Ian Johnson

Are there downsides to launching on PH without a plan?

10
We built https://wildfire.so/ in response to a need we had for a project. It is not our primary focus but at the same time, we wanted to see if there is potential here without expending too many resources on it. I know from speaking with others that a successful Product Hunt launch involves a lot of planning but are there any downsides to launching without a plan?

Add a comment

Replies
Best
Matthew Johnson
The main downside is you can't launch again for another six months and do it right.
Fabian Maume
Well the downside is opportunity cost. You might miss out on some great opportunities. However, if this product is not your primary focus it would make sense for you to make a no-frill launch: https://medium.com/@fabian-maume... So a launch without a too complicated a plan. I case you get to reach the top 10 and see some potential to invest more in product hunt you can relaunch after 6 months with more planting.
Maxim Buz
/@fabian @fabian_maume Honestly it feels like the most sensible and lean approach for a side-project / very early-stage startup. Yes, you will not get the full exposure, but you will likely get enough feedback to find out whether it is actually worth pursuing the project or not. That in itself is probably the most valuable output you could possibly get from a side-project PH launch...
Sergio Zaciu
definitely not ideal, but if you wanna just go for it then by all means; better to launch without a plan than not to launch at all :)
Brian Regan
I don't see a downside. There are a bunch of blogs/articles that talk about how to have a successful launch.. I would pick and choose some of the almost 0-effort items (pick the right day, etc.) and make sure you include those to have the best chance of being successful
Dani Luu
@brian_regan This is a good idea, but I would consider this planning already because you have an idea of what you'll be doing and I am all for that! 😁
Dani Luu
I would recommend against it. We just launched yesterday and would consider it successful, or at least we don't have any regrets because we prepared very well for it. There are things we've learned during launch and it'll help us to improve ourselves but no regrets because we know we've done everything we can. If I launch without a plan, our product would have gotten much less visibility and recognition. And I feel that it would be a total shame. You'd probably spend a lot of time and effort on the product and deserve to get some recognition for that. Sorry for the long comment, just launch yesterday so the feelings are fresh 😁.
Aleksa Gavric
I am launching my product (ahra.in) next week, any tips?
Naveed Rehman
Nothing works without a plan, including the launch at PH.
Software Guy (Aarvy)
There should always be a plan for something. I can say this because I did the mistake of launching my product without launch. However, I can help you with increasing your product reach by writing a detailed review of your product on medium for free.