---
title: "New product launch content plan: a launch-day shot list"
canonical: https://withicarus.com/blog/new-product-launch-content-plan
site: Icarus
description: "A launch-day shot list for a new product: which photos, clips and ad to make, in what order, and what to make first when you're short on time."
---

# New product launch content plan: a launch-day shot list

A launch-day shot list for a new product: which photos, clips and ad to make, in what order, and what to make first when you're short on time.

_October 9, 2026. Written with AI from the sources listed below, and checked automatically before it went live._

![Young woman holding up a glass serum bottle in one hand and looking at it](https://icarus.b-cdn.net/blog/new-product-launch-content-plan/woman-holding-new-serum-bottle.png)

_Made with Icarus_

A launch content plan is a short list. You need one hero photo on white, a few angle and detail shots, some photos of the product in use, an ad still with your headline and a short vertical clip. Make them in that order, because each piece starts from the one before it.

This post gives you the shot list with counts and the rules each piece has to meet. It also covers what to make first when launch day is close, and what the whole set costs when you make it from one product photo.

**Key takeaways**

- Make the hero photo on white first. Everything else is built from it.
- Then make angles, details and in-use shots, all in one batch.
- Your ad still and vertical clip come last, from the photos you like most.
- If you're short on time, make a hero, one in-use photo, one ad still and one clip.

## The launch-day shot list

Most launch guides tell you what kinds of content to make. Very few say how many of each, so here's a starting set for one product:

- **Hero on white:** one. This is your main listing image and the first thing a buyer sees.
- **Angles:** three. Back, side and top, so nobody has to guess what the product looks like.
- **Detail close-ups:** two. The texture, the label, the stitching, the clasp.
- **Scale shot:** one. The product in a hand or next to something everyone knows.
- **In use or on a model:** three. The product where it belongs, worn or used.
- **Ad stills:** two. The same product with two different headlines, so you can see which one works.
- **Vertical clip:** one or two short videos for reels and paid social.

That comes to twelve images and one or two clips. That's enough to fill a product page, a launch email and your first ads without running out on day two.

The order matters. When the hero shot is right, your angles match it. The in-use photos then match the angles, and the ad is built from whichever photo you like best. If you start with the ad, you'll end up redoing it once the listing photos change the look.

## Start with the hero photo on white

The hero photo has the strictest rules, so get it out of the way first. Amazon seller guidance for 2026 asks for a [pure white background (RGB 255, 255, 255) for main images](https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/0149bdb3-2056-42ce-b0bb-9eef94e3d2b8). The same guidance sets a [minimum of 1000 pixels on the longest side, with 1600 or more as the ideal](https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/0149bdb3-2056-42ce-b0bb-9eef94e3d2b8), so shoppers can zoom.

![Amber glass serum bottle with a dropper cap, alone on a plain white background](https://icarus.b-cdn.net/blog/new-product-launch-content-plan/serum-bottle-on-white.png)

_Made with Icarus_

If you also list on Google Shopping, Merchant Center says the product should fill [no less than 75% and no more than 90% of the image](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324350). It also says no image file can be [larger than 16MB](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324350).

With Icarus, you start from one clear photo of the product, taken from one angle. Save it as a product and Icarus pins it into every shot after that, keeping its real colour, logo and stitching. Ask for the hero in plain words: the product centred on pure white, with soft even light. Make it at 2K or 4K if you want room for zoom.

Before you upload, check the background, the pixel size and the file size against the rules of each store you sell in. Icarus makes the image, but you're the one who checks it against each store's rules.

## Then the photos that show the product in use

Amazon's guidance says that while the main image has to follow [strict guidelines, additional images give you flexibility](https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/0149bdb3-2056-42ce-b0bb-9eef94e3d2b8). That's where angles, details, scale and lifestyle shots go.

![Woman at a bathroom vanity applying serum, holding the bottle in soft morning light](https://icarus.b-cdn.net/blog/new-product-launch-content-plan/woman-applying-serum-vanity.png)

_Made with Icarus_

Make them as one batch. Icarus's [bulk product photos](https://withicarus.com/features/bulk-product-photos) let you write one shot per line, each with its own prompt, and make the set together. If you're launching several products at once, drop all their photos in together. Each photo becomes a saved product you can tag.

Three things help the set look like one shoot:

- **Save a studio.** Describe your brand's light, background and mood once, then pick it in every in-use shot.
- **Keep one face.** If a model is in the frame, save one sharp, front-facing headshot. Face locking then keeps the same person across scenes, poses and outfits.
- **Brief it like a photographer.** Name the place, the light and what the person is doing.

Here's a brief for one in-use shot:

> A woman applying a few drops of serum at a bathroom vanity, soft morning window light, the bottle in her other hand, shot at eye level

Try this prompt in Icarus: https://withicarus.com/dashboard?prompt=A%20woman%20applying%20a%20few%20drops%20of%20serum%20at%20a%20bathroom%20vanity%2C%20soft%20morning%20window%20light%2C%20the%20bottle%20in%20her%20other%20hand%2C%20shot%20at%20eye%20level

Read each one like a buyer would. If the label or the colour looks off, edit it by describing the change, or make it again.

## The launch ad: one still and one clip

Your ad goes last because it borrows from everything above. Pick the in-use photo you like most and turn it into two ad stills with different headlines.

![Hand holding an amber serum bottle against a sunlit white tiled wall in a tall frame](https://icarus.b-cdn.net/blog/new-product-launch-content-plan/hand-holding-serum-tiled-wall.png)

_Made with Icarus_

In Icarus, open Image and pick a model made for posters and text, such as Ideogram 4.5 for posters, logos and text, or Qwen Image 3 for text on packaging and signs. Tag your saved product and write the headline in quotes in your prompt. Read every letter before you publish.

For the clip, Meta's video ads guide lists a [resolution of 1440 x 1800 pixels](https://www.facebook.com/business/ads-guide/video). Check the guide for the placement you're buying. Make your still in a tall frame so the move to video doesn't crop out the product.

There are two quick ways to get the clip:

1. **From your own photo.** [Turn the still into a short video](https://withicarus.com/features/photo-to-video) and describe the motion, or leave it to the model. On video models that offer it, you can pick a camera move such as push in or slide left.
2. **From a template.** Browse the [video templates in the library](https://withicarus.com/library/videos), open one you like and press Recreate. Add your product photo where it asks. You aren't charged until you press Generate.

The product in your clip should match the one in your photos. Check the colour and the logo frame by frame before the ad goes live.

## What to make first when time is short

Sometimes the stock arrives on Thursday and the launch is Monday. If so, make this minimum set in this order:

1. The hero on white. Without it, you have no listing.
2. One in-use photo. This is the one that shows why someone would want the product.
3. One ad still with your headline, made from that in-use photo.
4. One vertical clip, made from the ad still or the in-use photo.

Post and run with those four. Add the angles, details and scale shot in the first week, while the launch ads are still running.

The cost is small next to a studio day. On the AI Icarus starts you on, an image at 1K that holds a saved product is $0.03, so the full twelve images at $0.03 come to $0.36. Twelve images at $0.05 come to $0.60 at 2K. A 10-second clip is $2.54 at 720p, so two clips at $2.54 come to $5.08. You see each shot's price on the Generate button before you make it, and a shot that fails costs nothing. Every plan and top-up is on the [pricing page](https://withicarus.com/pricing).

Before launch day, tick these off:

- [ ] The hero is on a pure white background and big enough for zoom
- [ ] Colour, logo and label match the real product in every shot
- [ ] Every photo with a person in it shows the same face
- [ ] Every word in the ad headline is spelled right
- [ ] The clip is in a tall frame and the product stays in shot

If you want to try this on your own product, start with one clear photo and the hero shot in Icarus.

## Questions

### What content do you need for a new product launch?

You need a hero photo on white, a few angle and detail shots, a scale shot, some photos of the product in use, an ad still and a short vertical video. Twelve images and one or two clips will cover a product page, a launch email and your first ads.

### How far ahead should I make launch content?

Have the hero photo and one in-use photo ready before you go live, since your listing and first ads depend on them. You can add angles, details and extra clips in the first week after launch.

### Can I make launch photos before the product is in stock?

Yes. All you need is one clear photo of a finished sample, taken from one angle. Icarus keeps that product's real colour, logo and stitching in every shot, so check each result against the real product before you publish.

### Should I make the ad or the listing photos first?

Make the listing photos first. Your ad should use the same product, light and look as your listing, so make it from a photo you've already approved.

### What size should a launch video ad be?

Meta's video ads guide lists a resolution of [1440 x 1800 pixels](https://www.facebook.com/business/ads-guide/video). Check the guide for the placement you're buying, and make your source photo in a tall frame so the product isn't cropped when it becomes a clip.

## Sources

- [Google Merchant Center image link requirements](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324350)
- [Product Photography Standards: What's New in 2026](https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/0149bdb3-2056-42ce-b0bb-9eef94e3d2b8)
- [Meta Ads Guide: Video](https://www.facebook.com/business/ads-guide/video)

---

Site: Icarus (https://withicarus.com)
Canonical: https://withicarus.com/blog/new-product-launch-content-plan
Contact: tanmay@onai.studio