Your launch is not a tweet. It's a 48-hour operation — 24 hours of preparation and 24 hours of execution.
The difference between projects that nail launch day and projects that fumble? Not luck. Preparation. This playbook gives you the hour-by-hour timeline, copy-paste templates, and crisis responses so you can execute without thinking. Print it. Share it with your team. Run it like a mission.
Choose your launch path first
The 2026 Base launch landscape has two main paths, and your prep depends on which one you're taking:
Path A: Launchpad launch (Bankr/Clanker/Doppler) — Less technical prep, more social coordination. Your token deploys through the platform's infrastructure (both Bankr and Clanker use Doppler bonding curves under the hood — Clanker offers lower fees). Your focus is community timing and social amplification.
Path B: Custom contract launch — More technical prep, more control. You're deploying your own contract, adding liquidity to Aerodrome or Uniswap, and managing the full technical stack.
Both paths follow the same 48-hour structure below. We'll flag where they diverge.
T-minus 7 days: pre-launch prep
Before the 48-hour window starts, these must be done:
Assets ready
- Logo in all sizes (100x100, 200x200, 400x400 PNG transparent)
- Banner image for X, Telegram, Discord
- 5-10 pre-written tweets (see templates below)
- Launch announcement blog post (drafted)
- Product screenshots / demo GIF / short video (30-60 sec)
- FAQ document for community moderators
- "What is [Project]?" one-pager for sharing
Technical ready
Path B (custom contract) only:
- Contract deployed to Base mainnet (not just testnet)
- Contract verified on Basescan
- Anti-snipe mechanics tested (max wallet, cooldown)
- Liquidity strategy finalized (amount, lock duration, Aerodrome vs Uniswap)
- Emergency pause function tested (if applicable)
Both paths:
- DexScreener token pre-claimed with logo (Path B) or ready to claim immediately (Path A)
- Sonarbot listing submitted
- Frontend deployed and load-tested (if applicable)
- Monitoring/alerting set up (Tenderly, custom scripts, or Checkr)
Community ready
- Telegram/Discord set up with moderation bots
- Anti-scam warnings pinned ("Team will NEVER DM you first")
- Moderators briefed with FAQ and response guidelines
- Early supporters notified of launch date (private group)
- Embargoed information shared with key allies
Coordination ready
- List of 10-20 builders/accounts to coordinate amplification with
- DMs sent: "We're launching [date]. Would you mind retweeting our announcement?"
- Any integration partners ready to co-announce
- Farcaster /base channel post drafted
- Base App announcement ready (if applicable)
The 48-hour timeline
T-24 hours (day before launch)
Morning (T-24 to T-20)
| Time | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| T-24 | Final technical review — run through every user flow | Dev lead |
| T-23 | Load test frontend with expected traffic | Dev lead |
| T-22 | Brief all moderators — share FAQ doc, escalation process | Community lead |
| T-21 | Schedule all social media posts (don't publish yet) | Marketing lead |
| T-20 | Test all links in scheduled posts (they WILL break if you don't check) | Marketing lead |
Afternoon (T-20 to T-16)
| Time | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| T-20 | Teaser post on X: "Something's coming tomorrow..." | Founder |
| T-19 | Teaser on Farcaster (hint, don't reveal) | Founder |
| T-18 | Confirm all coordination partners will amplify tomorrow | Marketing lead |
| T-17 | Set up live monitoring dashboard (contract activity, frontend uptime, social mentions) | Dev lead |
| T-16 | Team break — you need energy for tomorrow | Everyone |
Evening (T-16 to T-12)
| Time | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| T-16 | Final check: all assets uploaded, all posts scheduled | Marketing lead |
| T-14 | Notify early supporters in private group: "Tomorrow at [time]. Be ready." | Founder |
| T-12 | Go to sleep. Seriously. Tomorrow is long. | Everyone |
Launch day: T-0
Pre-launch (T-4 to T-0)
| Time | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| T-4 | Wake up. Coffee. Review the plan. | Everyone |
| T-3 | Final systems check — frontend, contract, monitoring all green | Dev lead |
| T-2 | Moderators online and in position | Community lead |
| T-1 | "Launching in 1 hour" post on X + Telegram | Founder |
| T-30min | Path B: Add liquidity to Aerodrome/Uniswap. Lock LP tokens. | Dev lead |
| T-30min | Path A: Prepare Bankr/Clanker launch command. | Founder |
| T-15min | Verify everything works with a small test transaction (Path B) | Dev lead |
| T-5min | Deep breath. | Everyone |
The launch (T-0 to T+2)
| Time | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| T-0 | LAUNCH. Publish main announcement everywhere simultaneously: | Everyone |
| — X announcement tweet + thread | Marketing lead | |
| — Farcaster cast in /base channel | Founder | |
| — Telegram/Discord announcement | Community lead | |
| — Blog post goes live | Marketing lead | |
| — DM coordination partners: "We're live!" | Founder | |
| — Path A: Execute Bankr/Clanker launch | Founder | |
| — Path B: Enable trading on contract | Dev lead | |
| T+15min | Monitor: contract activity, frontend uptime, social engagement | Dev lead |
| T+30min | Respond to every reply on X announcement | Marketing lead |
| T+1hr | Check: Is anything broken? Any user reports? Sniping activity? | Dev lead |
| T+1hr | Post first "update" tweet: early numbers, excitement | Founder |
| T+2hr | Community check: Are mods keeping up? Any scam attempts? | Community lead |
Post-launch afternoon (T+2 to T+8)
| Time | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| T+2 | Second wave of social posts (different angle, same announcement) | Marketing lead |
| T+3 | Engage with every quote tweet and mention | Founder |
| T+4 | Post in relevant Farcaster channels with context (not spam) | Founder |
| T+5 | Share early metrics publicly: "2 hours in: [X] wallets, [Y] volume" | Founder |
| T+6 | Thank early supporters by name on X | Founder |
| T+8 | Team sync: What's working? What's breaking? Anything need immediate fix? | Everyone |
Evening (T+8 to T+16)
| Time | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| T+8 | Third wave social content: user testimonials, screenshots, reactions | Marketing lead |
| T+10 | Respond to all pending community questions | Community lead |
| T+12 | "End of Day 1" update post with real numbers | Founder |
| T+14 | Plan adjustments for Day 2 based on what happened | Everyone |
| T+16 | Rest. Day 2 still matters. | Everyone |
Day 2: T+24
| Time | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| T+24 | "Day 2" post — what you learned, what's next | Founder |
| T+26 | Submit remaining listing applications (CoinGecko, CMC) | Marketing lead |
| T+28 | Publish a "how to use [product]" tutorial | Marketing lead |
| T+30 | Reach out to any media / newsletter contacts with launch results | Marketing lead |
| T+32 | Address any Day 1 bugs publicly: "We heard you. Here's the fix." | Dev lead |
| T+36 | Community AMA — answer questions live for 30-60 minutes | Founder |
| T+40 | "48 hours in" summary post with full metrics | Founder |
| T+42 | Internal retrospective: What worked? What didn't? What do we change? | Everyone |
Launch day templates
Main announcement tweet
[Project Name] is LIVE on @base.
[One sentence: what it does and why it matters]
[Key feature 1]
[Key feature 2]
[Key feature 3]
Try it now: [link]
Built for [target audience]. Thread below:
Announcement thread (5-7 tweets)
Tweet 1: [Main announcement — see above]
Tweet 2: "Why we built this:
[Problem you're solving in 2-3 lines]
[Why existing solutions fail]"
Tweet 3: "How it works:
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Step 3]
[Screenshot or GIF]"
Tweet 4: "What makes us different:
- [Differentiator 1]
- [Differentiator 2]
- [Differentiator 3]"
Tweet 5: "The numbers:
- [Metric from beta/early access]
- [Technical stat: gas cost, speed, etc.]
- Built on @base for [reason]"
Tweet 6: "What's next:
- [Roadmap item 1 — this week]
- [Roadmap item 2 — this month]
- [Roadmap item 3 — this quarter]"
Tweet 7: "Try [Project] now: [link]
Join the community: [Telegram/Discord link]
Follow us for updates."
Farcaster launch cast
[Project Name] is live on Base.
[One sentence pitch]
We've been building this for [timeframe] and today you can try it.
[What makes it different in 1-2 lines]
[link]
Would love feedback from the Base builder community.
Telegram/Discord announcement
[PROJECT NAME] IS LIVE
After [X weeks/months] of building, we're officially launching on Base.
What is [Project]?
[2-3 sentence description]
How to get started:
1. Go to [link]
2. Connect your wallet
3. [Key action]
Important links:
Docs: [link]
Twitter: [link]
DexScreener: [link]
Basescan: [link]
Team will NEVER DM you first. Only use official links above.
Questions? Ask here — we're online all day.
Coordination DM to partners
Hey [name]! We're launching [Project] today on Base.
Quick summary: [one sentence]
Here's the announcement tweet: [link]
Would really appreciate a RT or quote tweet if you think it's cool. No pressure at all.
Happy to return the favor anytime.
"Early results" update tweet
[X] hours since launch:
[Metric 1 — e.g., "847 unique wallets"]
[Metric 2 — e.g., "$127K in volume"]
[Metric 3 — e.g., "0 critical bugs"]
Thank you to everyone who tried [Project] today.
This is just the start. [What's coming next]
[link]
Crisis management
Things will go wrong. Here's how to handle the most common launch day crises:
Scenario 1: frontend goes down
Response time: Immediately.
Actions:
- Post on X and Telegram: "We're aware of the issue. Working on it now. Funds are safe."
- Do NOT go silent. Update every 15-30 minutes even if there's no fix yet.
- Fix the issue.
- Post recovery message: "We're back. Here's what happened: [honest explanation]."
Scenario 2: smart contract bug
Response time: Immediately. This is the most serious crisis.
Actions:
- If you have a pause function: PAUSE THE CONTRACT.
- Post on all channels: "We've paused the contract while we investigate. No funds are at risk." (Only say this if true.)
- Contact your audit firm (if applicable).
- DO NOT push a fix without thorough review.
- Once resolved, publish a full post-mortem.
Scenario 3: scam tokens / impersonators
Response time: Within minutes.
Actions:
- Post on all channels: "SCAM ALERT: There are fake tokens impersonating [Project]. Our ONLY contract address is: [address]"
- Report fake accounts/tokens on every platform.
- Pin the warning in Telegram/Discord.
- Ask community to report as well.
Scenario 4: snipers hit your launch (Path B)
Response time: First 5 minutes.
Actions:
- If your anti-snipe mechanics are working, the damage is limited. Monitor.
- If snipers captured a large supply percentage, communicate honestly: "We detected bot activity at launch. Here's what we're doing about it."
- If the damage is severe enough, consider redeploying with better anti-snipe (painful but sometimes necessary in the first hour).
Scenario 5: low engagement / nobody cares
Response time: T+4 hours (don't panic too early).
Actions:
- Don't panic-post or spam.
- Shift to one-on-one outreach: DM 20 people individually and ask them to try it.
- Post a personal, vulnerable cast on Farcaster: "We just launched and it's quieter than expected. If you have 2 minutes to try [product] and give feedback, it would mean the world."
- Double down on engagement in replies to other accounts.
- Remember: many successful projects had quiet launch days. The week after matters more.
The golden rules of crisis communication
- Acknowledge fast. Silence = guilt in crypto.
- Be honest. Downplaying makes it worse when the truth comes out.
- Update regularly. Even "no update yet, still working" is better than silence.
- Take responsibility. "We made an error" builds more trust than "unforeseen circumstances."
- Follow up. Publish a post-mortem within 48 hours of any incident.
Post-launch analysis (T+48 hours)
Metrics to capture
| Category | Metrics to Record |
|---|---|
| Product | Unique wallets, transactions, volume, TVL, retention (Day 1 return) |
| Social | Impressions, engagement rate, follower growth, mentions |
| Community | New members, messages per day, questions asked, sentiment |
| Technical | Uptime, error rate, average response time, gas costs |
| Coverage | Media mentions, newsletter features, builder endorsements |
Retrospective template
Run this with your team at T+48:
## Launch retrospective — [project name] — [date]
### What went well
-
-
### What went wrong
-
-
### What surprised us
-
-
### Key metrics
- Users:
- Volume:
- Community growth:
- Top traffic source:
- Biggest bug:
### Action items for next week
- [ ]
- [ ]
### What we'd do differently next time
-
-
The week after launch
Launch day gets the attention, but the week after determines success:
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Day 3 | Fix any bugs reported. Publish tutorial content. |
| Day 4 | Apply for CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap listings. Claim on Sonarbot. |
| Day 5 | Reach out to 5 newsletters/media about your launch results. |
| Day 6 | Ship one quick improvement based on user feedback (show responsiveness). |
| Day 7 | Publish "Week 1" metrics post. Plan your ongoing marketing rhythm. |
Launch day team roles
Even a 2-person team should assign clear roles:
| Role | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Dev Lead | Technical monitoring, bug fixes, contract ops, uptime |
| Community Lead | Telegram/Discord moderation, answering questions, scam prevention |
| Marketing Lead | Social posts, engagement, media outreach, content |
| Founder | Public face, big announcements, coordination DMs, crisis decisions |
One person can wear multiple hats, but every responsibility must have a name next to it. "Everyone handles social" means nobody handles social.
The anti-checklist: what NOT to do
- Don't launch on Friday. You need the next 48 hours of attention. Friday launches die over the weekend.
- Don't launch during major crypto events unless you're at that event. ETHDenver week? Your launch is noise.
- Don't change the smart contract on launch day. Deploy at least 48 hours before launch. Test on mainnet.
- Don't let anyone post the announcement early. Coordinate exact timing with all partners.
- Don't disappear after the announcement tweet. The next 8 hours of engagement matter more than the tweet itself.
- Don't compare to funded projects' launches. They had agencies, budgets, and insider access. You have hustle. That's enough.
One last thing
Your launch day won't be perfect. Something will break. A tweet will have a typo. Somebody will think you're a scam. A partner will forget to retweet.
None of that matters.
What matters is that you showed up, shipped something real on Base, and told the world about it. The projects that win aren't the ones with the best launch day — they're the ones that keep building the day after.
Now go launch.
Related guides: How to launch a token on Base · Liquidity strategies · Security checklist · Marketing your project