i ship a lot of side projects. or i did. for a while i was on this loop where id spend a few weekends building something, get it ready to launch, and then run face-first into the most painful part of the whole process: writing the launch copy.

twitter thread, reddit post, product hunt listing, launch email, sometimes a tiktok script if i was feeling brave. each one in a different format, each one needing its own tone, each one starting from a blank page.

after 3 days of staring at empty notion docs i was usually too burned out to actually press post. so the project would sit in a "ready to launch" purgatory for weeks. some never launched at all.

if you also live in this loop, this post is for you. its everything ive learned about writing launch copy faster, with templates for the channels that actually matter.

the channels that matter (and the ones that dont)

before writing a single word, decide where youre actually launching. most founders try to do everything and end up doing nothing well. for a typical indie/solo launch, these are the channels that move the needle:

twitter/x is best for the build-in-public crowd, indie hackers, devs. low effort to post, high ceiling for reach. always do this one.

reddit has high traffic potential but is hostile to anything that smells like marketing. only worth it if you can write something that doesnt feel like an ad.

hacker news (show hn) is gold if youre a dev tool or technical product. one front page can drive thousands of signups. but the product has to actually work, no waitlists allowed.

product hunt is overrated by founders, underrated by buyers. PH traffic is mostly other founders looking for inspiration, not paying customers. but the SEO juice and badge effects are real.

launch email converts way better than social. if you have any list at all, even 50 people, send it.

linkedin is useful if your buyer is in the corporate world. mostly noise for B2C indie products.

channels not worth the effort for most launches: tiktok (unless youre already a creator), instagram (same), facebook (just no), bluesky (small audience), threads (declining).

pick 3 channels, do them well, ignore the rest. better to nail 3 launches than half-ass 7.

what good launch copy actually looks like

every channel has a different format. heres what works on each based on launches ive seen perform well:

twitter thread

structure that consistently works:

• tweet 1 (hook): a relatable problem or surprising claim
• tweet 2: who you are and what you built
• tweet 3 to 5: the specific things it does, ideally with screenshots or video
• tweet 6: pricing, access, how to try
• tweet 7 (close): a soft CTA that doesnt feel pushy

dont use "excited to announce" anywhere. lowercase, casual, slightly self-deprecating. talk like a human, not a press release.

example opening that works:

i kept rewriting my launch copy from scratch every project. wasted 3 days every time. so i built a tool to do it for me

example opening that doesnt:

Excited to announce the launch of XYZ, the revolutionary new platform that...

people scroll past the second one before finishing the first sentence.

reddit post

reddit is its own beast. rules to actually get reach instead of getting downvoted into oblivion:

• read the subreddit rules first (seriously, every sub is different)
• lead with the problem, not the product
• be honest about what it is and where it is in the journey ("public beta, $0 MRR" actually performs well, vulnerability gets engagement)
• never put "buy now" or pricing in the title
• ask a real question at the end, dont just drop a link
• engage with every comment in the first hour. dead posts die.

post structure:
title: [problem-focused, no product name in title if possible]
body:
[1-2 sentences about the problem from your own experience]
[1-2 sentences about what you built and why]
[brief description of the product, no marketing language]
[honest current state: free tier, paid tiers, MRR if youre transparent][link at the bottom, not the top]
[ask for specific feedback, like "what would make you actually use this"]

product hunt listing

PH gives you 60 chars for a tagline and 260 for a description. those constraints force clarity.

tagline: should be the single sentence that describes what you do, no fluff. "AI tool that writes launch copy" beats "Revolutionize your marketing workflow with AI."

description: should answer "what does it do, who is it for, why is it different" in 3 short sentences. write it like youre texting a friend.

first comment is critical. PH posts with no first comment from the founder die fast. write a 200 to 300 word maker comment that includes:

• who you are
• the problem you ran into that made you build this
• what specifically the product does
• whats different about your approach
• what you want feedback on

launch email

shortest possible. 4 sentences max for the actual launch announcement. people skim.

structure:

• 1 sentence: what you built
• 1 sentence: who its for
• 1 sentence: how to try it (link)
• 1 sentence: ask for feedback or replies

dont write a 600 word email. nobody reads them.

hacker news (show hn)

HN has its own culture and you have to respect it or get downvoted hard. rules from dang himself:

• title format: "Show HN: [Product], [short description]"
• put URL in URL field, leave text blank
• post a comment immediately with backstory and what makes it different
• no marketing language ever. zero. words like "fastest, best, revolutionary" all get you flagged
• engage with every comment, especially critical ones. treat critics like theyre doing you a favor

the post that does well on HN reads like youre explaining something to a smart friend, not pitching a VC.

the biggest mistake everyone makes

writing the same content for every channel.

this is why most launches fail. founders write one launch post and copy-paste it everywhere. the twitter thread on reddit looks weird. the reddit post on PH looks like a wall of text. the PH listing on twitter feels stiff and corporate.

each channel has its own format, tone, and culture. the same information needs to be repackaged for each one. thats where the 3-day grind comes from.

the time math

heres what actually takes 3 days:

• 4 hours: writing the twitter thread (reframing 5 times until it feels natural)
• 3 hours: writing the reddit post (rewriting until it doesnt feel salesy)
• 2 hours: PH listing and maker comment
• 2 hours: launch email
• 3 hours: blog post for SEO
• 2 hours: linkedin post
• 1 hour: instagram caption (if youre brave enough to try)
• 1 hour: tiktok script
• 4 hours: making screenshots, videos, opengraph images
• 2 hours: actually scheduling, posting, and engaging

thats 24 hours of pure writing and prep work. spread across 3 to 4 days because nobody can sit and write launch copy for 8 hours straight.

what actually fixed it for me

a few things help, in order of impact:

templates. stop starting from blank pages. save your best-performing posts and use them as scaffolding for the next launch. the structure stays similar, you just swap in the new product details.

timeboxing. give yourself 2 hours per channel, then post even if its rough. perfect launch copy doesnt exist. shipping ok copy beats not shipping great copy.

writing the readme or landing page first. if your landing page clearly states what you do and why it matters, every other piece of copy is just a remix of that. front-load the work into the source material.

ai assistance, used carefully. chatgpt or claude can give you a starting draft in seconds, but the output sounds generic if you dont give it specific context about the product, the channel, and your voice. used as a "first ugly draft" tool, it saves real time. used as a "publish what it gives you" tool, it produces slop nobody engages with.

after launching things this way for a while, i ended up building a tool to automate most of this work for myself. its called markey. drop a URL, get the full launch pack across 10 channels in 90 seconds, formatted correctly for each. its at markey.app if youre curious, free tier covers one full campaign per month. but tools aside, the templates and process above are what actually matter. a tool just makes them faster.

tldr

• pick 3 channels, ignore the rest
• each channel needs its own format and tone
• lowercase and casual beats corporate every time
• engage with every comment in the first hour or your post dies
• the same content rewritten badly for every channel is worse than 3 channel-native posts
• ai can give you fast first drafts but only if you provide real context

if you take one thing from this: dont try to write all your launch copy in one sitting. it doesnt work. write the source material (landing page, readme), then remix it for each channel separately. each channel has its own audience and they can smell copy-pasted content from a mile away.

good luck with your launch