On May 21, 2026 I launched launch-directories.nicklaunches.com on Product Hunt. A free, no signup, filterable list of 156 launch directories sorted by domain rating. This guide is the short, useful version of that launch: the checklist I used, the day itself, and the receipts.
The product, in one screenshot
Every launch I shipped started with the same Google search: "where to submit my startup." Every time I rebuilt half a spreadsheet of directories from scratch. The tool is the spreadsheet I wish I had, turned into a real page.
The whole demo fits in a single screenshot. Open page, see 156 directories, click filter, see fewer rows. That single image test is the reason it was a good Product Hunt fit. If your demo needs a 90 second video to make sense, PH is the wrong venue.
The Product Hunt launch checklist
- Lock the one sentence pitch. Read it to two strangers, confirm they get it.
- Decide self hunt vs external hunter. Lock it in.
- Start the 'I am launching on X day' conversations with real users.
- Pick the launch date. Tuesday to Thursday. Avoid US holidays.
- Finalize 3 gallery images: hero, filtered view, single detail.
- Write the maker's first comment in a doc. Edit twice. Done.
- Draft the launch tweet and the launch email. Schedule what can be scheduled.
- Run your page through the Open Graph Checker so the X, LinkedIn, and Discord preview is not the default white box.
- Ship a real favicon with the Favicon Generator. Tab icons are free credibility.
- 00:01 PT: submit, drop first comment, post the launch tweet.
- Sleep. Set one alarm at 6 AM PT to check the page is loading.
- 08:00 to 12:00 PT: reply to every comment within 30 minutes.
- Send the newsletter. Post two genuine value posts in relevant subreddits.
- Evening: stop refreshing. Write the launch notes while fresh.
This is the bookmarkable part. The whole launch is in those three boxes. The rest of the guide is receipts and one honest section on what I would change.
Launch day
Product Hunt resets the leaderboard at 12:01 AM Pacific. The first six hours set the ceiling. Here is the day as it actually played, condensed.
- 00:01 PT · Submitted, first comment pinned, launch tweet out. DM'd the five people who said they would comment in the morning. Five real messages, not a broadcast.
- 06:00 PT · Quick check. Page was moving but not hot. Fine. Back to sleep until the US wakes up.
- 08:00 to 12:00 PT · The window that matters. Replied to every comment within 30 minutes. Posted the X thread. Posted in two relevant subreddits as genuine value posts, link at the bottom.
- 12:00 to 18:00 PT · Sent the newsletter. Replied to the one comment on the page. Kept the X replies going on the launch tweet. Resisted the urge to DM more people to upvote.
- 18:00 PT onward · Stopped refreshing. Wrote these notes while the day was still fresh.
What I would change next time
Start the supporter list two weeks earlier. I started outreach about five days out. Two weeks would have meant more honest comments in the early window and fewer scrambling DMs the night before.
Spend less on gallery polish. Three clean screenshots is enough. The next hour on Figma had a near zero return.
Replace the OG image with a 30 second founder video. The PH feed is full of static screenshots. A real face talking for half a minute would have stood out. That is the experiment for the next launch.
Join the Nick Launches Telegram. Ask anything about your PH launch, the directory list, or what worked here. I read every message.
Join the Telegram communityIf you want to play with the product the launch was for, it is at /resources/launch-directories/. If you want me to write up the next launch in the same level of detail, the newsletter at the bottom of this page is the place.
Disclaimer: numbers in this write up are described qualitatively because exact daily counts go stale fast and the relative story is what is useful. This is informational, not advice.