The Product Hunt launch video
What the launch-day film has to do, how long it should be, and the cut-downs to have ready before the day starts — written for a software team launching without a video budget.
A launch day gives you one concentrated block of attention from people who have no idea what your product is. The gallery video is the first thing most of them meet, and it plays muted, at a few hundred pixels wide, next to four other launches doing the same thing. Almost every mistake in launch films comes from writing for a viewer who is sitting down to watch, rather than for one who is deciding whether to keep scrolling.
What the film is actually for
Not to demonstrate the product. To place it. A stranger needs to know, inside about six seconds, what category this belongs to and who it is for — and only then whether the specific thing it does is interesting. Films that open on a feature are answering a question the viewer has not yet asked.
| Seconds | The viewer's question | What the film shows |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 | What is this? | Product name and the promise, on screen, legible muted |
| 3–10 | For whom, and instead of what? | The situation it replaces, in one concrete image |
| 10–30 | Does it actually work? | One workflow inside the real product, outcome visible |
| 30–45 | What do I do now? | One instruction, held long enough to read twice |
The constraints, stated plainly
- It autoplays muted. Anything essential must be visible, not spoken.
- It is small. Interface text that is comfortable on your monitor is unreadable in the gallery — show fewer screens, larger.
- It is one of several. The first frame is competing, not introducing.
- It will be reposted. The version that ends up on X and LinkedIn is the one people actually see, so make those cuts first, not later.
Making the launch film in a week
- Monday — write the placing sentenceOne sentence: [product] is the [category] for [who], instead of [the status quo]. If the sentence needs two clauses to work, the film will need twenty seconds to say it, and you do not have twenty seconds.
- Tuesday — choose three screensThe state before the work, the action, and the outcome. Capture them at full size; they will be re-framed rather than cropped, and a generous capture gives the camera somewhere to move.
- Wednesday — build the 45-second masterStructure it to the table above. Write the narration first and design to it, so the film has an argument rather than a sequence of nice shots.
- Thursday — cut it downA 30-second gallery cut, a 15-second social cut that ends on the promise rather than the instruction, and a still frame for the email. All recomposed from the master, never cropped from it.
- Friday — watch it as a strangerMuted, on a phone, at gallery size, once. Ask someone who has never seen the product what it does and who it is for. If they hesitate, fix the first three seconds — not the transitions.
What to have ready before the day starts
Launch day is not the day to be exporting formats. The assets that get used are the ones that already exist when the traffic arrives.
| Asset | Length | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Gallery film | 30–45s, 16:9 | The launch page's first slot |
| Social cut | 15s, 9:16 and 1:1 | X, LinkedIn, the founder's own post |
| Email clip | Animated still or 6s loop | The launch email — most clients will not play video |
| Landing page film | 30s, 16:9, muted-first | Above the fold on the page the launch links to |
| Maker comment clip | 10–15s | The thread reply that explains one thing the film skipped |
After the day
The launch film has a second life that most teams never use. It is already the clearest thirty seconds anyone has made about the product, which makes it the right thing to put on the landing page, at the top of an onboarding email, and in the first reply of every sales thread for the next quarter. The day ends; the film does not have to.
Questions people ask
Do you need a video for a Product Hunt launch?
You do not need one, but the gallery's first slot is the largest piece of attention the day gives you, and a still image spends it saying nothing. A film that explains the category in six seconds is the single highest-leverage asset of the launch.
How long should a Product Hunt video be?
Thirty to sixty seconds. Under thirty and you cannot show the product working; over sixty and you are relying on people who have already clicked through to something else.
Should the Product Hunt video have narration?
Write it as though it has none, then add narration for the people who unmute. The gallery autoplays muted, so anything essential has to be on screen as text or as a visible action.
What should the first frame of a launch video be?
The product name and the promise, legible at thumbnail size. Not a logo animation: the logo means nothing to someone who has never heard of you, and it spends the only second you are guaranteed.
Keep reading
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Best product launch video tools
The best launch tool depends on the proof you need: real product UI, a presenter, a recording, or complete editorial control.
Announce a feature in a day
One change, one film, one day. The whole job is a short recording, a Polish makeover, and a vertical cut for the places people will actually see it.