| name | go-to-market-strategy |
| description | Comprehensive go-to-market strategy and launch execution skill. Use when planning a product launch, feature announcement, market entry, or release strategy. Activates for: go to market, GTM, product launch, launch strategy, launch plan, launch execution, launch marketing, GTM playbook, launch readiness, technical launch, beta launch, early access, waitlist, Product Hunt, feature release, announcement, how do I launch this, launch checklist, we're about to ship, market entry, startup GTM, PLG vs sales-led, GTM motion, launch marketing pack, press outreach, developer product launch.
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Go-to-Market Strategy
Workspace Context
Read bootstrap context before asking questions: strategy/brand.md for brand, audience, offer, channels, tools, constraints, and metrics; about/me.md for personal voice; content/ideas.md and content/calendar.md for content planning. Use legacy product-marketing context files only as fallback. Save generated drafts to content/<platform>/drafts/YYYY-MM-DD_short-topic-slug.md, and route durable learnings back to strategy/brand.md, about/me.md, or content/ideas.md.
Operating Contract
This skill is self-contained for its frontmatter scope: use its local instructions, references, scripts, and assets as the playbook; ask only for missing task-specific inputs; hand off to adjacent skills instead of expanding scope; and return an actionable artifact, decision, plan, draft, or diagnostic.
End-to-end GTM playbook: motion selection, positioning, channel strategy, phased launch execution, launch marketing, and technical product launches.
Core Philosophy
A launch is a campaign, not an event. Build momentum before launch, peak at launch, sustain after. The best companies don't launch once — they launch again and again.
GTM Motion Selection
| Motion | Best For | Key Lever |
|---|
| PLG | SMB, developers, low ACV (<$5K) | Free → paid conversion |
| PLG + Sales-Assist | Mid-market, $5K-$25K ACV | PQL → SQL routing |
| Sales-Led | Enterprise, complex product, >$25K ACV | Relationship, champion |
| Community-Led | Developer tools, OSS | Community adoption |
| Partner-Led | Geographic expansion, enterprise | Partner incentives |
Quick decision:
ACV < $5K and self-serve possible? → PLG
Buyer technical? → Developer/community-led
Everything else? → Sales-led
5-Phase GTM Strategy
Phase 1: Market Positioning
Define ICP, positioning, and messaging using the marketing-strategy skill before executing launch phases.
Validate: target customer defined, differentiation identified, tested with 5+ customers.
Phase 2: Messaging & Content
Message hierarchy:
- Headline — Core benefit in 5-10 words
- Sub-headline — How it works or who it's for
- 3 Key Benefits — Feature → benefit
- Social Proof — Testimonials, logos, metrics
- CTA — Clear next step
Content to create: Launch blog post · Product demo video (2-3 min) · Landing page · Email announcement · 5-10 social posts
Phase 3: Channel Strategy (ORB)
Owned (highest ROI — build these first): Email list · Blog/SEO · Branded community
Rented (speed, not stability): Twitter/X · LinkedIn · YouTube · Reddit — use to drive to owned
Borrowed (shortcut to audiences): Guest posts · Podcast interviews · Influencer partnerships · Co-marketing
Strategy: Use rented/borrowed to drive traffic, capture into owned.
Phase 4: Launch Timeline
6-Week Launch Timeline:
- Week -6: Finalize messaging, create content, set metrics
- Week -4: Build waitlist, draft emails, reach out to press/influencers
- Week -2: Tease on social, send "coming soon" emails, final QA
- Week 0 (Launch Day): Publish landing page + blog, post to Product Hunt 12:01 AM PT, send launch email, share on socials, monitor and respond
- Week +1: Share testimonials, post case studies, analyze metrics
- Week +2: Post-launch analysis, plan ongoing marketing
Phase 5: Metrics & Success Criteria
Define BEFORE launch:
- Awareness: Website visitors, social impressions
- Acquisition: Signups, trial starts, purchases
- Activation: Users completing core action
- Revenue: MRR, conversion rate
Multi-Phase Launch Approach
| Phase | Goal | Key Actions |
|---|
| Internal | Validate functionality | Test with friendly users, fix major issues |
| Alpha | First external validation | Landing page, waitlist, invite individually |
| Beta | Scale early access + buzz | Work through waitlist, tease problems you solve |
| Early Access | Validate at scale | Leak details, usage data, PMF survey |
| Full Launch | Maximum visibility | Open signups, start charging, all channels live |
Product Hunt Launch
Before launch day: Build relationships with supporters, optimize listing (tagline, visuals, demo video), engage in communities.
On launch day: Treat as all-day event. Respond to every comment. Drive traffic back to site to capture signups.
After: Follow up with all who engaged. Convert PH traffic into email signups.
Case study — Reform: studied successful launches, polished visuals, community engagement pre-launch → #1 Product of the Day.
Launch Marketing Pack
For any major launch, produce these 7 deliverables:
- Context snapshot — what's launching, who it's for, goal, date, constraints
- 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, pitch + follow-up emails
- Asset + Internal Readiness Kit — asset checklist, landing page outline, sales talk track, FAQ, objections
- Measurement + Experiment Plan — metrics, instruments, experiments, what to double down on
- Risks / Open questions / Next steps
For launch marketing templates: see references/TEMPLATES.md
For intake questions to gather launch inputs: see references/INTAKE.md
For full workflow guidance: see references/WORKFLOW.md
Technical Product Launches
For developer tools, APIs, SDKs, and technical infrastructure:
Launch Tiers
| Tier | Type | Timeline | Investment |
|---|
| 1 — Major | New product/GA | 12-16 weeks | High |
| 2 — Standard | New features/integrations | 6-8 weeks | Medium |
| 3 — Minor | Updates/patches | 2-4 weeks | Low |
Developer-First Principles
- Documentation is non-negotiable — Don't launch without a getting started guide + API reference + 3+ code samples
- Show, don't tell — Actual code > marketing copy
- Interactive > passive — Playground > demo video > screenshots
- Community-first — Answer Stack Overflow, engage GitHub, respond on Hacker News
Primary Developer Channels
Dev docs · GitHub/GitLab · Developer blog · API changelog · Dev.to · Hacker News · Reddit · Discord/Slack · YouTube tutorials
For tier framework details: see references/launch_tiers.md
For developer metrics: see references/metrics_frameworks.md
GTM Execution Checklist
Pre-Launch
Launch Day
Post-Launch
Common GTM Mistakes
- Launching without audience — Build email list first
- One-day launch, then silence — Plan 30 days of post-launch activity
- Everything everywhere — Pick 2-3 channels, do them well
- No success metrics — Define goals before launch
- Features not benefits — "You can achieve X" beats "We have feature X"
- Over-promising — Ground claims in real evidence
Related Skills
sales-and-revenue-operations — Sales team, RevOps, ICPpricing-strategy — Pricing decisionsmarketing-strategy — Product marketing, positioning, and competitive intelligence
