---
title: "Launchelion"
canonical: "https://launchelion.com/guides"
url: "https://launchelion.com/guides"
content_type: "text/markdown"
---
# Guides — Launchelion

> Launchelion is a daily leaderboard of newly-launched AI tools: real launch dates, one-vote-per-signed-in-account-per-day community upvotes, and — when a maker connects Stripe — verified monthly revenue instead of invented traction.

Canonical HTML: https://launchelion.com/guides
This representation: Accept: text/markdown on the same URL.
Agent map: https://launchelion.com/llms.txt · OpenAPI: https://launchelion.com/openapi.json · MCP: https://launchelion.com/api/mcp/mcp

## Guides

- [How to launch an AI tool in 2026: the practical playbook](https://launchelion.com/guides/how-to-launch-your-ai-tool) — What to do the week before, on launch day, and the week after — no fluff, just the steps that actually move the needle.
- [Directory backlinks: dofollow, badges, and what actually moves rankings](https://launchelion.com/guides/directory-backlinks-dofollow) — How directory links work, what dofollow really means, and why the badge on your site matters more than you think.
- [Your first 100 users: the 5 channels that work for AI tools](https://launchelion.com/guides/first-100-users) — The five channels that bring real users to new AI tools — and how much effort each one takes.
- [Where to launch an AI tool in 2026: the 3-layer launch stack](https://launchelion.com/guides/where-to-launch-your-ai-tool) — The three layers of launch sites — launch feeds, directories, and communities — what each one actually delivers, and the order to use them in.
- [AEO in 2026: 5 changes that get your AI tool cited by ChatGPT](https://launchelion.com/guides/aeo-get-cited-by-ai) — What Answer Engine Optimization is, and the five concrete changes that make AI engines cite your site in their answers.
- [The AI tool landing page that converts: one line, proof, one button](https://launchelion.com/guides/ai-tool-landing-page) — The landing structure that turns directory and launch-day visitors into users: what goes above the fold, what counts as proof, and what to delete.
- [The 6 pages that win buyers: data from 1,000 searches \(2026\)](https://launchelion.com/guides/pages-that-win-buyers) — Which page to build for each buying decision — alternatives, comparisons, pricing, reviews, and free trial — per a July 2026 study of 1,000 buy-intent searches.
- [How to launch on Product Hunt: the run of show](https://launchelion.com/guides/how-to-launch-on-product-hunt) — Launchelion is a launch leaderboard for AI tools, and this guide is the run of show for a Product Hunt launch day: what to prepare, when to schedule, how the first four hours decide the ranking, and what to do with the traffic before it disappears the next morning.
- [How to launch a micro SaaS: a 14-day plan](https://launchelion.com/guides/how-to-launch-a-micro-saas) — A micro SaaS launch is a two-week sequence a single maker can actually finish. This Launchelion guide covers the scope you should ship, the pricing decision that has to happen before the announcement, a day-by-day plan for the fourteen days, and the mistake that kills most first launches.
- [Launch day timeline: an hour-by-hour plan](https://launchelion.com/guides/launch-day-timeline-hour-by-hour) — This Launchelion guide is a literal schedule for the day you launch an AI tool: what to check before the listing goes live, what to do in each block of the first twelve hours, when to send which message, and which failures to watch for while everyone is looking at your product.
- [How to win a launch leaderboard week honestly](https://launchelion.com/guides/how-to-win-a-launch-leaderboard) — Launchelion runs a weekly launch cycle where signed-in accounts vote once per day and each week's top tools are kept in a permanent winners archive. This guide explains how the cycle works, when to submit, what actually moves a listing up, and which tactics get a listing removed.
- [How to build a pre-launch waitlist for an AI tool](https://launchelion.com/guides/pre-launch-waitlist-for-ai-tools) — A pre-launch waitlist is the only asset that makes launch day predictable for a maker with no audience. This Launchelion guide covers what a waitlist is for, where the first signups realistically come from, what to send while people wait, and how to convert the list on launch day.
- [How to make a launch demo video for an AI tool](https://launchelion.com/guides/launch-demo-video-for-ai-tools) — The demo video is the strongest piece of proof on a launch page, and most are too long to survive a feed. This Launchelion guide covers the length that works, the four-part structure, a recording setup with no budget, and where the same file should be reused across launch surfaces.
- [How to write a launch tagline for an AI tool](https://launchelion.com/guides/ai-tool-launch-tagline) — Your tagline is the only thing most people read on launch day, since a feed row shows a name, an icon and one line. This Launchelion guide gives a formula that works under 60 characters, a test for whether the line is yours, and the words that make a launch listing invisible.
- [Launch free or paid: pricing on launch day](https://launchelion.com/guides/launch-free-or-paid) — Should you launch an AI tool free, on a trial, or paid from day one? This Launchelion guide works through the three options against inference costs, what launch traffic realistically converts, why a free tier needs stated numeric limits, and how to raise a launch price without punishing early users.
- [How to relaunch an AI tool after a flat first launch](https://launchelion.com/guides/how-to-relaunch-your-ai-tool) — A quiet first launch is a distribution result, not a verdict on the product. This Launchelion guide covers when a relaunch is justified, what must be genuinely different before you run one, how launch platforms treat repeat submissions, and how to measure whether the second attempt worked.
- [Launch day metrics: what to measure, what to ignore](https://launchelion.com/guides/launch-day-metrics-that-matter) — Most makers finish launch day knowing only their upvote count, which predicts nothing. This Launchelion guide names the four numbers worth recording, the instrumentation to install before launch, the 30-day view that shows whether anything survived, and how to publish results honestly.