Beast Launches' playbook for launching a product
Most of a good launch happens around the listing itself. Here is what to do, stage by stage, with Beast Launches.
Prepare first
Fill in the details
A full page answers questions before anyone has to ask them. Add your tagline, description and FAQs, and finish your founder profile so visitors can see who built it. Your founder profile
Line up screenshots
Make the images match the product people will get. Up-to-date screenshots and a tidy logo set the tone, and a short demo video helps too.
Plan the date
Plan your launch for a week with room in it. You will want time to answer questions and thank people. See the launch calendar
Write your messages in advance
Let your team, users and supporters know the date. Have your posts drafted so you only need to add the link.
When the launch starts
Take it to communities
Post in communities you already take part in, as yourself and within their rules. On Hacker News, Show HN is for something people can try right away.
Be there to reply
Keep an eye on comments all day and answer each one. Feedback you get now is useful for the next update. Your listings
Mail the people who know you
Send a short email to your users and subscribers with the listing link, and add the launch to your welcome email for new sign-ups.
Share your launch link
Post on X, LinkedIn and Bluesky with your launch link and one screenshot. Pin the post and use the link in your profile.
A word on votes: one person, one vote. Votes can never be bought, and asking friends to vote from extra accounts or swapping votes is not allowed.
Across launch week
Follow up your first post
Post on LinkedIn again after the first day with new detail. A behind-the-scenes note works better than a reminder.
Place the badge on your site
The badge tells visitors you launched, and it links to your listing page. Put it in your footer or on your about page.
Choose more directories
List your product in other launch directories that suit it. Check each one's terms, price and link type first. Find more launch directories
Act on feedback
Use the feedback from launch day: tighten the description, add missing answers to the FAQs and refresh any old screenshots. Edit your listing
After launch week
Measure what happened
Compare the places you shared using your analytics. Links with tracking tags show which posts and directories brought sign-ups. See the launch receipts
Relaunch later
Come back when you have news. A relaunch after a significant update gives you something fresh to share. Relaunch from your account
Keep the listing current
Return to your listing after each release and bring the description, pricing and images up to date.
Find more launch directories
Best Launch Directories compares launch directories, startup directories and AI tool lists, with each one's Domain Rating, pricing and link type, so you can pick the ones that fit.
Add-ons for launch week
The playbook works on its own. These optional extras from Beast Launches add to it, at the prices listed.
- Featured launch $19
7 days in the homepage's Featured spot, starting with your launch week and labelled Featured. No vote is added.
- Multi-site bundle $99
Write your listing once and we put it live on the other 49 launch and discovery sites for you, reworded for each site, and every edit you make later flows to all of them automatically.
- Done-for-you listing $149.99
Hand it to us: your listing goes onto 49 other launch and discovery sites, each with its own description, and one email brings you every link.
- FRONT PAGE $49
For 7 days the Sponsored slot on the homepage shows your company, logo, tagline and a link to your website.
- CATEGORY $19
Sit above the listings on your category page for 7 days, labelled Sponsored.
- NEWSLETTER $29
Sponsor one issue of the weekly newsletter: your company in its Sponsored place.
- Billboard from $5
A paid board where the company that has contributed the most sits at the top. Ranked by money only, and it never touches a vote.
- Product review $19
A commissioned, structured review of your product from your own public pages and listing. It is labelled as paid for by the maker and is never a rating or a vote.
- Editorial founder feature $29
A founder article built from your own story and the facts on your listing, edited by one of our editors. Nothing is invented.
Prices are in US dollars; VAT is added where it is due.
Questions
- What happens after the launch?
- Learn from your analytics, keep pricing and screenshots current, and come back with a relaunch after a major update.
- Is asking for votes allowed?
- Share the launch freely and let people choose. Votes can never be bought, and each person has one vote on one account.
- Is one launch directory enough?
- A short list of well-matched directories beats a long list. Read the terms and compare price and link type for each.
- When do I announce my launch?
- Start on launch day itself. A second post during the week, built around something new, gives the launch a second chance.
Good luck with your launch. If you have a question, the Beast Launches help centre is a good place to start. Open the help centre