What X Can Do for a Small Account
If you have a few hundred followers, most of them won't see your launch post, and most of those who do aren't your customers. That's normal, and it doesn't make X useless. It changes what the post is for.
With a small account, your launch post is something to point people to: one place with the demo, the link and the story, which you can share in replies, in Communities, in messages and from your other launch pages. The reaching happens around it, one conversation at a time.
So treat X as one channel among several. Put the product where people already look for new tools (our guide to launching with no audience covers where), and use X to talk to the people who have the problem you solve.
The Launch Post
A launch post for a small account needs three things: what it is, proof that it's real, and one ask.
- What it does, and for whom, in the first line. "I built a tool that turns meeting notes into tasks for small teams" tells a scroller more than "Big news!" ever will.
- Show it working. A short screen recording of the main job, or a screenshot of the result. The real product beats a polished mockup.
- One clear ask. Try it, tell me what's confusing, or repost it if you know someone who needs it. Pick one. Three asks usually get none.
- Why you built it, in a sentence, if there's room. People respond to a person far more than to a product announcement.
The limits, from X's own help center: a post can have up to 280 characters and up to 4 media items, such as photos, a GIF or a video. Longer posts are a feature of X's paid subscriptions. A link counts as 23 characters however long it is, and attached media counts as zero.
Without a subscription, X's help center says you can upload videos up to 140 seconds long with a maximum file size of 512MB, which is plenty for a demo. Show the problem, then the product solving it, and add captions if anything needs explaining. For a single photo, X says images with standard aspect ratios, between 2:1 and 3:4, display in full. Add alt text to your images (X allows up to 1,000 characters) so people using screen readers can follow along.
The launch post generator drafts the post within X's limit, and the launch asset resizer crops your screenshots. Or start from this:
"I just launched Product: what it does for who it's for.
I built it because the moment you hit the problem yourself.
It's price, or free while in beta. If you have the problem, I'd love you to try it and tell me what's confusing."
Link in the Post or in a Reply?
A common practice on X is to keep the link out of the launch post and put it in the first reply, on the theory that posts with links are shown to fewer people. X's help center doesn't say that, and how X ranks posts changes over time. Treat it as something to test, not a rule.
The trade-off is simple. A link in the post is one tap away, and it travels with every repost. A link in a reply keeps the post clean, but some people never open the replies, and a repost shares your post without the reply below it.
To test it:
- Tag both links, for example with
utm_source=xplusutm_content=postorutm_content=reply. The UTM builder makes them in seconds. - Try one approach on launch day and the other on a similar follow-up post a few days later. It won't be a perfect test, since launch day is different, but it beats guessing.
- Compare visits and signups, not impressions. Our guide to tracking launch traffic shows where to look.
Whichever you choose, don't change where a link goes after people have engaged with the post. X's authenticity policy doesn't allow editing links so that the destination page has significantly changed.
Threads, Single Posts and Communities
A thread is a series of connected posts from one person. Threads suit a launch when there's a story: why you built it, how it works, what you learned on the way. A single post suits a launch when a short video explains the product by itself.
A practical middle way is a first post that stands on its own, with a few posts below it for the details, a second screenshot and the link. X's help center says that when a thread from someone you follow has 4 or more posts, the timeline cuts it short behind "Show this thread", so make the first post do the work. You can add posts to a thread after you've published it, which makes it a natural home for launch-week updates. The X thread builder drafts openers and counts characters as you write.
X Communities
Communities are groups on X built around a topic, run by admins and moderators who set the rules. According to X's help center:
- You need a public account to join. Some Communities let anyone join; others ask you to request to join, and moderators approve or deny it.
- When you post, you choose the audience: Everyone, which goes to your followers, or a Community you belong to.
- Community posts aren't private. They appear on the Community page, in search results and on your profile, and in the Home timelines of members.
- Members can report posts that break a Community's rules to its moderators, and moderators can remove members who break them.
For a launch, a Community built around your users' work (designers, indie makers, a programming language) can reach people your followers never would. Join a few relevant ones a week or two before launch, read the rules, and take part before you post about your own product. Some Communities don't allow self-promotion at all; respect that. Where launches are welcome, write the post for that group rather than pasting the same text everywhere.
Replies, Friends and Reposts
Reply to people who have the problem
Search X for the words people use when they hit your problem: "is there a tool that", "alternative to [competitor]", or the frustration itself. Save the searches and check them every day of launch week.
When you find someone, answer their question first. Mention your product only if it really fits, and say that you built it. A few thoughtful replies to people with the exact problem do more than dozens of generic ones. Keep it human: X's authenticity policy doesn't allow bulk, aggressive or high-volume unsolicited replies, mentions or messages, or promoting something in replies that have nothing to do with the original post.
"I ran into this too. What helped me was a genuinely useful tip. Full disclosure: I built Product for exactly this, it does the specific thing. Happy to send a link if it's useful."
For longer one-to-one messages, the outreach generator drafts DMs that don't read like a pitch.
Ask friends to share, without spamming
A repost from a friend puts your launch in front of their followers, which matters most when you have few of your own. Ask people one at a time, in a private message, and make it easy:
- Send the link to the post itself, so there's nothing to search for.
- Ask for a quote post in their own words, or a reply with honest feedback, rather than a silent like.
- Ask only people who'd genuinely recommend it, and make it easy to say no.
What not to do: X's authenticity policy doesn't allow coordinating to exchange engagement, such as likes, replies, reposts or follows, or paying others to inflate those numbers. That rules out engagement groups and "like for like" swaps. A friend sharing because they mean it is a different thing.
"Hey Name, I launched Product today: what it does in one line. Here's the post: link to your post. If you know anyone who has the problem, a repost with a line on why would mean a lot. And if you have a minute to try it, I'd love your honest take. Totally fine if not."
Following Up After Launch Day
Launch day is one post. Much of what X can do for a small account happens in the week after, when you have something new to say each time.
- Answer every reply on launch day and the day after. Plan to stay around for a few hours after you post.
- Post what you learned: the question people asked most, the bug someone found, the change you shipped because of feedback. Credit the person who suggested it, if they're happy to be named.
- Share real numbers if you're comfortable: visitors, signups, what worked and what didn't. On Hauntboard, every launch page shows its page views, visits and votes in public, so you can link to the numbers instead of just stating them.
- Add updates to your launch thread, so anyone who finds the original post later sees what happened next.
Write each follow-up fresh. X's authenticity policy doesn't allow repeatedly posting identical or nearly identical posts, and the same post again tells nobody anything new. Our guide to what to do after launch day covers the rest of the week, on X and off it.
FAQ
Do I need X Premium to launch?
No. A launch post fits in 280 characters with a demo video of up to 140 seconds, both available on a free account. A subscription adds longer posts and longer video uploads. Pay for it only if you'd use those anyway.
What time should I post?
We haven't found official guidance from X on timing, and advice online varies. Post when you can stay around for the next few hours to answer replies. Being there to reply matters more than the exact minute.
Should I use hashtags?
One relevant hashtag is fine. Don't pile them on: X's authenticity policy doesn't allow excessive, unrelated hashtags, or using trending hashtags to drive attention to a product.
Should I tag big accounts?
Only when they'd genuinely want to know, such as a tool you integrate with or a person whose post inspired the product. Tagging strangers for attention reads as spam, and bulk unsolicited mentions break X's rules.
Where else should I announce it?
Wherever your users already are. Founder communities such as Indie Hackers and Show HN each have their own format; the launch post generator drafts a version for each. Then submit your launch to Hauntboard, so your X post has a public launch page to point to.