How much time do you spend on a product launch, and what items take the longest to prepare?
Today I received a question about proper launch preparation:
“Nika, how long should this take us?”
And I didn’t have a clear answer.
Because I remember people who built a landing page five days before launch and made it into the top five.
And I also know people who prepare strategically and build their community at least six months in advance.
When I was preparing the relaunch of the iOS version of Minimalist Phone, I spent around 53 hours on everything related to Product Hunt engagement on the launch day (I tracked it). Out of that, about 7–10 hours were on launch day itself. So roughly 43–45 hours of preparation. Those hours were spread over about 1.5 months.
And that’s with the fact that I’ve been building the community for three years. The product already has some launch history on the platform.
The biggest time investment was for us personally (in this exact order):
Creating visuals (for Product Hunt, social media, and newsletter campaigns)
Video production – but we already had a video that we edited; otherwise, this one would be the most time-consuming item
Engagement (DMs)
Copywriting
Do you keep internal records of how much time you’ve invested in a single launch?
I would be curious to compare.
Replies
We’re preparing for our first launch now, and one of the key things for us has been positioning/messaging. Choosing which key feature to show when the product has many & the right words. It took longer than expected because we pivoted in the process. We chose one key feature to highlight a bit more than a month ago when we first started preparation. After that, the team already shipped 2 completely new ones that are even more relevant. We had no idea about them back then. Generative AI moves really fast, so in our industry, it’s probably better not to stretch preparation too long 🙂
minimalist phone: creating folders
@kristina__grits What product (new features) do you want to relaunch? To be honest, it is difficult quest if you are in AI :D
We haven't tracked the exact hours yet, but it definitely feels like a second full-time job😅🙈
Since we had zero prior experience, the whole process felt like black magic at first. We spent days just researching to understand the rules of the game. (btw your video was also helpful in demystifying that, so thank you!)
Right now, the most time consuming part is outreach and network building. But honestly it’s starting to become fun here in PH. Just hoping all this effort pays off on launch day!🥹
I'm really curious how much time do you currently spend daily just on networking (on PH mainly but also on other networks like LinkedIn, X...)? Because you're one of the most active members here!
minimalist phone: creating folders
@valeriia_kuna I can guarantee that as soon as you become a daily visitor of the platform and enjoy it. Then it is not so difficult :) Daily on Product Hunt, it is up to 30 – 40 minutes. But LinkedIn... that's totally different music to my ears. 3 hours :D
@busmark_w_nika Oh God, 3 hours on LI daily – nothing for me😅🙈
minimalist phone: creating folders
@valeriia_kuna you will change your mind once you become viral here. There's no way back :D
I don't have a clear answer either!
I haven't been tracking the hours preparing for my launch. Doing more to increase the visibility of the brand prior to the launch is always on my mind. I feel overwhelmed at times. As you know, we wear many hats and there is always something to do.
Main Focus:
- Organic social media posting
- Video production for ads
- Ramping up copywriting
Everyday, I take an hour or two to focus on ways to prepare for the launch. I still have lots to learn and so far, I've enjoyed participating in subreddits and on Product Hunt as a new member.
Great post as it is very inspiring to see how others approach their launch and what their journey looks like!
minimalist phone: creating folders
@fitnessrefined do you mean subreddits on Reddit? Because I tried posting there, but the results weren't significant from there. And thank you! :)
Web first applications are typically quicker than IOS app(Duns code, Apple dev account, reviews)
For web first app, at least a week, unless you already have people signed up for your waitlist.
If you plan to launch on Product Hunt, you prefer to have more points on your account(people upvoting you)
If you plan to launch on X, you should prepare by following people and replying to others to mark your X account as active.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@wei_yan4 yes, but these things don't happen separately; you need to divide attention for both. And if you do it alone, it is not sustainble or you cannot achieve all platforms to 100%. If you have a team for that, it is more probable.
I’m not even surprised visuals are your top time investment. Not as a product builder, but as an observer, I’d say it’s justified.
We as users scan with our eyes. If a thumbnail or screenshots look cheap or confusing, I won’t even read brilliant copy. So 50+ hours doesn’t sound like overkill - it feels like a requirement just to break through banner blindness on launch day 🙂
minimalist phone: creating folders
@sergeyvaas In the very first place, you need to spark an interest with your icon, name and tagline. People see this in the leaderboard as the very first thing :)
Lovon AI therapy
I’d say what took me the longest to prepare was figuring out how to position our product update, since this is our second launch.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@ponikarovskii Have you already figured it out or? :D
I didn’t spend months preparing the launch, but I spent a surprising amount of time thinking about it.
The longest part wasn’t technical but was the restraint. Deciding what not to ship, what not to explain, and what not to optimize took far more time than writing the code.
I imagined different reactions : confusion, dismissal, curiosity and tried to make sure the product could stand on its own without me defending it. I spent around 40 hours planing the pre launch on some platforms.
For something as minimal as i'm building, tone and framing matter more than features. That’s where most of the effort went.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@raniazyane were you alone for that launch? Because 40 hours for a solo person... it is not a little tie :D
minimalist phone: creating folders
@raniazyane aaa, so that's better when there are more people. I am gonna check :)
@busmark_w_nika thankiies
vibecoder.date
I think for my best launch I spent maybe 20 hours total if I count all the outreach and getting people on board.
I did try to have good visuals, didn't do the sort of interactive demo that some do.
Next launch I want to nail the visuals, make it extra clear what I'm offering and why it matters.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@build_with_aj I am pretty curious how much time distributed it would be if things were done to the fullest properly – video production, demo, graphic design/product photos in some cases, full campaign management. Time burnt :D
vibecoder.date
@busmark_w_nika I mean, properly means different things to different people. Every day I thank the stars I never pursued a career as a video editor, it would have consumed me.
I think 100+ work hours could be spent on a launch easily.
That easily triples when you factor in a large promotional campaign
minimalist phone: creating folders
@build_with_aj You are so right here :D I tried a video editor career and personally, my eyes were bleediing :DD
I try to keep track of my time, but sometimes I get so involved that I don't even bother keeping track, which is why I still don't have a reliable answer to your question. This is very interesting, because I'd also like to know the average time. But I think the range would still be huge.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@artembelov if I broke that 50+ hours in that 1.5-month time frame, it would be somewhere 2 – 3 hours daily.
Of course, I didn't distribute my time this way. Some days I worked more, some days less. But I am daily here at least 30 minutes for a couple of years so... It is a lot of time, indeed :D
I’ve practically abandoned my "stable productivity stack" to live 24/7 on Product Hunt, forums, Reddit, LinkedIn, X... and I still feel like I’m just making it up as I go. 😀
Seeing your breakdown makes me realize that a successful launch really is a full-time job. I honestly admire every single founder who goes through this. It costs an insane amount of time (and sanity!), but your transparency gives us beginners a lot of hope.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I’m going to go question all my life choices. 😀
minimalist phone: creating folders
@tereza_hurtova Tereza, now, it is not the time to question your life choices; you need to engage. Go to Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, Bluesky, post post post, comment comment comment, reply reply reply :D
@busmark_w_nika Haha, loud and clear, Nika! 😀 I’m definitely in the 'hamster on a wheel' phase right now, but honestly? I’m loving every second of this madness! It’s a completely different world compared to my usual marketing routine. Challenge accepted! I’m going back to the trenches to engage, post, and comment until my keyboard gives up. 😀
minimalist phone: creating folders
@tereza_hurtova well, I also like it... but on the other hand, I am thinking whether I will not regret it later when I sacrifice this time. I could spend more time with family instead of talking to strangers. It feels a little bit weird :D