Make your launch count: the Startup Biz Info playbook
Below is the Startup Biz Info plan for a product launch: what to prepare, what to share and how to follow up afterwards.
Getting ready
Complete your listing
People decide quickly. Make sure the tagline and description are clear and current, the FAQs are answered and your founder profile is complete.
Add clear screenshots
A clear logo and two or three honest screenshots are worth the effort. If you have a short video walk-through, add that as well.
Plan the date
Check your calendar first. A launch goes best when the founder can reply to comments the same day.
Tell people it is coming
Draft your launch day posts and email in advance, and tell your team the date so they can share it as themselves.
Launch day
Keep replying
Check your listing and your posts through the day and reply to everyone, including the critical comments.
Join the right communities
Every community has its own rules on promotion: read them before you post. Show HN suits a product people can use straight away.
Share your launch link
Post your listing link on X, LinkedIn and Bluesky, pin the post to your profile and put the link in your bio for the week.
Email your list
Send one clear email: what you launched, where to see it, and a thank you. Put the launch link in your welcome email as well.
Share the launch and let people judge it. Votes cannot be bought, one person has one vote, and extra accounts or vote exchanges are not allowed.
In the days after going live
Improve the listing as you go
If people keep asking something, the page should answer it. Edit the listing during the week as questions come in.
Add the badge to your site
Add the badge to your site: it shows where you launched and links to your listing page.
Spread the launch out
Spread your launch over the directories that match your product. Compare them before you pay for any of them.
Share what you learnt
Post on LinkedIn again after the first day with new detail. A behind-the-scenes note works better than a reminder.
Beyond launch week
Relaunch when there is news
Come back when you have news. A relaunch after a significant update gives you something fresh to share.
Check your numbers
Read your analytics a week later. Tagged links show which places were worth the effort for your next launch.
Maintain your page
An old page loses trust. Update the description, pricing and images whenever your product changes.
Choosing launch directories
Compare your options on Best Launch Directories, which lists launch directories by kind with their Domain Rating, pricing and link type.
If you want more
The playbook works on its own. These optional extras from Startup Biz Info add to it, at the prices listed.
- Featured launch $19
7 days as the homepage's Featured listing from your launch week, labelled Featured. It is never a vote.
- Multi-site bundle $99
You write it once; we put it live for you on 49 other launch and discovery sites, each in its own wording, and every later edit you make is carried to all of them automatically.
- Done-for-you listing $149.99
We list you on 49 other launch and discovery sites for you, write a different description for each one, and email you every link once they are live.
- Front door sponsor $49
7 days in the homepage's Sponsored slot with your name, logo, tagline and a link to your site.
- Category perch $19
A Sponsored place at the top of your category page, for 7 days.
- Newsletter slot $29
Your company as the Sponsored entry in one weekly newsletter issue.
- Billboard from $5
Ranked purely by contributions: whoever has put in the most is at the top. Separate from community votes, and labelled paid.
- Product review $19
A structured product review, made from your website pages and your listing, shown on your listing with a label saying the maker commissioned it. It counts as no vote or rating.
- Editorial founder feature $29
A founder feature written from your story, profile and listing, then edited by one of our editors. No invented facts.
Prices are in US dollars; VAT is added where it is due.
Questions
- What is the right moment to share the launch?
- As soon as it is live on launch day. Keep the rest of the week for replies, edits and one follow-up post.
- Is there anything to do after launch week?
- Keep improving the page, check your analytics, and launch again when there is something new to say.
- Is asking for votes allowed?
- Tell people about it, yes. But one person has one vote, votes cannot be bought, and asking for votes from extra accounts is not allowed.
- Is it worth using several launch directories?
- Use the directories that suit your category, not every one you can find. Compare them on price and link type before paying.
Come back to this list whenever you launch. For anything specific, ask in the Startup Biz Info help centre. Open the help centre