Ultimate Startup Launch Checklist for Solopreneurs in 2023

We all have been there.

You launch your product into the world. You are already thinking about the interview with Forbes. You expect Stripe support to question the number of sales in one day.

And then nothing happens. To be specific, the launch tweet gets two likes and zero sales. Whoops.

Solopreneurs deserve a better system. That's why we created this ultimate checklist for launching a new product. Use it to get more sales on your Day X.

Go-To-Market Strategy 🎯

Ideally, you found this article a few months before the launch. This way, you will have time to define your go-to-market strategy and understand how exactly you will get first paying customers.

• You defined your product's positioning
• You picked acquisition channels to get users
• You described activation steps to translate the value of your product
• You defined your product's pricing
• You have a precise date of launch
• You have a set of goals (revenue, number of users, etc.) for the launch

Warm-up 🔥

You can't just launch your product. Because your audience doesn't even know you planned to do it. That's why you need to warm up your potential customers.

• You are building in public on Twitter to get feedback and support
• You created a waitlist or an early bird landing page to get emails
• You shared a marketing freebie to educate the audience and collect emails
• You are consistently sharing content about the problem your product is solving

Offer Reinforcement 💸

The launch is soon. And improving your sales offer is the key to getting more sales. Here is how to do it.

• You got feedback on your landing page from your audience
• You collected at least 3-4 testimonials from beta-testers of your product
• You collected at least 2-3 reviews from opinion leaders in your niche
• You created a limited deal for the launch to nudge people to buy on the spot
• You checked that the marketing funnel journey is seamless and the checkout process works

Day X 🚀

Time to show the world your product. Solopreneurs usually launch on Twitter or Twitter and Product Hunt at the same time. Let's cover the second option.

• You prepared all content and visuals for the Product Hunt page
• You created a welcome email sequence for new users
• You wrote an engaging launch tweet that grabs the attention
• You asked 20-30 people to support your launch tweet in advance
• You wrote a concise email for your waitlist users
• You launched your startup (yay!)
• You engaged with all comments on Product Hunt to get more traction
• You asked to support you on Product Hunt on different platforms
   <> Indie Hackers
   <> Facebook Groups
   <> LinkedIn Groups
   <> Slack communities
   <> Discord communities
• You celebrated your #1 Product of the Day win

Post-launch Marketing 📈

Unfortunately, launch traffic will be over in one week. You need to keep the flame burning. Good news — there are a lot of ways to do it.

• You submit your website to Google Search Console to start getting SEO traffic
• You improved your product and sales offer based on the feedback from the launch
• You posted your startup on Product Hunt alternatives (Betalist, 10words, etc.)
• You posted your startup on HackerNews
• You posted your startup on relevant subreddits (r/internetisbeautiful, r/SaaS, etc.)
• You picked 1-2 acquisition channels to focus on

Conclusion

Launching a startup sounds terrifying.

But in reality, it's just a set of tasks you need to complete. Some of them take more time, and some of them are quick wins. But all of them should be focused on getting more revenue on Day X.