The Product Launch Checklist We Used for 1.8M Views (Free Template)

Most launches do not fail on launch day. They fail three weeks earlier, when nobody wrote down what had to happen, who was going to engage in the first hour, or what the first line of the launch post would say.

We have run a lot of launches at Okara. One got 1.8 million views on X for under $2K, without an influencer agency. Our Okara launch tweet did 14 million views in a day and brought over 3 million visitors during that launch. We have also had a launch reach 70 million organic views and bring no product users, which taught us as much as the wins did.

This is the checklist we actually work from, split into four phases: four weeks before, one week before, launch day hour by hour, and the week after. At the end there is a copyable template you can paste into Notion, Linear or a doc.

Quick answer: A product launch checklist should cover four phases. Four weeks out: test that strangers get value in 30 seconds, write a one-page press release and FAQ, script the video, pick the day, and start building your list of supporters and creators. One week out: give creators early access, lock the hook, and send calendar invites. Launch day: post at a time your audience is awake (we use Tuesday around 9am ET for US audiences), ping everyone the moment it is live, and concentrate engagement in the first 60 to 90 minutes. The week after: follow up within 48 hours, amplify what worked, and plan the next launch.

Why a written checklist matters

A launch looks like luck from the outside. From the inside it is a long list of small, boring tasks. When we started running launches, we wrote down everything that had to happen before a launch, then broke each item into sub-tasks until every task was atomic. That list is the checklist below.

Two numbers shape the whole thing:

• The hook is about 80% of the result. If the first line does not stop the scroll, the video, the creators and the budget barely matter.
• The first 60 to 90 minutes decide reach. X rewards early engagement, and replies, quote posts and saves count for far more than likes. Almost every task in the weeks before exists to make that first hour busy.

If you want the full story and reasoning behind these steps, read how we got 1.8M views on a launch for under $2K and the Viral Launch Handbook.

Phase 1: Four weeks before launch

This phase decides whether launch day works. Most of it has nothing to do with marketing.

Product

• Show value in the first 30 seconds and get to the "aha" within 60 seconds
• Remove anything that stands between a new visitor and that moment (surveys, team invites, long onboarding)
• Watch five strangers use the product and time them. If it takes more than a minute to understand why it exists, fix that first
• Decide what a launch visitor should become: a signup, a lead or a customer
• Make pricing visible and signup fast (ours takes under a minute)

A launch sends thousands of skeptical people to your product in a short window. No launch technique saves a product people do not want. Our 70-million-view launch is the proof: huge reach, no product users.

Press release and FAQ

• Write a one-page press release: what you are launching, the problem in the customer's words, who it is for, and what it costs
• Add a short FAQ with the questions people will ask
• Use this page as the source of truth for the video, the thread, the creator brief and the newsletter
• If you cannot write it crisply, treat that as a product problem, not a marketing one

Video

• Write the script from the press release
• Decide the outcome first: product demo, awareness or conversions
• Pick a format. We have done high production, animation and plain screen recordings, and the format barely matters. Fit between product, problem and channel matters
• If you animate, keep it simple: clean demo, fitting music, under 2 minutes
• Show the product or state the problem in the first 3 seconds. No logo animation, no "hey guys"
• If you are launching an AI product, lead with the problem and the outcome, not "we added AI"

You can hire someone to make the video or record it yourself with a tool like Screen Studio. Keep the product as the star.

Date and people

• Pick a day and time when your audience is awake and idle. For a US audience we use Tuesday around 9am ET
• Check the calendar for big announcements you would be competing with
• List everyone who might engage: friends, power users, former colleagues, investors and people who post actively on X in your space
• Start researching creators: accounts with 10K+ followers that post consistently in your niche and get at least 3K reach per post

Hooks

• Pull up the 20 biggest product launches of the past year and read only their first lines
• Note the patterns: a claim that sounds impossible, a number, a villain, a before and after
• Save formats that are already proven, such as "We are introducing the world's first..." or "Today we kill..."

The Okara launch library is a good place to do this. It collects launch videos software companies posted on X, sortable by views.

Phase 2: One week before launch

Supporters

• Email or DM everyone on your list with the date, time and a clear ask (repost or quote the launch post)
• Send a calendar invite to everyone who says yes. It sounds small, but people are busy, not unwilling, and a notification at launch time is half the trick
• Aim for about 50 committed people who will engage within the first 30 minutes
• Brief your team on who pings whom on launch morning

Creators

• DM creators and ask for their rates for reposts and quote posts
• Negotiate based on views, not follower count. We start around a $5 CPM and only go higher when a specific creator's numbers justify it
• Reach out to far more than you need. In our handbook process we contact around 500 accounts to close about 50
• Give accepted creators access to the product a week early, so their posts are specific instead of generic
• Ask for honest takes. Readers can spot coordinated copy
• Ask every creator to follow X's rules for sponsored content and add a sponsored tag to paid posts

Three to four days before

• Lock in creator approvals. Our creators get a 48-hour window to accept, so do not leave this to launch morning
• Write the creator brief: your launch post, your messaging, and screenshots of quote posts from other launches that did well ("something like this, in your voice")
• Include examples of short one-line and meme quote posts, which we have seen increase reach

The launch post

• Write 20 hooks and kill 19
• Make the first line emotional, divisive or a hot take. If nobody could disagree, nobody will reply
• Attach the video to the first post
• Decide where the link goes. If you want the option to run X ads on the post later, keep the link out of the first post and put it in a reply. If you will not run ads, a clean, easy-to-remember URL in the first post works too
• Draft the newsletter: what you launched, why it matters, one link, and a request to engage in the next hour

Phase 3: Launch day, hour by hour

If you did the first two phases, 90% of the work is behind you. Clear your calendar anyway.

Before you post

• Final check that signup works from a fresh browser
• Newsletter scheduled or ready to send
• Creator brief and supporter messages ready to paste

Minute 0: post

• Publish the launch post with the video (and the link in a reply, if you are keeping ads open)
• Immediately ping power users, friends, family and creators with the direct link
• Message the investors, friends and former colleagues you warned earlier
• Send accepted creators the launch post plus their instructions

First 30 minutes

• Your roughly 50 committed supporters repost and quote
• Reply to every early reply
• Repost the best quote posts

First 60 to 90 minutes

• Keep engagement concentrated in this window. Replies, quote posts and saves carry more weight than likes
• Follow up personally with anyone who committed but has not engaged yet
• Send the newsletter and ask subscribers to engage in the next hour

Hours 2 to 8

• Repost every quote post about the launch
• Keep replying
• Watch what is landing and share it (a strong quote post, a customer reaction, a milestone)
• Note questions people keep asking for the FAQ and follow-up posts

Phase 4: The week after

Virality decays within about 48 hours. The week after is where you turn attention into users and set up the next launch.

24 to 48 hours after

• Follow up with everyone who engaged
• If you kept the link out of the first post and want more reach, run X ads on the launch video
• Collect proof of posts from creators and clear their payments

Rest of the week

• Check what the launch produced against the goal you set (signups, leads, customers), not just views
• Answer open questions in replies and DMs
• Turn the best reactions into follow-up posts
• If the launch was flat, treat it as a hook problem first and plan a relaunch with a new angle
• Put the next launch on the calendar. Every feature, milestone and integration is another launch, and each one builds on the audience from the last

If you are launching on Product Hunt too, the timing and rules are different. Our Product Hunt launch checklist covers that platform.

Copyable launch checklist template

Copy this into your task tool and assign an owner and a date to each line.

PRODUCT LAUNCH CHECKLIST
Product: ____________   Launch date/time: ____________   Owner: ____________
Goal (what a visitor should become): ____________

== 4 WEEKS BEFORE ==
[ ] Value in first 30 seconds, "aha" within 60 seconds
[ ] 5 strangers tested and timed; fixes shipped
[ ] Pricing visible, signup under a minute
[ ] One-page press release + FAQ written
[ ] Video outcome decided (demo / awareness / conversions)
[ ] Video script written from the press release
[ ] Video produced (under 2 min, product or problem in first 3 seconds)
[ ] Launch day and time picked; calendar checked for competing news
[ ] Supporter list: friends, power users, ex-colleagues, investors, active posters
[ ] Creator research: 10K+ followers, active in niche, 3K+ reach per post
[ ] 20 biggest launches studied; hook patterns noted

== 1 WEEK BEFORE ==
[ ] Supporters asked; calendar invites sent to every yes (~50 committed)
[ ] Creator rates requested; negotiated on views (start ~$5 CPM)
[ ] Accepted creators given early product access
[ ] Sponsored-content disclosure requirement shared with creators
[ ] 20 hooks written, 1 chosen
[ ] Link decision made (in first post, or in reply to keep ads open)
[ ] Newsletter drafted (what, why, one link, "engage in the next hour")

== 3-4 DAYS BEFORE ==
[ ] Creator approvals locked (48-hour acceptance window)
[ ] Creator brief ready: launch post, messaging, example quote posts

== LAUNCH DAY ==
[ ] Signup tested from a fresh browser
[ ] Minute 0: post launch with video
[ ] Minute 0: ping supporters, power users, friends, family, creators
[ ] Minute 0: send creators the launch post + instructions
[ ] 0-30 min: supporters repost and quote; reply to everything
[ ] 30-90 min: keep engagement concentrated; chase missing commitments
[ ] Newsletter sent
[ ] Hours 2-8: repost every quote post, keep replying, log questions

== WEEK AFTER ==
[ ] Within 48h: follow up with everyone who engaged
[ ] 24-48h: X ads on the video (only if no link in first post)
[ ] Creator proof of posts collected; payments cleared
[ ] Results checked against the goal, not just views
[ ] Relaunch planned if flat (new hook)
[ ] Next launch on the calendar

And a supporter email you can adapt. The calendar invite at the end is the part that does the work.

Subject: [Product] launches [day] at [time]

Hi [Name],

We've been working on [Product] for the past [X months], refining it
with real user feedback, and we're ready to go public.

On [date] at [time and timezone] we'll post our launch on X. If you're
willing to repost or quote it, it would mean a lot, especially in the
first 30 minutes.

If you're in, I'll send a quick calendar invite so you get a reminder
the moment it goes live.

Thanks,
[Your name]

Where Okara fits

The launch itself is yours: the product, the video, the hook and the people you bring. What Okara helps with is the part most founders skip, which is posting consistently in the weeks before so there is an audience to launch to.

The free AI CMO plan analyzes your site and gives you positioning, ICP messaging and a 30-day marketing strategy, which is a useful starting point for the press release. The X Agent, included from AI CMO Lite ($129/mo, or $108/mo billed annually), drafts at least 30 posts a month, including threads, that you can edit and schedule or post from the dashboard. Lite also includes the Influencer Agent for finding X creators, outreach and campaign tracking; campaigns cost $129/mo plus 10% of campaign spend, with no retainer. See Okara pricing for details.

What it will not do is write your hook for you or make a weak product land. The checklist still has to be worked.

Common questions

What should be on a product launch checklist?

Product readiness (value in 30 seconds), a one-page press release and FAQ, a launch video, a date, a list of committed supporters and creators, a tested hook, a launch-day schedule for the first hour, and a follow-up plan for the next 48 hours.

How far in advance should I plan a product launch?

Start about four weeks out. The product fixes, press release and video take the longest. Creator approvals should be locked three to four days before, and supporter calendar invites should go out about a week before.

How many supporters do I need on launch day?

We aim for about 50 people who have committed to engage in the first 30 minutes. For paid creator campaigns, we reach out to around 100 or more because not everyone accepts.

What is the best day to launch on X?

For a US audience, we use Tuesday around 9am ET. Whatever you pick, check that you are not launching into a major announcement from a big company.

Should my launch post include a link?

It depends on whether you want to run ads. If your first post has a link, you generally cannot run X ads on it later, so keep the link in a reply if you want that option.

What if the launch flops?

Treat it as a hook problem first. Change the angle and launch again. Every feature and milestone is another chance to launch.