The AI Tool Launch Checklist: 30 Days Before to 30 Days After

A launch isn't one day. The makers who get real users out of a launch do most of the work in the month before — and keep going in the month after, when everyone else has moved on.

This checklist splits the work into weeks. Copy it into your task tracker and tick it off.

T–30 to T–21: Make it launchable#

The goal of the first week is boring and essential: make sure someone who arrives cold can understand, try and pay for your product without talking to you.

Product

• The core job works end-to-end for a new user, with no manual setup from you.
• Time to first useful result is short — ideally under two minutes.
• Sign-up is simple (email or Google is usually enough).
• Errors show a human message, not a stack trace.
• You can handle 10× your normal traffic, or at least fail gracefully.

Website

• The homepage says what it is, who it's for and what it does in the first two lines. See our description guide.
• A real pricing page exists, with the free tier spelled out. (Pricing guide)
• There's a demo — a 30–90 second video or GIF above the fold.
• Basic legal pages: privacy policy and terms.
• Analytics installed, with sign-up tracked as a conversion.

Discoverability

• Page titles and meta descriptions written for every important page.
• SoftwareApplication structured data added (schema guide).
• An llms.txt file published (llms.txt guide).
• Sitemap submitted in Google Search Console.

T–20 to T–14: Build the launch kit#

Prepare every asset once, in one folder, so launch week is copy-paste.

• Name and tagline (40–60 characters, plus a 70-character version).
• Short description (~160 characters) and long description (150–300 words).
• Logo: square PNG, 256×256 or larger.
• Screenshots: 3–5 images; 1270×760 covers Product Hunt's gallery size.
• Demo video: under 90 seconds, captions on, showing the result in the first 10 seconds.
• Founder story: 3–4 sentences — why you built it, who it's for, what's next.
• First comment / maker comment drafted for launch platforms.
• A launch-day offer if you want one (an extended trial or a discount for launch visitors).
• UTM links for every channel so you can see what worked.

Our directory submission checklist has a full table of asset specs.

T–13 to T–7: Warm up your audience#

Launch days go best when people already know the product is coming.

• Post progress publicly on X, LinkedIn or a relevant community: screenshots, small wins, what you learned.
• Email your waitlist or beta users with a heads-up and the date.
• Line up early users who'll genuinely try the product on launch day and leave honest feedback.
• Prepare answers to the questions you'll get: pricing, privacy, data retention, which model you use, how you differ from the obvious competitor.
• Choose your launch platform and read its rules. Each has its own culture. Our Product Hunt guide covers the biggest one.

Don't ask for upvotes. Most launch platforms discourage or penalise vote solicitation. Ask people to check it out and share feedback instead — it's better for you anyway.

T–6 to T–1: Final checks#

• Run through sign-up and payment yourself, on mobile and desktop, in a private window.
• Check every link in your launch post.
• Load-test or at least confirm your hosting plan limits.
• Schedule the launch post if the platform allows it.
• Clear your calendar for launch day. You need to be online for most of it.
• Write a short "thank you" post for the evening.

Launch day#

• Post early — many platforms reset daily at a fixed time (Product Hunt's day starts at 12:01 AM Pacific).
• Publish your maker comment immediately: the story, what's new, and a direct question to readers.
• Reply to every comment, quickly and personally. This is the highest-leverage thing you'll do all day.
• Share it with your audience: one post per channel, not ten.
• Watch your funnel, not just votes: are visitors signing up? Where do they drop off?
• Fix small things live. If three people ask the same question, add the answer to your homepage.

T+1 to T+7: Capture the momentum#

• Thank everyone who helped, publicly and individually.
• Email new sign-ups personally — ask what they were hoping the product would do.
• Write a short launch recap (numbers, lessons) for Indie Hackers or your blog. Recaps often get more reach than the launch.
• Start directory submissions: 5–8 AI-specific directories this week. Pick from our list of 50+ directories.
• Add launch badges and the best feedback quotes to your site.

T+8 to T+30: Turn the spike into a system#

• Submit to the next batch of directories, tailoring the opening line to each audience.
• Post one useful piece of content a week — a tutorial, a use case, a comparison page.
• Ask your happiest users for a review on a marketplace like G2 or Capterra.
• Look at activation: what do users who stick around do in their first session? Make that path shorter.
• Plan your next "launch moment" — a major feature is a reason to launch again on smaller platforms.

Our guide to getting your first 100 users goes deeper on this phase.

The one-page version#

Frequently asked questions#