Indie Hacker Playbooks

Launch Directories

Choose among coordinated attention, app review, curated examples and submission catalogs

Launch distribution can mean a coordinated attention event, a baseline listing, a review-gated marketplace or an ongoing product-adjacent discovery surface. Audience readiness helps distinguish a listing meant for search discovery from a release that depends on prepared supporters. App Review has a separate approval gate and should not be confused with audience building. Choose the route by the intended outcome and verify referral, install and backlink results separately.

Start here

  1. Choosing Launch Listings by Audience Readiness — Distinguish a baseline listing from an audience-supported event.
  2. Coordinating an X Product Launch — Prepare supporters and assets when launch-day attention is the goal.
  3. Submitlist Directory Catalog — Shortlist eligible submission destinations.
  4. Submitting an iOS MVP for App Review Early — Resolve the app distribution approval gate separately.

Pages

Listing and audience decisions

Tools

  • Apple App Store — iOS distribution, competitor pricing research, listing optimization and the review gate
  • Okara Launch Library — Okara's filterable index of X launch videos; a study source, not a distribution channel
  • Submitlist Directory Catalog — Submitlist's filterable catalog of submission destinations with eligibility, cost and link details

Gaps

  • Platform-specific evidence for Product Hunt, Show HN and Disquiet separating supporter readiness, referral installs and indexed backlinks

  • A launch case from a builder without Okara's network, creator budget or existing reach.

  • Measured comparisons of catalog-listed submissions by approval, indexing, referral, signup and conversion outcomes.

  • Controlled comparisons of launch timing, supporter activation, creative format and conversion rather than reach alone.

  • A decision checklist for choosing among a coordinated channel launch, reference library, launch directory and distribution marketplace.

  • Maintenance-cost benchmarks for a solo builder operating a growing curated collection.

  • Current App Review timing, rejection and expedited-review outcomes for solo-built iOS apps.

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