SaaS Launch Checklist · Control Output

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Positioning

before anything else

Write the one sentence a stranger understandsWho it's for, what it does, why it beats the current workaround. If it needs a second sentence, keep cutting.
Pick the one audience you sell to firstEveryone who could use it is not an audience. Pick the group already paying for a workaround.
Google your product nameIf the name collides with an established term, every branded mention needs a qualifier from day one.
Put up a landing page with one actionOne headline, one screenshot or demo, one button.
Install analytics that show referrersYou need to know where every early signup came from, or launch week teaches you nothing.

one afternoon, once

Verify Google Search Console and submit your sitemapRequest indexing on your key pages. New domains wait weeks otherwise.
Verify Bing Webmaster ToolsBing feeds ChatGPT search and Copilot. Import from Search Console in one click, add IndexNow if you can.
Check titles, descriptions, and social cards on every public pagePaste your URLs into a link-preview checker. Broken cards kill shares silently.
Add Organization and SoftwareApplication structured dataOnce, on the landing page. Helps search engines resolve you as an entity.
Claim your name on the channels you'll actually useJust the ones in your plan. Parked accounts on six platforms help nobody.

2 to 4 weeks out

Warm up your accounts before asking for anythingTwo weeks of showing up normally: posts, comments, replies. Fresh accounts that appear only to promote get ignored or banned.
List 15 to 20 communities where your buyers already areRead each one's self-promo rules and note which allow what.
Line up 10 to 20 people who agreed to try it on day onePersonal asks, weeks ahead. Not a launch-day broadcast.
Prepare launch assets once, reuse everywhereThree clean screenshots, a 60-second demo, and short and long versions of your pitch.
Draft a launch post per platform, in each platform's native formatA Show HN reads nothing like a Product Hunt tagline or an r/SideProject story.
Submit to the slow directories nowG2, Capterra, AlternativeTo, SaaSHub take days or weeks to go live. Start before launch so they exist on the day.

the spike

Launch on Product Hunt00:01 Pacific, on a weekday. Clear first comment from you, then reply to everything.
Post a Show HNPlain text, technical honesty, the story of why you built it. No marketing voice.
Post to the indie launchpadsUneed, Fazier, MicroLaunch, Peerlist. Each is a listing page and a backlink that stays.
Post to the communities that allow itFrom your pre-launch list, in each community's format. Skip the ones that don't; goodwill outlasts one launch.
Message your day-one list personallyOne line each. Ask them to try it, not to upvote.
Reply to every comment and questionLaunch-day comment threads are where the real conversion happens.
Ask every signup where they heard about youOne field at signup. It catches what analytics can't see.

the part that compounds

Hold a daily cadence on one or two channels for 90 daysThe launch spike fades in 72 hours. Consistency is the only channel that compounds, and it's the one everyone drops.
Answer questions in your communities every weekProduct mentioned only where rules allow, disclosed when it's yours.
Write one honest comparison page per competitor'X alternative' searches are how people with buying intent find small tools.
Ask real users for G2 and Capterra reviewsAI assistants cross-reference review sites before recommending anything.
Check branded search and AI answers monthlyGoogle your name, ask ChatGPT for tools in your category, see if you appear yet.