Many startup launches are a single day of posts followed by silence. A launch that brings in users is a few weeks of preparation, a clear message, and a small number of channels you keep working after the announcement is forgotten.
Start planning while the product is being built
The best time to plan a launch is eight to twelve weeks before release, alongside the build. That leaves time to test messaging with real prospects, build the pages and line up the first users, and it keeps the marketing honest about what the product will actually do on day one.
Write down who it is for and what it replaces
Before any pages or posts, agree on three sentences: who the product is for, what they use today instead, and why they should switch. If the team cannot agree on those sentences, no amount of design will fix the launch. Test them in conversations with ten potential users and change the words until people repeat them back.
Build the pages people will land on
At a minimum you need a clear home page, a page for each main use case or audience, a pricing or next-step page and a way to sign up or book a call. Each page should target one search your buyers make, so the launch traffic has somewhere to go when the announcement fades.
Set up measurement before launch day
Install analytics, define the few events that matter, such as sign-up, activation and first payment, and check they fire correctly. Add Google Search Console and a simple dashboard. Without this, you will not know which channel brought the users who stayed.
Pick two or three channels, not ten
Early-stage teams do best with a few channels worked properly. For B2B products, that is often direct outreach on LinkedIn and email, search, and one partnership or community. For consumer products, it may be a community, content and a small paid test. Choose based on where your buyers already spend time, not on what worked for another company.
Line up your first users before the launch
- A waitlist or list of prospects who asked to be told when it is ready.
- Five to ten early users willing to try it and give honest feedback.
- A short launch email and post ready to send on the day.
- Answers to the three questions every prospect asks, written down.
Review every week after launch
For the first two months, meet weekly to look at the numbers: where users came from, who activated and who paid. Put more effort into the channels that bring customers and drop the ones that only bring visits. The launch is the first week of a process, not the end of one.
We plan launches alongside the products we build, so the marketing matches what the software does. If you have a launch coming up, we are happy to review the plan. Read more about our go-to-market launch work.