Ask HN: Why do many start ups have a "we launch soon" site?

1) you want to ensure no-one else has the named domain

2) there are people who you have shared the name with; if they do type it into a browser, they should be reaffirmed that they remembered it correctly etc

I'm with you on this. I always thought it was kind of silly but I guess having even a single page that says "Launching Soon!" is better than nothing at all.

<shamelessPlug>My startup, http://www.loggur.com, says we're launching soon but I actually did take a few weeks to describe it in as much detail as I can on the site. There are at least a dozen pages of details.</shamelessPlug>

I have used a landing page with an email catcher as an opportunity to get the value proposition out there and start building a database to allow you to hit the ground running when you actually launch. If you can attract users to signup with a simple value proposition, it is a good start.

You want to keep your customers informed about the status of your project.

However, you did hit the nail on the head; it's better to have a viable product to show or something to offer to potential customers/users in exchange of their email addresses.

You shouldn't. You should at least put some relevant content up to get Googlebot's attention. A simple "We're launching soon" is pretty weak unless you've got some sort of angle (hype, pr, etc) that makes people want to sign up for it.

There are a few good reasons to make a launching soon page. We made one because it allowed us to determine some visual standards for our actual product (branding, site layout, etc.) and we're using it as a way to find our users. We created a competition that lets people vote on where we launch first. We're actually going to move to which ever city wins. It seems to be working. I think people like the idea of having control over our future. If you’re going to request email addresses, I recommend playing an angle like this or offering something. In the past we’ve asked for emails for nothing in return and we got basically zero.

Thanks! Yeah, I totally see the quid pro quo and to offer something in exchange for emails

The reason is that you usually start talking with the potential customers about the idea before you have a product ready. You bounce your idea from people on barcamps, you discuss the idea on forums, etc.

Now - these people quite often want to know when you launch, and the best way is to give them the website address, so they can leave their e-mail address on it.

So: promoting a landing page? Makes no sense. But talking about the idea before you have a prototype - definitely!

I did that when i was working on previous startup, but for now me and cofounder are just trying to show prototype really quickly. No sleeps, Lots of snacks and redbulls- but I think prototype > 'launch soon' site. You can even get some sample reference datas. Whatever it looks like, something that actually communicate with potential users is better, i think :)