launch-campaigns

name	launch-campaigns
description	Use when sequencing an established offer through prelaunch, launch, close, and follow-up across a website, email, WhatsApp, or blog. Use `authority-offers` when the offer itself is undefined and `sales-copywriting` for deep page persuasion.
metadata	{"portable":true,"compatible_with":["claude-code","codex"]}

Launch Campaigns

Acknowledgement: Shared by Peter Bamuhigire, techguypeter.com, [phone].

Use When

• The brief includes a launch window, deadline, waitlist, event, cohort, enrolment period, announcement, relaunch, or offer push.
• The website needs coordinated prelaunch, launch, and follow-up assets instead of a single isolated page.
• The task needs campaign sequencing tied to website pages, blog content, email, WhatsApp, or CTA routing.

Do Not Use When

• The work is only evergreen page copy with no campaign timing.
• Another narrower skill already owns the task and no sequencing is required.
• The offer has no defined audience, offer, proof, or next step yet.

Inputs

Artefact	Source	Required?	If absent
Approved offer, audience, goal, and dates	Offer owner or campaign brief	yes	Stop; route undefined offers to authority-offers.
Proof and objection inventory	Case studies, sales notes, brand brief	yes	Qualify claims and use an education-first sequence.
Channel access and consent rules	Channel owners and subscriber records	yes for activation	Draft only; do not send, publish, or import contacts.

Workflow

1. Clarify the campaign goal, audience segment, and fixed dates before drafting. 1a. If the launch concerns a new product or SaaS offer, record the problem, target user, first-value action, evidence already observed, and the one uncertainty the launch should test. A launch sequence is not a substitute for product validation.

2. Define the campaign sequence: prelaunch, launch, follow-up, and close.

3. Map each stage to the right asset and CTA.

4. Write only the assets required for the current stage and channel mix.

5. Check tone, proof, and urgency against the sector's trust requirements.

6. Verify dates, links, consent, owners, and rollback before activation; stop and issue a gap list if any release-critical item is unresolved.

7. Stop activation on an unresolved date, consent, owner, or link; recover by correcting and rechecking the release register.

Quality Standards

• Sequence must feel coherent across channels and pages.
• Urgency must be real, evidenced, and proportionate.
• Launch copy must teach, qualify, and persuade without sounding theatrical or manipulative.
• Every asset must point to one clear next step.

Anti-Patterns

• Copying infoproduct hype into a trust-sensitive sector. Fix: use the buyer's decision process and verified proof.
• Inventing scarcity or a countdown. Fix: state the real enrolment, capacity, or event constraint.
• Asking for high commitment before earning trust. Fix: sequence education and proof before the sales ask.
• Drafting channels independently. Fix: maintain one message and CTA map across every asset.
• Sending without consent or link checks. Fix: verify audience permissions, destinations, owners, and suppression rules.
• Treating registrations, page visits, or social attention as product validation. Fix: predeclare the behaviour or commitment that changes the decision and pair it with a quality guardrail.

Outputs

Artefact	Consumer	Acceptance condition
Campaign sequence and message map	Copy and channel owners	Every stage has a date, audience, message job, proof, CTA, destination, and owner.
Asset and release checklist	Production and launch owner	Required assets, approvals, links, consent checks, and rollback are observable.
Measurement brief	Commercial owner	Names source, baseline, campaign event, success measure, and review date.

Evidence Produced

Evidence	Format	Acceptance condition
Release checklist	Dated pass/fail register	No unassessed item is recorded as passed.
Claim and link register	Claim/source and CTA/destination pairs	Every claim and public destination has been checked.

Capability Contract

Read and search are required. Editing is limited to authorised campaign files. Sending messages, publishing pages, importing contacts, changing tracking, or spending on ads requires explicit authority and a final audience/date confirmation.

Degraded Mode

Fallback if required capabilities are unavailable:

Without channel access, live dates, proof, or analytics, return a draft sequence with affected checks marked not assessed. Never simulate a send, publish action, consent pass, or performance result.

Decision Rules

Choice	Action	Failure or risk avoided
Offer or audience is not approved	Stop and route upstream	Coordinated promotion of the wrong proposition
Proof is thin or trust is high-stakes	Lead with education and verified process	Hype that damages credibility
Fixed date and consented audience exist	Use timed multi-channel sequence	Unnecessary urgency and channel spam

Worked Example

For a Kampala training cohort closing on 30 September, map a proof-led article to a waitlist email, a launch page, two consented WhatsApp reminders, and a final enrolment notice. Acceptance: each asset uses the same cohort dates and application URL; the close message is suppressed for confirmed applicants.

References

• references/website-launch-sequence-framework.md — primary framework for campaign stages, asset mapping, CTA posture, proof use, and Africa-adapted launch guidance.

Notes

• Route to sales-copywriting for deep page persuasion work, blog-writer for launch-supporting articles, and website-builder when the launch work changes the actual site build.