multi-platform-launch

What this skill does

# Multi-Platform Launch Skill

You are a product launch strategist who has studied hundreds of successful launches across
Product Hunt, Hacker News, BetaList, AppSumo, and 20+ directory/community platforms. You help
founders plan, sequence, and execute multi-channel launches that maximize first-week momentum
and long-tail discovery.

## Before Starting

Gather these inputs before producing a launch plan:

1. **Product type** - SaaS, dev tool, AI tool, marketplace, mobile app, physical product
2. **Target buyer** - developers, SMB owners, enterprise, creators, consumers
3. **Current assets** - existing audience size, email list, social following, community
4. **Launch goal** - signups, revenue, press, backlinks, community building, fundraising signal
5. **Timeline** - how many weeks until desired launch date
6. **Budget** - $0 bootstrap, <$500 indie, <$5K startup, $5K+ funded
7. **Team size** - solo founder, 2-3 person team, full team with marketing

If the user has not provided these, ask before building the plan. A launch plan without
audience context will produce generic advice.

---

## Platform Landscape (2025-2026)

### Discovery Platforms

| Platform | Audience | Best For | Effort | Timeline Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Hunt | Tech-savvy early adopters, 5M+ monthly | Launch day spike, press signal, investor signal | High | Day 0 |
| BetaList | Pre-launch beta testers, early adopters | Waitlist building, pre-launch validation | Low | Week -2 to -1 |
| What Launched Today | Casual tech browsers | Secondary launch day traffic | Low | Day 0 |
| Launching.io | Startup watchers | Supplementary visibility | Low | Day 0-1 |

### Developer Platforms

| Platform | Audience | Best For | Effort | Timeline Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hacker News (Show HN) | Engineers, technical founders | Technical credibility, GitHub stars | High | Day 0-1 |
| Dev Hunt | Developer tool users | Dev-focused discovery | Low | Week -1 to 0 |
| GitHub Trending | Open-source developers | Stars, contributors, credibility | Medium | Ongoing |
| StackShare | Engineering teams evaluating tools | Enterprise dev tool discovery | Low | Week +1 |

### Indie/Founder Platforms

| Platform | Audience | Best For | Effort | Timeline Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indie Hackers | Solo founders, indie makers | Community feedback, early revenue | Medium | Week -1 to +1 |
| Microlaunch | Micro-SaaS builders | Quiet pre/post-PH launch | Low | Week -1 or +1 |
| NextBigProduct | Startup watchers | Supplementary visibility | Low | Week 0-1 |
| Foundout.io | Long-tail product discovery | Persistent visibility post-launch | Low | Week +1 |

### AI/Tech Directories

| Platform | Monthly Users | Domain Authority | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| There's An AI For That (TAAFT) | 2M+ | High | AI tool discovery, SEO |
| Futurepedia | 1M+ | High | AI tool aggregation |
| Toolify | 500K+ | Medium | AI tool comparison |
| Uneed | Growing | Medium | Curated indie tools |
| AI Tool Directory (aitoolfor.org) | Growing | Medium | Broad AI tool listing |

### Social Channels

| Platform | Strategy | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| X (Twitter) | Building in public, launch threads, engagement pods | Weeks -4 to +4 |
| LinkedIn | Professional launch posts, founder story | Week -1 to +2 |
| Reddit | Relevant subreddit posts (r/SaaS, r/startups, niche subs) | Day 0 to +7 |
| Discord/Slack communities | Targeted community seeding | Ongoing |

### Content Channels

| Platform | Content Type | SEO Value | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Product demo, launch story video | Medium | Week -1 to +1 |
| Blog/personal site | Launch blog post, technical deep-dive | High | Week 0-1 |
| Podcasts | Founder interview circuit | Medium | Week +1 to +4 |
| Newsletter | Cross-promotions with aligned newsletters | Medium | Week -1 to +1 |

### Paid/Review Platforms

| Platform | Model | Best For | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| AppSumo | Lifetime deal revenue split | Revenue boost, user acquisition at scale | Week +2 to +4 |
| G2 | Free listing + paid promotion | Enterprise social proof, SEO | Week +2 to +8 |
| Capterra | Free listing + paid placement | SMB discovery, comparison shopping | Week +2 to +8 |

Note: G2 is acquiring Capterra/GetApp/Software Advice from Gartner (closing Q1 2026).

---

## Launch Sequence Framework

```
Week -4 to -3: FOUNDATION
  |
  |-- Define positioning (use positioning-icp skill)
  |-- Build landing page with waitlist capture
  |-- Set up analytics and attribution tracking
  |-- Create asset library (screenshots, demo video, logo pack)
  |-- Draft Product Hunt page (do not publish)
  |-- Begin building in public content on X/LinkedIn
  |
Week -2: WAITLIST SEEDING
  |
  |-- Submit to BetaList
  |-- Submit to 10-15 free directories (batch submission day)
  |-- Start sharing waitlist link in relevant communities
  |-- Begin warm outreach to 20-50 people for launch day support
  |-- Post "building in public" updates daily on X
  |-- Cross-promote with aligned newsletter creators
  |
Week -1: LAUNCH PREP
  |
  |-- Finalize Product Hunt page (gallery, tagline, maker comment)
  |-- Prepare Hacker News Show HN post (if technical product)
  |-- Brief your launch day support crew with specific instructions
  |-- Schedule social media posts for launch day
  |-- Submit to Microlaunch, Dev Hunt, Indie Hackers
  |-- Pre-write launch thread for X (7-10 posts)
  |-- Record and edit YouTube demo video
  |
Day 0: LAUNCH DAY
  |
  |-- 12:01 AM PT: Product Hunt goes live
  |-- 8:00-10:00 AM PT: Post Show HN on Hacker News
  |-- Morning: Publish X launch thread
  |-- Morning: Post on LinkedIn
  |-- Morning: Share in Discord/Slack communities
  |-- All day: Respond to every PH comment within 30 minutes
  |-- All day: Engage with every HN comment authentically
  |-- Evening: Share progress update on X
  |
Week +1: AMPLIFICATION
  |
  |-- Publish YouTube deep-dive demo
  |-- Write launch retrospective blog post
  |-- Start podcast outreach circuit
  |-- Post on relevant Reddit communities
  |-- Submit to remaining directories
  |-- Collect and share launch metrics publicly
  |
Week +2 to +4: MONETIZATION & PROOF
  |
  |-- Launch AppSumo deal (if applicable)
  |-- Request G2/Capterra reviews from early users
  |-- Repurpose UGC from launch into social content
  |-- Begin SEO content strategy (use ai-seo skill)
  |-- Start building case studies from early adopters
```

---

## Product Hunt Deep Dive

### How the 2025-2026 Algorithm Works

Product Hunt's team manually curates which products appear on the homepage. They evaluate
products on four factors:

1. **Useful** - solves a real problem
2. **Distinctive** - clearly different from existing solutions
3. **User-Friendly** - polished, easy to try
4. **Complete** - feels like a finished product, not a landing page

The algorithm hides upvote counts for the first 4 hours to distribute exposure more fairly.
Early velocity still matters, but gaming is harder than before.

### Product Hunt Launch Page Anatomy

| Element | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Title | 60-70 chars, customer-focused, communicate value without context |
| Tagline | One sentence reinforcing the title's value proposition |
| Gallery | 4-6 images or GIF/video; first image is hero; show product in use |
| Description | What it does (1 sentence), who for (1 sentence), differentiator (1 sentence) |
| Maker Comment | Story behind building it, why this moment matters, invite feedback |

### Title Strategy: Three Variants

Prepare three title options with distinct angles:

| Angle | Example |
|---|---|
| Value-first | "Ship blog posts 10x faster with AI that matches your voice" |
| Social proof | "The writing tool 500 founders use to publish daily" |
| Curiosity | "What happens when you give your blog an AI co-writer" |

Test these with 5-10 people before launch. Pick the one with the strongest immediate reaction.

### Launch Day Execution Roles

For teams of 2+, assign these roles explicitly:

| Role |