Your launch day checklist

What to do in the four weeks before your app launches, on the day and the day after. Pick your launch date and every step gets a real date, with this week’s marked.

1. 4 weeks out

   28 to 15 days before

   0/8

   • Pick the date and write down the one number launch day is for: installs, signups or sales.
   • Write the one-line pitch: who it is for and what it does for them.
   • Get the TestFlight build to a handful of real users and fix what they trip on.
   • Plan the App Store screenshots. The first three carry the pitch on their own.
   • Brief the launch film: the problem, the app solving it, the payoff, in 30 to 60 seconds.
   • Brief UGC creators now. Scripting, filming and edits take longer than you think.
   • Set up analytics and check the install and signup events actually fire.
   • Start posting the build on X and TikTok a few times a week.

2. 2 weeks out

   14 to 8 days before

   0/8

   • Upload the final screenshots and check them at actual size on a real phone.
   • Lock the App Store name, subtitle, keywords and description.
   • Submit for App Review with manual release on, so approval is never the thing you wait for.
   • Put the landing page live: headline, App Store button, the film and an email signup.
   • Lock the launch film and export 16:9 and 9:16 cuts.
   • Post the first UGC videos and note which hooks hold attention.
   • Draft the Product Hunt page: tagline, gallery, maker comment.
   • List the writers and newsletters that cover apps like yours.

3. 1 week out

   7 to 2 days before

   0/7

   • Schedule the Product Hunt launch. Its day starts at 12:01am Pacific.
   • Write the launch posts: the X thread, the TikTok and the Reels caption.
   • Send short, personal pitches with the launch date, the film and the screenshots.
   • Make a press kit: icon, logo, screenshots, the film and one paragraph about the app.
   • Draft the launch email to your list.
   • Ask friends, early users and communities to share on the day. Ask for honest comments, not upvotes.
   • Make a tagged link for each channel so you can see what worked.

4. The day before

   1 day before

   0/5

   • Check the approved build is waiting for manual release.
   • Run the whole path on a phone: post, landing page, App Store, install, signup.
   • Queue the posts and the email for the morning.
   • Clear your calendar for launch day.
   • Stop tweaking and go to bed.

5. Launch day

   On the day

   0/6

   • Release the app and check it shows in your App Store country. It can take a while to appear.
   • Post your maker comment on Product Hunt as soon as it goes live.
   • Post the X thread and the TikTok, and pin the thread.
   • Send the email to your list.
   • Reply to every comment and DM through the day.
   • Watch analytics and crash reports. Fix what breaks before anything else.

6. The day after

   1 day after

   0/6

   • Thank everyone who shared, in public and by DM.
   • Write down visits, installs and signups by channel while they are fresh.
   • Post a short recap with what you learned.
   • Follow up once with press who did not reply.
   • Reply to App Store reviews.
   • Take the hook that worked best and make more videos from it.

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