LaunchClock Launch readiness check Launch Readiness Check · USD 29
Thirty one days to launch, and four gaps
A gap analysis across product, site, onboarding, support, proof, analytics and messaging, scored against what a launch day actually needs.
You have a date and a product that works. This check is about everything that is not the product: whether a stranger who lands on your site on launch day can understand it, try it, succeed at it, get help, and be counted. Four of the seven areas are not ready, and only one of the four is expensive to fix.
Product and site are ready. Onboarding, support, proof and analytics are not, and analytics is the one that matters most, because launching without it means you will never know which part of the day worked.
Score
Where you actually are
| State | Blocks launch? | Time to fix | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product works | Ready | No | None |
| Website and positioning | Ready | No | None |
| Pricing page | Ready | No | None |
| Onboarding, first 5 minutes | Weak | Yes | 2 hours |
| Support and contact route | Missing | Yes | 30 minutes |
| Proof and social evidence | Missing | No | 3 hours |
| Analytics and instrumentation | Missing | Yes | 90 minutes |
Six hours of work stands between you and a launch where you can see what happened. Three of the four gaps are under two hours each, and the cheapest one, a support route, takes thirty minutes and is currently a page with no email address on it.
Countdown
The thirty one days
The five day freeze is the item founders skip and regret. A bug shipped on T-2 is a bug you will be fixing while your launch post is on the front page.
Instrumentation
The eight events to fire
Not an analytics strategy. The minimum set that lets you answer the four questions you will actually ask at 9pm on launch day.
| Event | Fires when | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| landing_view | Anyone hits the homepage | How many people came |
| cta_click | Primary button clicked | Did the message work |
| signup_start | Signup form opened | Where the drop starts |
| signup_complete | Account created | The number you will be quoted at |
| first_run_start | First project opened | Did they try it |
| first_value | First output produced | The only one that matters |
| invite_sent | User invites somebody | Is it spreading |
| support_opened | Contact route used | What broke |
If you only have time for two, do signup_complete and first_value. The ratio between those two is the single most useful number a launch produces and almost nobody measures it.
The day
Launch day run sheet
- T-1, evening
Everything scheduled, nothing posted
Post drafted, email queued, screenshots uploaded. Go to bed. Do not deploy anything.
- 06:30
Check the product is up, then post
One smoke test through signup to first value on a fresh account. If that works, publish.
- 07:00 to 10:00
Reply to everything, personally
This is the whole job for the first three hours. Not more posting. Replying.
- 10:00
Email the twenty
The people you lined up at T-10, individually, after the post is live so there is something to look at.
- 13:00
First read of the funnel
signup_complete over landing_view, and first_value over signup_complete. If the second ratio is under 40 percent, the problem is onboarding and you can say so publicly.
- Evening
Write down what broke
Not fixes. A list. You will not remember tomorrow and the 72 hour follow-up plan is built from it.
- T+3 days
Ship one thing the day exposed
One. Announced to everyone who signed up. It is the cheapest retention action available and almost nobody does it.
- Support email on every page, monitored on the day
- Onboarding tested by five people who are not you
- Eight events firing and verified
- Product frozen from T-5
- Twenty people lined up by name
- Someone else has the credentials in case you are offline