Launch Strategy

A product launch isn't a single event — it's a coordinated campaign with phases. This skill structures your launch from private beta through public announcement, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

Launch Tiers

Tier	Audience	Goal
Alpha	Internal team only	Find critical bugs
Private Beta	Invited users	Validate product-market fit signal
Public Beta	Self-serve signup	Gather scale feedback, build pipeline
GA Launch	Everyone	Revenue growth, press, distribution

Pre-Launch Checklist

Product Readiness

> Evaluate our launch readiness against these criteria:
> - Core use case works end-to-end without errors
> - Onboarding is < 5 minutes to first value
> - Key user flows have error handling (not just happy path)
> - Performance is acceptable under expected load
> - Mobile/responsive works if applicable

Positioning and Messaging

> Help me write the positioning for [product/feature]:
>
> 1. One-liner: "[Product] is the [category] for [target customer] who [key need]"
> 2. Elevator pitch (3 sentences): What it does, who it's for, why now
> 3. Key benefits (3 bullets): Outcomes, not features
> 4. Differentiation: How are we different from [Competitor A] and [Competitor B]?
> 5. Proof point: What evidence do we have this matters to users?

Distribution Channels

> For [product type], help me identify the best launch channels:
>
> Our target users: [describe ICP]
> Budget: [free / paid / both]
> Existing audience: [email list size, Twitter followers, etc.]
>
> Prioritize channels by: reach, conversion likelihood, time-to-impact

Common channels to evaluate:

• Product Hunt (best for developer tools, B2C, SaaS)
• Hacker News: Show HN (best for technical audiences)
• Twitter/X product announcement thread
• LinkedIn article (B2B)
• Email to waitlist / existing users
• Partner newsletters / podcasts
• Direct outreach to key accounts

Success Metrics

> Define success metrics for our [tier] launch:
>
> Primary: [the one number that matters most]
> Secondary: [3-5 supporting metrics]
> Guardrails: [metrics we're watching to catch regressions]
>
> Time horizon: [1 day / 1 week / 30 days post-launch]

Launch Plan Template

> Create a launch plan document for [product/feature]:
>
> Launch date: [date]
> Launch tier: [alpha/beta/GA]
> Target audience: [ICP]
>
> Include:
> - T-7 days: What needs to be done one week before
> - T-1 day: Final prep checklist
> - Launch day: Hour-by-hour sequence
> - T+7 days: Post-launch review criteria

SQL Launch Tracker

CREATE TABLE launch_tasks (
    id TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
    phase TEXT,          -- pre_launch | launch_day | post_launch
    category TEXT,       -- product | marketing | comms | eng | success
    title TEXT NOT NULL,
    owner TEXT,
    due_date TEXT,
    status TEXT DEFAULT 'pending',
    notes TEXT
);

INSERT INTO launch_tasks VALUES
  ('lp1', 'pre_launch', 'product', 'Complete end-to-end smoke test', 'eng', 'T-2', 'pending', ''),
  ('lp2', 'pre_launch', 'marketing', 'Write Product Hunt description', 'marketing', 'T-3', 'pending', ''),
  ('lp3', 'pre_launch', 'comms', 'Prepare launch email to waitlist', 'marketing', 'T-2', 'pending', ''),
  ('lp4', 'launch_day', 'marketing', 'Post on Product Hunt at 12:01 AM PST', 'marketing', 'T0', 'pending', ''),
  ('lp5', 'launch_day', 'comms', 'Send waitlist email at 9 AM', 'marketing', 'T0', 'pending', ''),
  ('lp6', 'post_launch', 'success', 'Review activation metrics at T+24h', 'product', 'T+1', 'pending', '');

-- Track progress
SELECT phase, category, title, status
FROM launch_tasks
ORDER BY phase, category;

Post-Launch Review

> We launched [X] on [date]. Here are our results:
> [metrics]
>
> Generate a post-launch analysis:
> 1. What did we expect vs. what happened?
> 2. What distribution channel drove the most value?
> 3. What user feedback patterns emerged in the first 48 hours?
> 4. What would we do differently?
> 5. What's the next milestone (path to [next tier / revenue goal])?

Tips

• Nail the narrative before writing copy: Positioning first, then messaging, then distribution
• Sequence channels: Don't blast everything simultaneously — stagger for sustained momentum
• Have a war room: Assign someone to monitor metrics and respond to users on launch day
• Pre-write your responses: Draft answers to the 10 most likely questions before launch
• Soft-launch first: A private beta with 50 users is worth more than a public launch with bugs
• Build the list before you need it: Start collecting emails/signups weeks before launch