How to make a Product Hunt launch video: specs, a 60-second script and a checklist

What is a Product Hunt launch video?

A Product Hunt launch video is the short film shown first in your product’s gallery on Product Hunt, added as a YouTube link. It sits beside your tagline and your first comment, and on launch day it is often the first thing a visitor presses. Its job is simple: show what the product does and who it is for before anyone reads a word.

A video is optional. But Product Hunt’s own launch guide says about 53% of products that reached Product of the Day since 2021 included one, which tells you how many makers decided it was worth making.

Product Hunt’s rules for the video

These come from Product Hunt’s help centre and launch guide. Get them wrong and the video does not appear in your gallery at all.

Rule	What Product Hunt says
Format	Only YouTube links are supported for videos
The link	Use the full YouTube URL; shortened links will not load
Privacy	The video must not be set to private; public or unlisted both work
Timing	Upload it to YouTube ahead of your launch
Gallery images	Recommended size 1270 by 760 pixels; the gallery needs at least two images
Thumbnail	Square, 240 by 240 recommended; a GIF must be under 3 MB and only animates on hover
Launch time	Posts go live at 12:01 AM Pacific time, and you can schedule up to a month ahead

A 16:9 film sits naturally next to 1270 by 760 gallery images, so make your main cut wide.

How to make a Product Hunt launch video, step by step

1. Write the one-line pitch. What the product does, for whom, in under 60 characters, the same limit Product Hunt sets for taglines. The film is built around this line.
2. Pick the size and length. 16:9 for the gallery, about 60 seconds. Make square and vertical cuts later for X and LinkedIn.
3. Write the script. About 114 spoken words for 60 seconds. The pitch in the first five seconds, three moments of the product doing its job, one piece of proof, then the name.
4. Make the film. Record and edit it yourself, hire a designer, or paste your product link into Voom and describe the launch; it writes, designs, voices and scores the film for you.
5. Check it on mute. Many people browse with the sound off. The key line of each shot should be on screen as type, with captions on.
6. Upload it to YouTube. Public or unlisted, never private. Copy the full youtube.com/watch link.
7. Add it to your Product Hunt gallery. Paste the full link when you create or edit the post, before launch day.
8. Prepare the cuts and the first comment. A square or vertical version for social posts, and a first comment from the maker ready to post at 12:01 AM Pacific.

A 60-second launch script, second by second

Here is the shape, with the lines from Voom’s own Product Hunt film, which you can watch at the end of this page.

Time	What happens	Voom’s own film
0:00 to 0:05	The situation and the promise	“You have a product to launch, a launch day booked, and a film still to make.”
0:05 to 0:17	The product in one line, then how it works	“So type it, or paste a product link. Voom turns either into a finished video.”
0:17 to 0:34	Three things that make it different, one per line	No preset themes; every word set in real type; 20 voices in every language Voom offers
0:34 to 0:44	Range and control	“Choose 16:9, 9:16, 1:1 or 4:5, for films from fifteen seconds up to three minutes.”
0:44 to 1:00	The offer and the action	“Adding a product is free, and your first video is free too.” Then the name and the button.

Notice the rhythm: each idea gets one line and one picture, and the name and the action come only at the end, once the viewer cares.

The first five seconds

Most visitors decide within a few seconds whether to keep watching. A logo sting, a slow fade or an animated title card spends those seconds on nothing they need. Open on the problem or the promise, and show the product as early as you can. If someone stops watching at second five, they should still know what you built.

Make it work with the sound off

Assume that many viewers will not unmute. That changes three things:

• Type carries the story. The key line of each shot appears on screen, large enough to read on a laptop at a glance.
• Captions are on. They follow the voice word for word for those who want everything.
• Pictures explain themselves. Real screens and simple diagrams say more on mute than a talking head.

Common mistakes

• A shortened youtu.be link. Product Hunt says shortened links will not load. Use the full address.
• A private YouTube video. It will not play in the gallery. Use public or unlisted.
• Starting with the logo. Spend the first five seconds on the product, not the brand mark.
• A tour of every feature. Three moments that matter beat twelve that blur together.
• Numbers you cannot back up. Makers read closely. Use only figures your product page states.
• No first comment. Product Hunt says 70% of products that achieved Product of the Day, Week or Month had a first comment from the maker. The video and the comment work together.

Making it with Voom

Paste your product link and describe the launch in a sentence, such as “A 60-second Product Hunt launch film for our habit tracker, opening on the problem and ending on Live on Product Hunt today.” Voom reads your site for free, keeps your colours, type, logo and the product pictures worth showing, checks every number against your page, and returns a finished 16:9 film with a voice-over, an original score and captions. Remake it in 1:1 or 9:16 for social posts without new AI work.

For everything else your launch needs, from the tagline to the first comment, see the Product Hunt launch checklist.