# Product Launch > Product launch - Skill: `matteotitta/product-launch` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add matteotitta/product-launch` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/matteotitta/product-launch/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: matteotitta (https://skillmd.com/u/matteotitta) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/matteotitta/product-launch --- # Product launch Architect and execute B2B SaaS product launches that drive sustained pipeline. Launches are built on the tactics around the event — not the channel checklist. Pick 5–8 tactics from the 16-tactic library; derive assets from the chosen tactics; orchestrate across pre-launch, launch day, and post-launch. --- ## Claude Code triggers **Invoke when user says:** - "Product launch for [feature/product]" - "Feature launch plan" - "Launch strategy for [company]" - "GTM launch plan" - "New feature announcement" - "Create launch assets" - "Launch timeline for [feature]" - "Launch checklist" - "Plan a launch for [feature]" - "Launch playbook" **Do NOT invoke when:** - User wants landing page copy only → use `website-copy` - User wants product messaging only → use `product-messaging` - User wants LinkedIn content only → use `linkedin-weekly-content` or `linkedin-content-guide` - User wants email copy only → answer directly or use `email-nurture` - User wants live event production only → use `webinar-brief` --- ## Input requirements ### Required | Input | Description | Source | |-------|-------------|--------| | **Product feature brief** | What's launching, target release date | User provides | | **Product messaging** | Capabilities, benefits, differentiators | `product-messaging` skill or existing | | **ICP research** | Target personas, pain points, proof points | `icp-behavioural` skill or existing | ### Optional (improve quality) | Input | How it helps | |-------|--------------| | TOV guidelines | Brand voice for all copy assets | | Competitor launches | Differentiation framing | | Sales objections | FAQ and enablement content | | Customer feedback | Proof points and testimonials | | Launch date | Timeline anchoring | ### Validation Before proceeding, verify the feature brief includes name, category, description, target personas, key capabilities; product messaging available or generated; ICP research available or generated; launch date confirmed (or flexible window). If inputs are missing: offer to run `product-messaging` and/or `icp-behavioural` first, or ask the user to provide the brief. --- ## Core frameworks ### Launch philosophy The old launch playbook is dead. Most marketers launch by writing "we're excited to announce" on LinkedIn, ticking off a channel checklist (Product Hunt / Hacker News / Reddit / LinkedIn / X), and wondering why their CEO asks "wait, did we even launch?" the following Monday. A great launch is built on the **tactics around** the launch — not the channel checklist. The skill encodes 16 tactics in the premium reference. Strategy phase picks 5–8 of them. Development phase derives assets **from the chosen tactics**, not from a default 18-asset list. The order matters: tactics first, then assets. Reverse this and you're back to the channel checklist mentality. A launch built this way: - Pre-builds audience before launch day (waitlist, teaser, ambassador, partner) - Stages a real moment (live event, drop, named version) - Sustains attention for 2+ weeks post-launch (recap cadence) - Compounds across cycles (60-day relaunch every quarter) **T-0 is the midpoint, not the destination. And the channel checklist is not the strategy.** ### Three-phase architecture | Phase | Purpose | Duration | Deliverables | |-------|---------|----------|--------------| | **Strategy** | Pick 5–8 tactics; define narrative, objectives, positioning | T-14 to T-10 | Strategy brief with selected tactics, narrative angle, success metrics | | **Development** | Produce assets derived from chosen tactics | T-10 to T-1 | Asset list scoped to tactics (not a default 18-asset checklist) | | **Deployment** | Orchestrate timeline and amplification | T-14 to T+14 | Timeline, coordination playbook | ### Launch tiers | Tier | Description | Tactic count | Asset scope | |------|-------------|--------------|-------------| | **Major** | New product, category entry, platform shift | 7–8 tactics | Live event + waitlist + teaser + ambassadors + partner + recap + relaunch + paid | | **Significant** | Major feature, integration, pricing change | 5–7 tactics | Subset above; selective paid | | **Standard** | Feature improvement, capability expansion | 4–6 tactics | Channel-specific copy + recap + founder personal posts + 1–2 others | | **Minor** | Bug fix, UX improvement | 3–4 tactics | Channel-specific copy + recap + grandfather (if applicable) | ### Anything counts as a launch The 16-tactic library doesn't only apply to product launches. The same machinery runs for: - **Stealth exits** — coming out of stealth is a launch - **Feature drops** — significant feature releases - **Hiring announcements** — exec hires, team scale-ups - **Pricing changes** — new tiers, plan refactors (always pair with grandfather policy) - **Big blog posts** — flagship content, research releases - **Funding announcements** — Series A/B/C, secondary rounds - **Partnership reveals** — when a partner co-launch IS the launch - **Geographic expansion** — entering a new market If you've ever shipped something that got crickets, this skill fixes it. The trigger isn't "is this a product?" — it's "are we asking the audience to pay attention?" If yes, run the playbook. ### Seasonal alignment Every launch happens in a cultural context. Check for adjacent cultural moments (±14 days from launch), score alignment fit (Strong/Medium/Weak/Negative), choose strategy (ride the wave, counter-program, ignore, or avoid), and adapt messaging (hooks, imagery, CTAs). See the premium reference. --- ## Tactic library — Strategy starts here Before anything else in the Strategy phase, pick 5–8 tactics from the premium reference. The 16-tactic menu covers waitlist, ambassador army, partner co-launch, channel-specific copy, founder personal posts, gamified drops, filtered giveaways, weird swag, audience-as-detective narratives, named versions, public roadmap voting, grandfather policy, teaser videos, live events, recap cadences, and 60-day relaunches. Selection criteria: launch tier, audience size, ICP shape, resource constraints, existing community signal. The chosen tactics drive the Development phase asset list — **not** a default 18-asset checklist. Three battle-tested stacks live in `tactic-library.md` as starting points: - **Clicky stack** — Waitlist → Teaser → Live event → Recap. Best for momentum into a live event. - **Long-tail stack** — Ambassador army → Partner co-launch → 60-day relaunch. Best for cold audiences and limited founder time. - **Drama stack** — Narrative campaign → Named version → Recap. Best for personality-led brands. Most launches won't match a stack cleanly — combine across stacks. The 5–8 selection rule is the discipline. --- ## Process The launch runs in three phases. Read the premium reference for the full step-by-step (5 strategy steps, 8 development steps, 4 deployment steps, plus per-phase checkpoints and the process flowchart). Phase summary: 1. **Strategy (T-14 to T-10)** — feature brief, **5–8 tactics selected from `tactic-library.md`**, narrative angle, business objectives, kick-off agenda 2. **Development (T-10 to T-1)** — derive assets from chosen tactics (not from a default 18-asset checklist), produce each via its template-spec 3. **Deployment (T-14 to T+14)** — pre-launch / launch-day / post-launch timelines + coordination playbook with RACI --- ## Anti-hallucination guardrails 1. **Ground all claims in inputs.** Feature benefits must come from product brief or messaging. 2. **No invented metrics.** Use provided proof points or mark as `[PLACEHOLDER: metric]`. 3. **Quote verbatim.** Customer quotes from ICP research only. 4. **Mark placeholders clearly.** Use `[PLACEHOLDER: description]` for unconfirmed details. 5. **Cite sources.** Link each asset to its input source. --- ## Integration with other skills | Skill | Relationship | Usage | |-------|--------------|-------| | **product-messaging** | Required input | Capabilities, benefits, differentiators for all copy | | **icp-behavioural** | Required input | Persona targeting, pain points, proof points | | **tov-guidelines** | Optional input | Voice and tone for all copy assets | | **website-copy** | Asset generation | Landing page development (waitlist + launch page) | | **sales-deck** / **battlecards** / **one-pager** | Asset generation | Sales-enablement assets at launch | | **linkedin-weekly-content** | Asset generation | Pre-launch / launch / post-launch LinkedIn series (expanded via `channel-copy-spec.md`) | | **email-nurture** | Asset generation | 6-email waitlist sequence delivery (tactic 1) | | **webinar-brief** | Asset generation | Live event production mechanics (tactic 14) | | **storytelling** | Asset generation | Multi-chapter narrative campaigns (tactic 9) | | **linkedin-content-guide-founders** | Asset generation | Founder personal post mechanics (tactic 5) | | **expert-pov** | Optional input | Founder voice extraction for waitlist tease emails | | **pricing-strategy** | Adjacent | Underlying pricing decision; grandfather policy layers on top (tactic 12) | --- ## MCP data integration **Level:** 2 — PM Execution (inherits strategy, operational pulls) **Inherits from:** product-messaging ### Pulls fresh | Source | What to pull | Tool | When | |--------|-------------|------|------| | **Slack** | Launch coordination threads | `slack_search_public` | Always | ### Fallback (no MCP) - Use product-messaging output directly - Manual launch coordination via shared docs - User-provided timeline and stakeholder info --- ## Final ship gate Run `/premortem --output` before ship. See [`/premortem` skill](../../../../meta/orchestration/premortem/SKILL.md) for the 5 execution domains (will-it-resonate / will-it-convert / will-it-stay-on-brand / will-stakeholder-push-back / will-it-degrade-over-time) and output template. Trivial-case escape: `## Premortem\nNo failure modes — trivial change` satisfies the contract for genuinely trivial outputs. ---