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Doing It Launch Strategy

Core message: "The time tracker that gets out of your way."

Channels & Tactics

1. Show HN (Highest ROI)

Hacker News is the best single channel for developer tools. A good Show HN can drive thousands of visits in a day.

Format:

Show HN: Doing It – keyboard-driven time tracker (no menus, just Enter)

Post body (~200 words):

  • Open with the problem: existing time trackers have too much friction, so people stop using them.
  • The insight: the only interaction that needs to be fast is start/stop. Everything else can come later.
  • How it works: type a task → Enter to start → Enter to stop. Sessions accumulate throughout the day.
  • Built with: Go + SQLite + vanilla JS. No frameworks. ~600 lines total.
  • What you want feedback on: keyboard UX, the "inline time editing" workflow, whether the model (tasks vs sessions) makes sense.

Tips:

  • Post Monday–Wednesday between 09:00–11:00 ET for best front-page odds.
  • Respond to every comment in the first hour.
  • Don't upvote-beg; let the post stand on its own.

2. Product Hunt

PH works best when you have a network to activate on launch day. Use the footer PH link to get early upvotes from friends/colleagues before the daily ranking locks in.

Steps:

  1. Create a Maker account at producthunt.com.
  2. Schedule the post for 12:01 AM PT on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
  3. Add a 60-second screen recording as the gallery item (see Twitter section below — same asset).
  4. Tagline: "The time tracker that gets out of your way"
  5. First comment: explain the keyboard-first philosophy.
  6. Ask your network to visit & upvote on launch morning.

3. Twitter / X

The no-mouse UX is visually compelling — record a short clip and post it.

Asset to create: 30–60 second screen recording showing:

  1. Typing a task → Enter → timer starts (dot blinks)
  2. Switching tasks mid-work
  3. End of day: all tasks with time breakdowns

Tweet copy:

I built a time tracker with one rule: the only input is your keyboard.

Type a task → ↵ start → ↵ stop. That's it.

No menus. No timers to configure. No mouse.

doingit.online

Follow up replies with: the tech stack, the "why", and a link to the HN thread once live.

4. Indie Hackers

Post in the "Share what you've built" monthly thread and the "Show your product" section.

Angle: Focus on the decision to use zero frontend frameworks (Go + SQLite + ~600 lines of vanilla JS). IH readers appreciate the "built lean" story.

5. Reddit

Subreddit Angle
r/productivity "How I actually got myself to track time every day"
r/SideProject "I built a keyboard-only time tracker"
r/webdev "I wrote a time tracker in Go + SQLite + zero JS frameworks"

Reddit requires genuine participation — don't just drop a link. Write a real post describing the problem and solution, and put the link at the end.

Quick Wins (Do First)

  • Google Search Console — add the site, submit sitemap.xml (or just the homepage URL). Gets the page indexed within days.
  • Custom domain — doingit.online ✓
  • OG image — already added at /static/og.svg. Verify at https://opengraph.xyz before posting anywhere.
  • Twitter Card — verify at https://cards-dev.twitter.com/validator.

Messaging Cheat Sheet

Context Headline
HN title Doing It – keyboard-driven time tracker (no menus, just Enter)
PH tagline The time tracker that gets out of your way
Tweet hook I built a time tracker with one rule: the only input is your keyboard.
OG description Type a task, press Enter to start. No menus, no friction. See where your day actually went.
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