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Distribution Channels

Mapping and sequencing the channels for launch distribution — Product Hunt, HN, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, dev.to, email, and press — so they compound rather than compete.

Why

A launch on a single channel gets that channel's audience; a launch on 6 coordinated channels gets 6 audiences plus the cross-channel virality (the HN reader retweets the Twitter thread, the Reddit user posts to dev.to). But uncoordinated multi-channel launch just splits the same energy 6 ways and each channel sees a small spike that its algorithm punishes. The distribution plan sequences channels so the biggest spike hits the highest-leverage channel (Product Hunt) first, and each subsequent channel rides the momentum rather than starting cold. It also matches content to channel: the 5-image gallery goes to PH, the 280-char hot take goes to Twitter, the 200-word professional reflection goes to LinkedIn. One launch, six formats, six audiences, one spike.

When

Map channels 2 weeks before launch; finalize the per-channel content and posting schedule 1 week before; execute on launch day in the sequenced order.

How

1. List all candidate channels: Product Hunt, Hacker News (Show HN), Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Reddit (r/webdev, r/programming), dev.to, email to waitlist, press (TechCrunch/InfoQ if applicable), Discord/Slack communities
2. For each channel, define the format: PH = gallery + maker comment, HN = 1-paragraph Show HN, Twitter = 5-tweet thread + GIF, LinkedIn = 200-word post, Reddit = text post with value, dev.to = cross-post of blog, email = personal note + 3 links
3. Sequence by leverage: PH first (highest leverage, 24h window), then HN (rides PH momentum), then Twitter (announces PH + HN), then LinkedIn (professional audience, different timezone), then Reddit (community discussion), then dev.to (long-tail), then email (captures all channel signups)
4. Write each channel's content in advance and store in a shared doc; do not write under launch-day pressure
5. Schedule posts where possible (Twitter, LinkedIn, email) using Buffer/PostHog; PH and HN are manual submit
6. On launch day, execute in sequence with 15-30 min gaps — each channel's post links to the blog and mentions the prior channel ('we're also live on Product Hunt')
7. Monitor each channel for 2 hours after posting — respond to comments, track signups per channel with UTM links
8. T+24h: compile the channel report — signups per channel, top-performing channel, cross-channel attribution (which channel's audience converted best)

Example

# Distribution Channels — ez4code v2.0

## Channel matrix
| Channel       | Format              | Time (PST) | Leverage |
|---------------|---------------------|------------|----------|
| Product Hunt  | gallery + comment   | 12:01am    | Highest  |
| Hacker News   | Show HN (1 para)    | 12:15am    | High     |
| Twitter       | 5-thread + GIF      | 12:30am    | High     |
| LinkedIn      | 200-word post       | 08:00am    | Medium   |
| Reddit        | r/webdev text post  | 09:00am    | Medium   |
| dev.to        | blog cross-post     | 10:00am    | Low      |
| Email         | personal + 3 links  | 09:00am    | Medium   |

## Sequencing rationale
PH first → 24h voting window, highest leverage
HN at +15min → rides PH momentum, catches HN morning
Twitter at +30min → announces PH+HN, drives social proof
LinkedIn at 8am → professional audience, EU/US morning
Reddit at 9am → community discussion after initial spike
dev.to at 10am → long-tail SEO, catches late readers
Email at 9am → captures signups from all prior channels

## T+24h results
PH: 623 upvotes → 1,892 signups (60%)
HN: 847 points → 743 signups (24%)
Twitter: 89 retweets → 312 signups (10%)
LinkedIn: 47 likes → 89 signups (3%)
Reddit: 234 upvotes → 67 signups (2%)
dev.to: 89 reactions → 24 signups (1%)
Email: 47% open → 1,847 clicks (overlap)
Total: 3,127 signups

Common Problems

  • ⚠Posting all channels simultaneously at 9am — each channel starts cold and its algorithm sees a small spike; sequencing with 15-30 min gaps lets each channel ride the prior one's momentum and the algorithms see sustained activity.
  • ⚠Using the same content on every channel — a 5-tweet thread on LinkedIn looks broken, a 200-word post on Twitter gets cut off; each channel has a format, and reusing content signals laziness to the audience.
  • ⚠No UTM links per channel — without per-channel tracking, you can't tell that PH drove 60% of signups and dev.to drove 1%; you'll waste next launch's effort on dev.to instead of doubling down on PH.
  • ⚠Forgetting email because 'it's not social' — your waitlist is your highest-intent audience (they already signed up); an email at 9am on launch day converts at 47% open / 23% click, far above any social channel.

Best Practices

  • ✓Sequence channels by leverage, not by convenience — Product Hunt first because its 24h window is unforgiving, email last because it captures all prior channels' overflow; the sequence is the strategy.
  • ✓Write each channel's content in the channel's native format — the Twitter thread is not a summary of the blog post, it's a self-contained story that happens to link to the blog; native content performs 3x better than cross-posted.
  • ✓Add UTM parameters to every link (?utm_source=producthunt, ?utm_source=hn) so the channel report is unambiguous — 'we think PH drove most signups' is a guess, 'PH drove 60%' is a decision input.
  • ✓Include at least one community channel (Reddit, Discord, Slack) that isn't a broadcast — communities give feedback, not just signups, and the feedback from r/webdev on launch day is worth more than 100 Twitter likes.