Make your launch count: the SaaS Directory Pro playbook
Below is the SaaS Directory Pro plan for a product launch: what to prepare, what to share and how to follow up afterwards.
The groundwork
1. Give the page everything
Complete the listing and the founder profile now, while there is time. Clear words and a named founder do more than a long list of features.
2. Prepare your visuals
A clear logo and two or three honest screenshots are worth the effort. If you have a short video walk-through, add that as well.
3. Time it well
Launch when you have time to take part. A week with a free diary lets you reply quickly and share updates as they happen.
4. Prepare your posts
A little notice helps. Tell the people who already use or follow your product, and prepare your posts ahead of time.
The day you go live
5. Share it on social
Share your launch where your followers already are. Pin the post, and update your bio link to the listing for the week.
6. Post in groups that welcome it
Communities welcome makers who take part, not drive-by links. Follow each group's rules, and keep Show HN for a product people can use now.
7. Be there to reply
Keep an eye on comments all day and answer each one. Feedback you get now is useful for the next update.
8. Announce it by email
Email your list with the launch link. For the week, add a line and the launch image to the welcome email new users receive.
Invite people to have a look and decide for themselves. One person, one vote: votes can never be bought, and extra accounts or vote trading are not allowed.
Through the week
9. Submit to the right directories
List your product in other launch directories that suit it. Check each one's terms, price and link type first.
10. Share what you learnt
Post on LinkedIn again after the first day with new detail. A behind-the-scenes note works better than a reminder.
11. Use the badge
A small badge on your website shows the launch and links to your listing. Add it once and it keeps working.
12. Improve the listing as you go
Keep editing through the week. A new FAQ for each repeated question and up-to-date screenshots keep the page useful.
When the week is over
13. Relaunch later
Launch again later with a meaningful update, and explain what changed since last time.
14. Keep the page up to date
Come back to the page when something changes: new pricing, new features or new screenshots.
15. Measure what happened
Look at your analytics after the week: which links brought people, and what they did next. Tagged links make this much clearer.
Other places to launch
Best Launch Directories is a table of launch directories with their Domain Rating, pricing and link type. Use it to shortlist the right ones for your product.
Extras for your launch
None of these are needed to follow the playbook. They are optional extras SaaS Directory Pro sells, each at the price set out here.
- Featured launch $19
Show your listing in the homepage Featured spot for 7 days from your launch week. It is labelled Featured and adds no vote.
- Multi-site bundle $99
Your listing is written once, by you. We put it live on 49 other launch and discovery sites, reworded for each, and every edit you make from then on flows to all of them automatically.
- Done-for-you listing $149.99
We place your listing on 49 other launch and discovery sites, each with a description of its own, and email you the links once they are live.
- Entrance page sponsor $49
The one Sponsored slot on the homepage, yours for 7 days: name, logo, tagline and a link to your website.
- Category page sponsor $19
A Sponsored place at the top of your category page, for 7 days.
- Newsletter sponsor $29
One issue of the weekly newsletter carries your company in its Sponsored block.
- Billboard from $5
Money contributed decides the order, highest total on top. The Billboard says so, and it has nothing to do with votes.
- Product review $19
A structured review drawn from your listing and website pages, labelled on your listing as commissioned by the maker. It never counts as a vote or a rating.
- Editorial founder feature $29
Written from the founder's story and listing facts, edited by one of our editors: an article with nothing invented.
Prices are in US dollars; VAT is added where it is due.
Questions
- Should I submit to other directories too?
- Yes, if the directories fit your product. Shortlist by category, then compare pricing and link type before you submit.
- Can I encourage people to vote?
- Share the launch freely and let people choose. Votes can never be bought, and each person has one vote on one account.
- When should I tell people about my launch?
- On launch day, as soon as the listing is live, and once more later in the week with an update or a lesson learnt.
- What next, once the week ends?
- Measure where sign-ups came from, keep the page current, and plan a relaunch around your next big update.
Good luck with your launch. If you have a question, the SaaS Directory Pro help centre is a good place to start. Open the help centre