Launch Strategy
This skill helps plan and execute product launches using a structured, repeatable framework. The core insight: most teams only do big splashy launches. By treating every ship as a potential launch moment — scaled to its significance — you build consistent awareness, acquisition, and activation. The goal is a launch engine, not a one-off event.
Launch tiers
Every release maps to one of three tiers. The tier determines how much effort goes into messaging, assets, and distribution.
Tier 1: Major new product or platform shift
Full launch. This is your marquee moment — a new product, a major rebrand, a platform expansion. Expect 2-4 weeks of preparation.
Typical assets: launch video (motion design or founder narrative), dedicated landing page, blog post, press outreach, social campaign (all platforms), email to full list, internal amplification push.
Tier 2: Major new feature
A meaningful addition that changes what users can do. Enough to warrant its own announcement, but not a full media push. Expect 1-2 weeks of prep.
Typical assets: launch tweet/thread, blog post or changelog entry, updated landing page section, email to relevant segment, social posts across 2-3 platforms.
Tier 3: Smaller improvements and iterations
Bug fixes, UI polish, incremental improvements. Still worth announcing — they signal momentum and care. Prep time: a few hours to a day.
Typical assets: changelog entry, single social post, optional email mention in a digest.
Choosing the tier
Ask: "If a potential customer saw this announcement, would it change their perception of what the product can do?" If yes → Tier 1 or 2. If it's more about quality and reliability → Tier 3.
When in doubt, tier up. Under-launching is more common than over-launching. A Tier 2 launch that should have been Tier 3 costs a few extra hours. A Tier 1 launch treated as Tier 3 is a missed growth opportunity.
Messaging framework
Messaging comes before everything else. Don't build assets until messaging is locked. A mediocre video with great messaging outperforms a beautiful video with confused positioning.
The messaging brief
For every launch (any tier), define:
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Name — What are you calling this? For features with SEO potential, use search data to choose. Check what people actually search for (e.g., "speech to text" vs. "transcription API" — pick the one with more volume if the audience matches). Tools like Google Trends and keyword research platforms help here.
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Audience — Who specifically benefits? Be precise. "Developers" is too broad. "Backend engineers building real-time voice apps" gives you something to write toward.
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Primary value prop — One sentence. What can they do now that they couldn't before, or what's dramatically better? This becomes the headline everywhere.
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Secondary value props — 2-3 supporting points. These fill out the blog post, landing page sections, and thread tweets.
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Proof points — Numbers, benchmarks, comparisons, customer quotes. Anything that makes the value props concrete rather than aspirational.
Messaging test
Read your primary value prop out loud. If it could describe a competitor's product just as well, it's too generic. The best value props are specific enough that someone in the target audience immediately knows whether this is for them.
Launch checklist system
Create a master checklist with every possible launch action, organized by tier. For each new launch:
- Copy the master checklist into a new instance (new tab, new ticket, new page)
- Delete rows that don't apply to this tier/launch
- Assign owners and due dates to remaining rows
- Use it as the single source of truth through launch day
Tooling
Pick one system and commit. The specific tool matters less than consistent use.
- Spreadsheet (Google Sheets, Notion table) — Simplest. Works well for small teams. One master sheet, one tab per launch. Downside: no built-in assignments or notifications.
- Project management tool (Linear, Asana, Notion) — Better for teams. Create a launch template project. Each launch gets a copy with assignable tasks and due dates. Linear labels or Asana sections can map to the tier columns below.
- Docs + checklist (Notion, Google Docs) — Middle ground. A template doc with checkboxes. Easy to copy, harder to track status across launches.
Whichever tool you use, keep the master template updated after every retro. The template is a living document — it gets better with each launch.
Checklist template structure
| Category | Action | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Owner | Due | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messaging | Write messaging brief | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Messaging | SEO keyword research for naming | ✓ | Optional | — | |||
| Assets | Launch video | ✓ | Optional | — | |||
| Assets | Landing page (new or updated) | ✓ | ✓ | — | |||
| Assets | Blog post | ✓ | ✓ | Optional | |||
| Assets | Changelog entry | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Social | Launch tweet/thread | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Social | LinkedIn post | ✓ | ✓ | Optional | |||
| Social | Other platforms (BlueSky, Threads) | ✓ | Optional | — | |||
| Distribution | Product Hunt submission | ✓ | Optional | — | |||
| Distribution | Hacker News post | ✓ | Optional | — | |||
| Distribution | Press/journalist outreach | ✓ | — | — | |||
| Distribution | Influencer/network repost asks | ✓ | ✓ | — | |||
| Full list announcement | ✓ | — | — | ||||
| Segment-specific email | Optional | ✓ | — | ||||
| Changelog digest mention | — | Optional | ✓ | ||||
| Internal | #amplify channel post | ✓ | ✓ | Optional | |||
| Internal | Team briefing | ✓ | Optional | — | |||
| Tracking | Set up UTMs for all links | ✓ | ✓ | Optional | |||
| Tracking | Verify analytics events fire | ✓ | Optional | — | |||
| Tracking | Capture baseline metrics | ✓ | ✓ | — | |||
| Post-launch | Schedule retro (1 week out) | ✓ | ✓ | — |
Launch timeline
Tier 1 timeline (2-4 weeks)
Weeks 3-4 out: Lock messaging brief. Begin landing page and video production. Start press outreach (journalists need lead time).
Weeks 1-2 out: Finalize all assets. Write social copy. Prepare email. Brief internal team. Set up tracking (UTMs, analytics events). Do a dry run of the distribution sequence.
Launch day: Execute distribution in sequence — social first (morning), then email, then press embargo lifts. Monitor and engage with comments/replies all day.
Week after: Run retro.
Tier 2 timeline (1-2 weeks)
Week 2 out: Lock messaging. Start blog post and landing page updates.
Week 1 out: Finalize copy. Write social posts. Prepare email segment.
Launch day: Post social, publish blog, send email. Engage with responses.
3-5 days after: Quick retro (async, e.g., a Slack thread).
Tier 3 timeline (same day or next day)
Ship it. Write a changelog entry and a social post. Done. If it's part of a batch of small improvements, bundle them into a weekly digest.
Post-launch retro
Don't skip this. The retro is what turns individual launches into a compounding launch engine.
What to cover
- What worked? Which channels drove the most traffic, signups, or engagement? What messaging resonated?
- What didn't? Which assets underperformed? Where did the timeline slip?
- Surprises? Did an unexpected channel blow up? Did a specific framing land better than expected?
- Numbers — Traffic, signups, activation, social engagement, press mentions. Compare to previous launches if you have the data.
- Checklist updates — Add or remove items from the master checklist based on what you learned.
Retro format
Keep it lightweight. A Slack thread or 15-minute call works for Tier 2. Tier 1 deserves a short doc. The key output is specific changes to the checklist and process, not a retrospective essay.
The "everything is a launch" philosophy
If you're shipping multiple times a month but only launching a few times a quarter, you're leaving growth on the table. Every ship is an opportunity to tell your story, remind people you exist, and show momentum.
This doesn't mean every bug fix gets a press release. It means every improvement gets some announcement, scaled to its significance. Tier 3 launches take minutes. The compound effect of consistent visibility is enormous.
Build the habit: when the PR merges, the launch checklist opens.
Working with companion skills
This skill handles strategy and planning. For execution, point to:
- launch-tweet — Crafting the social copy (tweets, threads, LinkedIn, cross-platform)
- launch-email — Email subject lines, announcement structure, segmentation, changelog digests
- launch-blog-post — Writing the announcement post (structure, SEO, AEO)
- launch-video — Demo videos, GIFs, screenshots, and programmatic video with Remotion
- launch-landing-page — Building the landing page (structure, urgency mechanics, SEO, conversion)
- launch-distribution — Channel-by-channel distribution and launch day sequencing
- launch-metrics — UTM setup, KPIs by tier, benchmark expectations, retro data framework