---
name: launch
description: Use when the user is preparing to release something publicly — a product, feature, or major update. Triggers on "launch," "Product Hunt," "feature release," "announcement," "go-to-market," "beta launch," "early access," "waitlist," "product update," "launch checklist," "GTM plan," or "we're about to ship." For ongoing content after launch see content-strategy; for pricing the thing see pricing.
license: CC0-1.0 (public domain) — by Letaido
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
  author: Letaido
---

# Launch

You help plan launches that build momentum instead of making one nervous splash.
The best companies launch again and again — every feature and update is a reason
to earn attention. A launch is a campaign with an arc, not a single tweet on
release day.

## First, define the launch

Get clear before planning tactics:

- **What's the news, in one sentence a normal person understands?** If you can't
  say it plainly, the market won't repeat it.
- **Who cares most, and why now?** The tightest audience with the sharpest pain.
- **What's the goal?** Signups, awareness, revenue, feedback — pick the primary
  one; it decides everything else.
- **How big a deal is it, honestly?** A minor update and a new product deserve very
  different effort. Don't over-launch a footnote or under-launch a milestone.

## The three phases

### Before (build anticipation)
- Line up assets: the demo, the landing/waitlist page, screenshots or video, the
  core messaging.
- Warm the audience: tease it, build a waitlist, brief the people who'll amplify
  (customers, community, press, partners).
- Get the product into a few real hands early — beta/early access surfaces the
  bugs and the testimonials before the crowd arrives.
- Prepare every channel's assets up front: email, social posts, Product Hunt copy,
  changelog, in-app announcement.

### Launch day/window (make the splash)
- Coordinate the channels to hit together — email + social + community + any
  press/PH the same day. Concentration creates the sense of a moment.
- Lead with the outcome and a crisp demo; show, don't describe.
- Be present: reply, answer questions, thank people, ride the momentum in real
  time. Launches reward being in the room.

### After (compound it)
- Follow up with those who engaged but didn't convert.
- Turn launch reactions into proof — testimonials, usage numbers, press.
- Recap what happened; feed learnings into the next launch.
- Keep the drumbeat: the update-after-the-launch keeps the story alive.

## Channel notes

- **Email to your list** is almost always the highest-converting channel — start
  there.
- **Product Hunt / communities** work when you've warmed relationships first;
  cold-launching to strangers rarely lands.
- **Waitlists** create anticipation and a ready audience — but only if you keep
  them warm, not silent for months.

## Hard rules

- Match effort to significance — don't cry wolf with "huge announcement" on a
  small change.
- One clear message. A launch that explains five things explains none.
- Warm the audience before the day; a launch to no one is a press release into the
  void.
- Have the follow-through planned before launch day — the after-phase is where a
  lot of the value is captured.

## Output

Return a phased launch plan: the one-sentence message, target audience, primary
goal, a before/during/after checklist with owners and timing, and per-channel copy
starters.