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Pre-Launch PR & Directory Listings

Get one good story told around your launch, then list your product everywhere early adopters look. Press gives you a spike of attention; a waitlist and a few directory listings make sure you keep it.

Cost
$
Time to results
Weeks
Difficulty
Medium
Best for
B2B + B2C
0/7

Proof first

7 companies already did this.

Directories rarely publish what a listing is worth, so we only show results the founders or the press reported.

Deep dives

Two case studies, start to finish.

Mint — a launch stage as a deadline

Mint · 2007

TECHCRUNCH40 · 15,000 sign-ups in 12 hours

What they built: a live demo on the TechCrunch40 stage

What they didAaron Patzer launched Mint on stage at TechCrunch40 and won the competition. Before the winner was even announced, he had done at least ten interviews with outlets including Forbes, Fortune and CNET.

Why it workedThe event gave the team a hard date to rally around and gave journalists a reason to write that week. Winning opened doors to other publications. Launch day brought more than 80,000 visits and 15,000 sign-ups in 12 hours — enough that Mint's servers began to struggle.

Copy thisPick a launch moment that gives journalists a date and a reason, and line up interviews before it — not after.

Mailbox — give the story something to show

Mailbox · 2013

Demo video + press · 250K+ sign-ups

What they built: a short demo video and a reservation queue

What they didOrchestra released a short demo of Mailbox, and TechCrunch's coverage sent readers to reserve a place. When the app went live in February 2013, more than 250,000 people had signed up, and it opened to them through a first-come, first-served queue.

Why it workedA video gave journalists something to show, not just describe. The reservation page turned every article's readers into names on a list, so the coverage didn't evaporate when the news cycle moved on.

Copy thisSend journalists a demo they can embed, and give readers exactly one next step: reserve your spot.

The guide

7 steps, each anchored to a real example.

Tick each step off as you go. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Step 1 · ~1 hour

Find the one angle a journalist can't ignore

Journalists write stories, not product announcements. Look for a hook: a surprising number, a strong founder story, a trend you're part of, a date. Write it as a headline you'd want to read.

Notes appGoogle News

How Canva did this step

"Because we had some high profile investors we'd been fortunate to receive a bit of press around our 'stealth startup' and had 50k people signed up on our waiting list."

Exact quote — see source

Canva's early press was about a stealth startup with well-known backers — a story in itself. It had 50,000 people on its waiting list before launch.

Source [6] ↓

Step 2 · ~1 week

Shortlist 10–20 writers who cover your space

Read what they wrote in the last three months. Only pitch people who have covered products like yours. One right writer beats a hundred-name media list.

Muck RackGoogle NewsX / LinkedIn

How Instagram did this step

Illustration

TechCrunch ran a preview of Instagram about two weeks before it launched. On launch day, 25,000 people signed up.

Source [3] ↓

Step 3 · ~2 hours

Offer one writer an exclusive, with an embargo

Give a single journalist the story first, with a fixed publish date and time. Send everything they need: a one-paragraph summary, screenshots, a short demo video, founder photos and any numbers you can share.

Google Drive press kitLoomNotion

How Mailbox did this step

PEOPLE AHEAD OF YOU

#—

Invite friends to skip the line

Illustration

Mailbox gave the press a demo video to show. Coverage pointed readers to reserve a spot, and more than 250,000 had signed up by launch.

Source [2] ↓

Step 4 · ~1 day

Make launch day a hard date

A date gives your team a deadline and gives journalists a reason to write now. A demo day, a conference stage or a public launch on Product Hunt all work.

Product HuntTechCrunch DisruptCalendar

How Mint did this step

Illustration

Mint launched on stage at TechCrunch40. Aaron Patzer did at least ten interviews before the winner was announced.

Source [1] ↓

Step 5 · ~2 hours

Be ready for the spike

Most press traffic arrives in the first day and then fades. Make sure your site stays up, and that every visitor has one clear next step — usually joining your waitlist.

Waitlist toolVercel / CloudflareUptime monitor

How Dropbox did this step

Illustration

Dropbox's demo video landed on Digg. Because there was a waitlist ready, the beta list grew from 5,000 to 75,000 people overnight instead of the visits vanishing.

Source [5] ↓

Step 6 · ~Half a day

List everywhere your early adopters browse

Submit to the launch sites and directories your users actually read: BetaList, Product Hunt (and its Upcoming page), Show HN, Indie Hackers, relevant subreddits, and G2 or Capterra if you sell to businesses.

BetaListProduct HuntHacker NewsG2

How Robinhood did this step

Discord
Slack
WhatsApp
Facebook

Illustration

Robinhood's waitlist page spread on Reddit and reached number one on Hacker News. The founder says it collected about 50,000 sign-ups in the first week.

Source [4] ↓

Step 7 · ~The week after

Turn coverage into proof

Add "as seen in" to your site, share every article, and send the journalist your results a few weeks later — that's often a second story. Most of an article's reach comes from people sharing it.

CanvaBufferEmail

How Lovable did this step

Illustration

Lovable launched on Product Hunt and cross-posted to Hacker News and X. The founder reported 16,000 sign-ups and 850 paying users from the launch.

Source [7] ↓

Before you start

Pros & cons.

Works in your favour

  • One article can reach a large, relevant audience overnight
  • Coverage is borrowed credibility — "as seen in" builds trust
  • Directory listings are free and take minutes
  • A public launch date focuses the whole team
  • Links from respected sites help people find you in search

Go in with eyes open

  • Journalists owe you nothing — most pitches get no reply
  • The spike fades within days unless you capture emails
  • PR agencies are expensive and guarantee nothing
  • Directory traffic is often other founders, not buyers
  • A broken embargo or a cancelled story can waste your launch date

Make it yours

Three ways to run it.

The Mint model

Launch on a stage

Demo at a startup competition or conference with press in the room. Best when you need a hard date and a crowd.

The Mailbox model

Demo video + reservations

Give the press a video to embed and readers a queue to join. Best when the product is visual and easy to show.

The Robinhood model

Community first, press second

Let Reddit and Hacker News carry the first wave, then pitch journalists with the numbers. Best when you have no press contacts yet.

Copy and paste

Templates & resources.

Exclusive pitch email

short, specific, one ask

Subject: Exclusive: {product} — {hook in under 10 words}

Hi {name},

I read your piece on {recent article} — {one genuine sentence about it}.

We're launching {product} on {date}: {what it does, for whom, in one line}. {The hook: a number, a story or a trend}.

Would you like it as an exclusive? I can share the full story, a demo video and screenshots under embargo until {date, time, timezone}.

{Your name}
{Title} · {phone}

Press kit checklist

everything a journalist needs in one folder

□ One-paragraph summary (what, who for, why now)
□ Founder bios + 2 photos (landscape and portrait)
□ 4–6 product screenshots, high resolution
□ 30–90 second demo video (with and without sound)
□ Logo (SVG + PNG, light and dark)
□ Key numbers you're happy to publish
□ Launch date, pricing, link
□ One contact who will answer within the hour

Directory tracker

submit once, track every listing

Directory | Audience | Submitted | Live date | Visits | Sign-ups
BetaList | early adopters | | | |
Product Hunt | makers + early adopters | | | |
Show HN | developers | | | |
Indie Hackers | founders | | | |
r/{your niche} | {buyers} | | | |
G2 / Capterra | B2B buyers | | | |

From the showcase

Be the first founder featured here.

The famous examples above are proof it works. The next founder reading this wants proof it works for someone like them — that could be you.

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Discussion

Tried this? Tell us how it went.

Share a result, ask a question, or say what you'd do differently. The next founder to try this will thank you.

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Receipts

Sources & references.

Last reviewed

  1. 1.
    Mint: 80,000+ visits and 15,000 sign-ups in 12 hours after TechCrunch40 (opens in a new tab)

    Aaron Patzer, TechCrunch, 2008

  2. 2.
    Mailbox goes live with more than 250,000 sign-ups (opens in a new tab)

    TechCrunch, Feb 2013

  3. 3.
    Instagram preview, two weeks before launch (opens in a new tab)

    TechCrunch, Sep 2010

  4. 4.
    Vlad Tenev on Robinhood's waitlist (Reddit, Hacker News, first-week sign-ups) (opens in a new tab)

    Sequoia Capital, Crucible Moments podcast

  5. 5.
    Dropbox's demo video: waitlist 5,000 → 75,000 overnight (opens in a new tab)

    Drew Houston, via TechCrunch, 2011

  6. 6.
    Canva had 50k people on its waiting list (founder quote) (opens in a new tab)

    Lenny's Newsletter, 2020

  7. 7.
    Lovable's Product Hunt launch: 16k sign-ups, 850 paying users (opens in a new tab)

    Anton Osika, Product Hunt Stories, 2024

  8. 8.
    Instagram: 25,000 users on the first day (opens in a new tab)

    TechCrunch, 2012

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