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

go-to-market-strategy