Product Hunt Launch Intelligence: What Works and What Doesn't

// producthunt-launch-scraper.js
const input = {
  startUrls: [{ url: "https://producthunt.com/topics/artificial-intelligence" }],
  maxProducts: 150,
  sortBy: "featured",
  timeRange: "past_year",
  extractFields: [
    "productName", "tagline", "description",
    "votesCount", "commentsCount", "launchDate",
    "launchDayOfWeek", "launchHour",
    "makerFollowersCount", "galleryType",
    "isFeatured", "topicTags", "hunterName",
    "hunterFollowersCount", "firstCommentByMaker"
  ]
};

{
  "dataset": {
    "total_launches": 134,
    "date_range": "2025-02-01 to 2026-02-01",
    "category": "Artificial Intelligence",
    "tiers": {
      "top_10pct": { "min_votes": 487, "n": 13 },
      "top_25pct": { "min_votes": 312, "n": 34 },
      "median": { "votes": 148 },
      "bottom_25pct": { "max_votes": 89, "n": 34 }
    }
  }
}

## Hook Type Performance Analysis

| Hook Pattern | Avg Votes | Sample Size | vs. Median |
|-------------|-----------|-------------|------------|
| Specific number + outcome ("I built X in Y minutes") | 412 | 18 | +178% |
| Counterintuitive claim ("We removed the AI") | 387 | 9 | +161% |
| Before/after contrast ("From 3 days to 3 minutes") | 356 | 22 | +140% |
| Direct benefit statement ("Never write X again") | 298 | 31 | +101% |
| Feature-led ("The only tool that does X+Y+Z") | 189 | 27 | +28% |
| Generic AI positioning ("AI-powered platform for...") | 112 | 19 | -24% |
| Question format ("What if you could...?") | 98 | 8 | -34% |

## Launch Timing

| Day | Avg Votes | Notes |
|-----|-----------|-------|
| Tuesday | 287 | Peak — highest hunter activity |
| Wednesday | 271 | Strong |
| Monday | 248 | Good for B2B (back to work) |
| Thursday | 231 | Solid |
| Friday | 189 | Drops off — weekend mode starts |
| Sunday | 203 | Surprisingly decent for consumer |
| Saturday | 167 | Worst day |

Optimal launch window: Tuesday 7-9am PT (when PH resets and US West Coast is starting work)

## Gallery Format Impact

| Gallery Type | Avg Votes |
|-------------|-----------|
| Video (60-90 sec demo) + images | 334 |
| Interactive embed | 289 |
| Images only (5+) | 201 |
| Images only (1-4) | 156 |
| No gallery | 98 |

# Product Hunt Launch Playbook (Data-Derived)

## Pre-launch (T-14 days)
1. Build your follower base: 200+ PH followers before launch day correlates with 2.3x votes
2. Identify a hunter with 2,000+ followers — hunted products average 1.8x solo-maker launches
3. Prepare 5+ gallery images + 1 video demo (60-90 seconds, no voiceover needed)

## Tagline rules (16 characters max impact)
4. Lead with a number or specific outcome
5. Avoid "AI-powered," "platform," "solution," "next-gen"
6. Make it a claim, not a category ("Turns 1 article into 47 posts" not "AI content repurposer")

## Description rules
7. First sentence = the result, not the feature
8. Include a concrete use case in the first paragraph
9. Three bullet points max for feature list — longer lists kill upvotes
10. End with a question that invites comments

## Launch day
11. Post at 12:01am PT Tuesday (PH resets at midnight PT)
12. Maker comment within first 10 minutes: personal story about why you built it
13. Ask for feedback in your maker comment, not upvotes (upvote asks reduce upvotes)
14. Respond to every comment within 30 minutes for the first 4 hours

## Community mobilization
15. Notify your email list with a direct PH link — don't ask them to "find" it
16. One LinkedIn post with the direct URL — post at 8am PT same day