When doing distribution, SEO is the easy answer
But I would start with something else
Cristian Lascu
October 08, 2026
Last week I commented on a launch thread on Reddit. Someone was about to launch their SaaS and asked where to start. My comment kind of turned into a full plan in my head, so I'm writing it out properly here.
It works for more than SaaS. If you're about to launch a new product, a new service or a new offer, this is roughly the order I'd go in, and what I'd look at in each step.
Most people start with SEO
That's what I see most of the time. When someone launches a new website, a blog, or an app with a landing page, everything starts with a list of keywords, articles written to cover them, indexing in Google Search Console, and then a lot of waiting.
I think SEO is a long game. You need patience until it compounds, and it depends a lot on the content you put out. And at the start you don't really know who you're writing for yet.
If you want something faster and more impactful, I'd do a formal launch first.
Step 1: Launch, and treat it as a test
Product Hunt and its competitors. Announce it on all your socials. Post in the communities where your ideal customers already spend time.
The goal of the launch is to see if you actually have product market fit. The traffic that may come with it is nice, but it's a side effect. So be prepared to gather feedback at that point, and make it easy for people to give it. Even a Google Form is enough, as long as people have a clear way to send it.
Launch something finished, even if it's small. Whatever people see on launch day is everything they know about you. I wrote about that a few weeks ago in When nobody knows you, polish is the only evidence.
One thing I'd set up before launch day: a couple of questions in the onboarding. What do you do, what made you sign up, what were you using before. Otherwise you have nothing to segment later, and everyone who came in on launch day looks the same.
Step 2: Show people you listened
Once you have feedback, and assuming it came through the launch channels and is meaningful (at least some tens of people, I would hope), you move to the next step. It's kind of like build in public.
You don't need to become an influencer. Just show that you read the feedback and here is what you did with it.
And follow up directly with the people who gave you the feedback. A short message is enough: you mentioned this, I built it, would you try it? People remember being listened to.
Step 3: Look for your first paying customers
On the back of that you may get your first paying customer, or customers. That tells you three things.
You have product market fit beyond your group of friends and family.
There is willingness to pay, which suggests the product solves a painful problem.
And you get a picture of your ICP, your ideal customer. Very blurry if only one or two people buy, clearer if more do. Assuming you did the onboarding questions right, because that's where the picture comes from.
Step 4: Now go heavy on SEO and AI visibility
Only after that would I go heavy on SEO and AI visibility. At that point at least you know who you're writing for, how they describe their problem, and what they ask before they buy.
That's when the long game starts to pay off, because everything you publish is aimed at people you already know will pay.
The part I'm not sure about
The launch crowd is mostly makers and early adopters. They love trying new things and they give feedback fast. They're often not the people who will pay you in the long run.
So I don't know how much their feedback says about the real market. My best answer so far is the onboarding questions I mentioned earlier. They let you separate feedback from people who look like your future customers from feedback from people who just enjoy launches.
But I'd really like to hear from anyone who launched something and saw it go differently.
If you're planning a launch
If you're about to launch something and want a second pair of eyes on the plan, the onboarding questions, or what happens after someone signs up, book half an hour with me.
Or just reply and tell me what you'd change.
The One Thing
Launch first and treat it as a test. Ask who is signing up, show people you listened, and look for the first ones willing to pay. Go heavy on SEO and AI visibility once you know who you're writing for.
Launch, listen, sell. Then write.
What I'm Thinking About This Week
How little of a launch is really about launch day. The day itself feels very short and filled with noise. The weeks after it, when you follow up with people and show them what you changed, are where you find out if anyone will pay.
Reply to this email with one of:
What would you change in this order?
If you launched something recently, which step went differently than you expected?
What do you ask people when they sign up?
What resonated? What did I get wrong? Hit reply: I read everything and I'm building this with you and with your input.
P.S. The toolkit, in the order I would use it: Scout → Visibility Audit → GEO/AEO Audit Checklist → How to Get Cited by AI → SEO Strategy Playbook → Title & Meta Audit → Sovereign Idea Workflow. All free.
P.P.S. Know someone about to launch something? Forward this. Step 1 is easier to set up before launch day than after. They can subscribe at thesovereigntechnologist.com.
That’s all for this week.
See you next Thursday.
