Launch Marketing

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 positioning-messaging first).
• You need an engineering rollout/rollback plan, incident plan, or release gating (use shipping-products).
• 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).
• You need an ongoing content program, editorial calendar, and SEO strategy beyond the launch window (use content-marketing).
• You need a sustained journalist relationship and outreach tracking program, not a single launch pitch (use media-relations).

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:

1. Context snapshot (what’s launching, who it’s for, goal, date, constraints, assumptions)
2. Launch Marketing Brief (message, hook/sizzle, proof points, CTA, audience segments)
3. Launch Motion + Channel Plan (sequencing + channel table + asset mapping)
4. PR Outreach Kit (exclusive decision, target outlets/reporters placeholders, pitch + follow-up emails)
5. Asset + Internal Readiness Kit (asset checklist, landing page outline, talk track, FAQ, objections)
6. Measurement + Experiment Plan (metrics, instrument assumptions, experiments, what to double down on)
7. 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 (fabrication): “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.

Boundary example (redirect to content-marketing): “Build us a 6-month blog strategy with SEO topics and an editorial calendar.” Response: this is an ongoing content program, not a time-bound launch campaign. Redirect to content-marketing for the sustained plan; use this skill when you have a specific launch event to market.

Anti-patterns

1. All sizzle, no steak — Leading with flashy visuals or bold claims but having no concrete demo, data, or proof point behind the hook. The hook must be backed by something showable or measurable.
2. Launching without internal readiness — Announcing publicly before sales, support, and success teams know what the product does, how to demo it, and how to handle objections. Always ship the internal readiness kit before the external announcement.
3. Spray-and-pray channel plan — Posting across every channel simultaneously with the same copy, no sequencing, and no owners. Each channel needs a specific message angle, a single CTA, and a named owner.
4. Treating the launch as the finish line — Publishing the announcement and declaring victory without a measurement/experiment plan. Every launch needs a post-launch iteration loop with “double down” and “cut” rules.
5. Confusing launch marketing with positioning — Trying to define ICP, competitive positioning, and messaging from scratch inside a launch plan. If positioning is not settled, pause and use positioning-messaging first.