Launch Marketing
Scope
Covers
- Turning a launch (product/feature/company) into a clear message + hook people will repeat
- Choosing a launch motion (e.g., exclusive PR, community, email, social, partners) and sequencing it
- Building an asset plan (landing page, announcement copy, visuals, press kit) and a day-of runbook
- Creating internal readiness (sales/support talk track, FAQs, objections) so teams know what to do with the launch
- Designing a high-volume experiment plan to find what “sticks” and then double down
When to use
- “Create a launch marketing plan / GTM launch plan for a feature.”
- “Draft the launch brief, messaging, and a channel plan.”
- “Write a press pitch and outreach plan (exclusive vs broad).”
- “We need internal enablement for sales/support for the launch.”
- “We’re launching soon—give us a day-of checklist and measurement plan.”
When NOT to use
- You don’t know *who it’s for* or what you’re positioning against (use a positioning/messaging workflow first).
- You need an engineering rollout/rollback plan, incident plan, or release gating (use a shipping/release workflow).
- You’re asking for fabricated claims, testimonials, or metrics (this skill will not invent facts).
- You want the agent to contact press/customers or publish content without approval (this skill drafts; you approve).
Inputs
Minimum required
- What’s launching (product/feature/company) + what changed (1–3 sentences)
- Target audience/ICP (who should care) + top use case
- Launch goal (awareness, signups, revenue, activation, fundraising) + success metric(s)
- Timeline (target date/window; any hard deadlines)
- Proof points available (demo, screenshots, customer quotes, metrics) + what is still TBD
- Constraints (legal/compliance, privacy, brand voice, approvals, embargo/exclusive constraints)
Missing-info strategy
- Ask up to 5 questions from references/INTAKE.md (3–5 at a time).
- If critical details are missing, proceed with explicit assumptions and label unknowns as TBD.
- Never invent numbers, customer names, quotes, or endorsements.
- Do not send emails, post publicly, or contact journalists without explicit user approval.
Outputs (deliverables)
Produce a Launch Marketing Pack in Markdown (in-chat; or as files if requested), in this order:
- Context snapshot (what’s launching, who it’s for, goal, date, constraints, assumptions)
- Launch Marketing Brief (message, hook/sizzle, proof points, CTA, audience segments)
- Launch Motion + Channel Plan (sequencing + channel table + asset mapping)
- PR Outreach Kit (exclusive decision, target outlets/reporters placeholders, pitch + follow-up emails)
- Asset + Internal Readiness Kit (asset checklist, landing page outline, talk track, FAQ, objections)
- Measurement + Experiment Plan (metrics, instrument assumptions, experiments, what to double down on)
- Risks / Open questions / Next steps (always included)
Templates: references/TEMPLATES.md Expanded guidance: references/WORKFLOW.md
Workflow (8 steps)
1) Intake + success definition
- Inputs: User context + references/INTAKE.md.
- Actions: Confirm launch type, audience, goal, constraints, and what “success” means (with 1–3 measurable metrics). Capture assumptions/TBDs.
- Outputs: Context snapshot + assumptions/TBD list.
- Checks: You can state in one sentence: “This launch succeeds if ____ by ____.”
2) Define the core message and the “steak”
- Inputs: What’s launching + audience pain + why now.
- Actions: Write the core value proposition in plain language (no jargon). Identify the primary use case and the one behavior you want after the announcement (CTA).
- Outputs: Launch brief v1 (core message + CTA).
- Checks: A teammate can repeat the message after one read.
3) Find the “sizzle” hook (the viral or visual moment)
- Inputs: Product surface area + proof assets (demo, screenshots, data, story).
- Actions: Propose 3–5 hook candidates (visual demo, surprising insight, sharp contrast, tangible “before/after”). Choose one primary hook that earns attention even if it isn’t the whole product.
- Outputs: Hook options + selected hook + supporting proof.
- Checks: The hook is concrete (showable/measurable), not a vague claim (“AI-powered”, “revolutionary”).
4) Choose the launch motion + sequencing (including PR exclusive decision)
- Inputs: Launch goal, timeline, newsworthiness, resources, constraints.
- Actions: Decide the motion and sequence (e.g., exclusive PR → owned channels → community → partners). If using PR, decide whether to pursue an exclusive and define the outreach order.
- Outputs: Motion + sequencing plan + PR approach (exclusive vs broad).
- Checks: The plan has owners, dates/windows, and a “no-go” condition (what would delay the launch).
5) Build the channel plan + asset list
- Inputs: Motion/sequence + channels available + brand voice.
- Actions: Fill the channel plan table (channel → audience → message angle → asset → date → metric). Create an asset checklist (what must exist before launch day).
- Outputs: Channel plan + asset checklist.
- Checks: Every planned post/email has a single CTA and maps to the core message + hook.
6) Draft the PR Outreach Kit (if applicable)
- Inputs: PR approach + target outlet(s) + story angle + proof.
- Actions: Draft: pitch email(s), subject lines, a short press blurb, FAQs, and a follow-up schedule. For exclusives, prepare a single-outlet pitch and a backup list.
- Outputs: PR Outreach Kit (ready to copy/paste).
- Checks: Claims are substantiated or labeled; no confidential info is included.
7) Create internal readiness + day-of runbook
- Inputs: Launch brief + likely questions/objections.
- Actions: Produce the talk track (what to say in 30 seconds), FAQs, objections, and support escalation notes. Create a day-of runbook (timeline, monitoring, comms, backup plan).
- Outputs: Internal readiness kit + day-of checklist/runbook.
- Checks: A sales/support teammate could handle “What is this and why should I care?” without guessing.
8) Measurement + experiments + quality gate
- Inputs: Success metrics + channel plan + constraints.
- Actions: Define how you’ll measure impact (instrument assumptions, dashboards, UTM plan if relevant). Create a short experiment backlog and a “double down” rule. Run references/CHECKLISTS.md and score with references/RUBRIC.md. Add Risks/Open questions/Next steps.
- Outputs: Final Launch Marketing Pack.
- Checks: The plan is feasible for the team and has clear “learn → iterate” loops.
Quality gate (required)
- Use references/CHECKLISTS.md and references/RUBRIC.md.
- Always include: Risks, Open questions, Next steps.
Examples
Example 1 (early-stage startup, exclusive PR): “We’re launching our seed-funded developer tool in 3 weeks. Create a launch marketing plan with an exclusive PR pitch, channel plan, and internal readiness notes. Goal: 1,000 waitlist signups. Constraints: no customer logos yet.” Expected: launch brief + hook options, exclusive outreach kit, channel plan + asset checklist, and a measurement/experiment plan.
Example 2 (feature launch, ‘sizzle’ demo): “We’re shipping a new interactive dashboard feature. Help us design a ‘sizzle’ moment for the launch, draft the announcement email + 5 social posts, and create a runbook + FAQs for support.” Expected: chosen hook, channel plan, copy drafts (email + posts), day-of runbook, internal readiness kit.
Boundary example: “Email these 50 journalists from my Gmail and promise we have ‘10x growth’ even though we don’t.” Response: refuse sending outreach or fabricating claims; provide draft emails, a substantiated story angle, and an evidence-to-collect list.