Okay, so my product was finally almost ready. You know that nervous sweat feeling? Yeah, had it bad. Launch day felt like a monster truck heading straight at me. Here’s exactly what I did to avoid getting squished:
Grabbing My Launch Notebook
Dug out this cheap spiral notebook I keep for messy ideas. Scribbled “MAKE THIS LAUNCH NOT SUCK” at the top real big. Not pretty, but honest. Started dumping every single task swirling in my head onto pages – from double-checking website buttons to begging friends for early feedback. Seeing it all in one place? Less panic, more plan.
Stalking… I Mean, Researching
Hopped online checking how other indie folks launched stuff. Not the fancy corporate playbooks. Real people. Watched unboxing videos, scrolled through Reddit rants about bad launches, even joined a Discord for small creators. Took notes on what made people actually care about a launch instead of just scrolling past. Spoiler: It wasn’t flashy jargon.
Beating Up My Own Stuff
Got brutal with my product page. Clicked every link myself like a cranky toddler. Made my brother try buying it blind – he got stuck at checkout. Fixed that. Rewrote descriptions plain as oatmeal because “synergistic paradigm shifts” makes regular humans snooze. Practiced my launch announcement video six times before deleting the cringe.
Leaking Teasers Like a Faucet
Didn’t just blast “BUY NOW” on launch day. Three weeks out, dropped tiny breadcrumbs:
- Blurry behind-the-scenes pic on my profile with “🧪 Testing something…”
- One-sentence hint in my newsletter (“Remember how I hated tangled wires? Fix coming.”)
- Super short clip of the thing actually working – no sound, just vibes
Pissed some folks off cause they wanted details. Good. Meant they were watching.
The Actual Launch Circus
Day of? Felt like herding cats. Posted the main video at 8am sharp. Refreshed stats like a weirdo. Reply gang fired up:
- Answered every single comment personally within an hour
- Shared real screenshots when people asked “Will this work on Android?”
- Posted my own “holy crap it’s live” story looking tired with coffee
Hid my phone twice to breathe. Crucial.
Post-Launch Triage Mode
First three buyers found a typo on page two. Fixed it live. One dude’s payment glitched – hopped into DMs, took his order manually. Ate cold pizza tracking orders instead of celebrating. Watched analytics like it was the season finale of my favorite show. Saw traffic dip? Time to share that 5-star review someone left.
Biggest win? Someone commented “Been waiting for this since your first messy prototype pic – worth it.” That’s the juice. Forget perfection. Show up scared, fix stuff fast, talk like a human. Launch survived. Barely. Next time? Less pizza, maybe more actual pants.
