the industry. Choose a sequence based on the audience, and not on the site’s popularity rating.
How to measure the result
Write down where the first users came from, whether they were able to complete the main action, and what they asked. Share card views, registrations, activations and useful conversations. One hundred registrations, after which no one opened the product, provide less knowledge than five detailed messages about an incomprehensible step. Do not remove inconvenient comments from the internal report: they are the ones that help you choose the next version.
After the announcement, you can write a continuation - what turned out to be incorrect in the original hypothesis and what the team changed. But don't publish the same story with a new headline every week. A new entry must have a new fact: a running function, open test results, or an unexpected output. Then the site again receives the material, and not a reminder about the company. A good launch doesn't end with the publication of a link, but with the first decisions made after talking to people.