Skip to main content
Raycast is an app that provides developers with quick access to their tools.** It reduces context switching with a command line inspired interface and connects with GitHub, Linear, and G Suite among others. The company ran a launch week in July 2022. Below are some key takeaways — an overview of what and how Raycast shipped this week.

Raycast

Extendable macOS launcher

​
tldr

  • Announce your launch week in advance to raise awareness and start building momentum
  • Launch on more places like Product Hunt and Hacker News to maximize the compound effect
  • Post a recap to keep the momentum going.

​
how Raycast launched

​
announcements

Raycast made five announcements:
  1. Community Stories
  2. Look and feel
  3. Raycast for Teams
  4. Menu Bar Comments
  5. Community Swag
For the announcements, Raycast applied these tactics:
  • Publish a preview 1 week in advance
  • Publish 1 changelog post
  • Publish 4 blog posts — including a recap
  • Spread the news on Twitter/X
  • Launched on Product Hunt and Hacker News

Raycast Changelog

A fresh look and feel

Raycast for Teams on Product Hunt

Speed up internal workflows

​
results

Day 0 — Jul 11, 2022 — Preview Prior to the launch week, Raycast posted a preview on socials to start building momentum.
  • Likes: 300
  • Reposts: 26
Day 1 — Jul 18, 2022 - Community Stories
  • Likes: 141
  • Reposts: 28
Day 2 - Jul 19, 2022 - Look and feel
  • Likes: 435
  • Reposts: 41
// Raycast announced this update in a blog Post and release note. They also dropped a preview on socials. Day 3 - Jul 20, 2022 - Raycast for Teams
  • Likes: 249
  • Reposts: 36
// Raycast announced Raycast for Teams in a blog post. They also launched on Product Hunt, and ranked #4 Product of the Day. Day 4 — Jul 21, 2022 — Menu Bar Commands
  • Likes: 249
  • Reposts: 36
// Raycast published a technical behind-the-scenes post and submitted it on Hacker News. Day 5 — Jul 22, 2022 — Community Swag
  • Likes: 197
  • Reposts: 182

Raycast on X — Day 0

Preview

Raycast on X — Day 1

Introducing Community Stories

Raycast on X — Day 2

Introducing a new look and feel

Raycast on X — Day 3

Introducing Raycast for Teams

Raycast on X — Day 4

Introducing Menu Bar Commands

Raycast on X — Day 5

Introducing Community Swag

​
keep momentum

To wrap up this launch week, Raycast also published a recap on their blog — and reposted it on socials.

Raycast Launch Week Summary

An overview of what Raycast shipped during their launch week

​
key takeaways

Some learnings from this launch week:
  • Announce your launch week in advance to raise awareness and start building momentum. Raycast started 1 week in advance.
  • Launch on more places like Product Hunt and Hacker News to maximize the compound effect.
  • Post a recap of your announcements to keep the momentum going. This could still reach people who either forgot, ignored, or missed them the first time.
That’s a wrap! Follow @launchweekdev on X for more insights. We’re tracking launch weeks across the industry for product discovery and inspiration.
⌘I