Go-to-Market Strategy

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 how your product fits in the market.

Positioning template:

For [target customer] Who [need/problem] [Product] is a [category] That [key benefit] Unlike [competitors] Our product [unique differentiator]

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

• Landing page with clear value proposition and waitlist capture

• Owned channels established (email list, blog)

• 1-2 rented channels with profiles optimized

• Borrowed channel opportunities identified

• Launch assets created (screenshots, demo video, social posts)

• Onboarding flow tested

• Analytics and tracking live

Launch Day

• Announcement email sent

• Blog post published

• Social posts live

• Product Hunt listing active (if using)

• In-app announcement for existing users

• Team ready to engage and respond

Post-Launch

• Onboarding email sequence active

• Comparison pages published

• Roundup email includes announcement

• Feedback collected and triaged

• Next launch moment planned

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, ICP

• pricing-strategy — Pricing decisions

• product-strategy-and-marketing — Product vision and positioning