--- title: Don't Launch to an Empty Room | daily.dev description: Shipping an app without an audience already lined up is a losing move, the author argues. SwiftUI let designers build their own polished UIs, and AI agents let... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-launch-to-an-empty-room-jkgbahobs twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Don't Launch to an Empty Room | daily.dev og:description: Shipping an app without an audience already lined up is a losing move, the author argues. SwiftUI let designers build their own polished UIs, and AI agents let... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-launch-to-an-empty-room-jkgbahobs og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/jkgBAhobs.png og:image:alt: Don't Launch to an Empty Room og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Don't Launch to an Empty Room **[Swiftjective-C](https://daily.dev/sources/swiftjectivec)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary Shipping an app without an audience already lined up is a losing move, the author argues. SwiftUI let designers build their own polished UIs, and AI agents let anyone build apps, so coding skill alone is no longer a competitive edge. The suggested fix: build an email list via a landing page (not a gated TestFlight invite), share it in at least three non-obvious communities like Facebook groups or Discords, then drive that list to preorders once the app is approved for a launch-day chart boost. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How should I build an email list before launching my iOS app instead of using a TestFlight invite? Set up a landing page where interested people can drop their email, separate from any TestFlight signup, using a 'let me know when it launches' approach. Share that landing page in at least three places outside typical platforms like X or Reddit, such as Facebook groups, niche newsletters, or Discord servers where your ideal customers already gather, then convert that list to preorders once the app is approved. _Indie developers planning a launch strategy can find more app marketing tactics like this on daily.dev._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@demovexa** · 0 upvotes > The landing page step is where I'd put the most effort, since the list only grows as fast as people understand the app from that page. A short recording of the app doing its main job, at the top of the page and in the boosted post, says more than a feature list, and you can reuse it as the App Store preview video once preorders open. Apple is strict about preview dimensions per device class, length and file size, so it's worth recording at the right size from the start. I'm building DemoVexa, which makes demo videos from a product's code, and we made a free checker for those preview specs:... ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Stop Waiting for the Big Idea. Ship the Small App.](https://daily.dev/posts/stop-waiting-for-the-big-idea-ship-the-small-app--gdne2u1kz) · Medium · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Using AI to Launch a Product: Shipping It](https://daily.dev/posts/using-ai-to-launch-a-product-shipping-it-kc0avktrp) · Atomic Spin · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Introducing Kickstart: the app that helps indie developers ship](https://daily.dev/posts/introducing-kickstart-the-app-that-helps-indie-developers-ship-vlleomzny) · Hacking with Swift · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#ios](https://daily.dev/tags/ios), [#swiftui](https://daily.dev/tags/swiftui) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-launch-to-an-empty-room-jkgbahobs) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Don't Launch to an Empty Room","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-launch-to-an-empty-room-jkgbahobs","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-launch-to-an-empty-room-jkgbahobs"},"datePublished":"2026-10-27T19:42:54.454Z","dateModified":"2026-10-27T20:13:27.544Z","description":"Shipping an app without an audience already lined up is a losing move, the author argues. SwiftUI let designers build their own polished UIs, and AI agents let...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/d65bf0074c7e7ba60099826f768c0914?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/d65bf0074c7e7ba60099826f768c0914?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Swiftjective-C","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Swiftjective-C","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--hXqfIRAV--/f_auto,q_auto/v1783235597/logos/swiftjectivec?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/swiftjectivec"},"commentCount":1,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-launch-to-an-empty-room-jkgbahobs","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}],"keywords":"ios,swiftui","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Swiftjective-C","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/swiftjectivec"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Don't Launch to an Empty Room"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-launch-to-an-empty-room-jkgbahobs","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"The landing page step is where I’d put the most effort, since the list only grows as fast as people understand the app from that page. A short recording of the app doing its main job, at the top of the page and in the boosted post, says more than a feature list, and you can reuse it as the App Store preview video once preorders open. Apple is strict about preview dimensions per device class, length and file size, so it’s worth recording at the right size from the start. I’m building DemoVexa, which makes demo videos from a product’s code, and we made a free checker for those preview specs: https://demovexa.com/tools/app-store-preview-video-specs?utm_source=dailydev\u0026amp;utm_medium=community\u0026amp;utm_campaign=comments","datePublished":"2026-10-28T03:08:35.566Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/jkgBAhobs#c-hNri8Fdyk","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"DemoVexa","url":"https://daily.dev/demovexa","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--I0Ym8soj--/f_auto,pg_1/v1792077531/avatars/avatar_F6wD6jMSPjwEMcztjwnyE?_a=BAMAMicg0"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-launch-to-an-empty-room-jkgbahobs#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How should I build an email list before launching my iOS app instead of using a TestFlight invite?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Set up a landing page where interested people can drop their email, separate from any TestFlight signup, using a 'let me know when it launches' approach. Share that landing page in at least three places outside typical platforms like X or Reddit, such as Facebook groups, niche newsletters, or Discord servers where your ideal customers already gather, then convert that list to preorders once the app is approved. Indie developers planning a launch strategy can find more app marketing tactics like this on daily.dev."}}]} ```