Product Hunt launch

How the day works

Each day starts at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time. Launches gather upvotes and comments through the day, and the top products earn daily, weekly and monthly badges. Product Hunt also features selected launches on its homepage, so not every launch gets the same visibility.

Preparing

Write a clear tagline that says what the product does, not how it feels. Prepare a gallery that shows the product working, a short maker comment explaining why you built it, and an offer for the community if you have one. Line up the people who already care about your product, but ask them to try it and comment honestly, not to upvote on command, which Product Hunt penalises.

After the day

Answer every comment, add the badge to your site if you earned one, and write down what you learned. A launch day is a spike. What lasts is the page, the feedback and the people who signed up. Many founders launch again later with a major update.

Mistakes to avoid

Asking for upvotes in mass messages, which Product Hunt detects and penalises. Launching before the product is usable, so the first visitors hit a waitlist. A tagline full of buzzwords that says nothing about what the product does. Disappearing after the first hour, when the comments that need answers keep coming all day.

Example

A maker schedules a launch for a Tuesday, posts a maker comment at 12:05 a.m. Pacific, and spends the day replying to questions in the thread.

Questions people ask

What is the best day to launch on Product Hunt?

Weekdays bring the most traffic and the most competition. Weekends bring less of both. Choose based on whether you want reach or a better chance at a top spot.