gh-jamesrochabrun-skills-technical-launch-planner/skills/technical-launch-planner/references/launch_messaging.md

# Technical Launch Messaging

Messaging frameworks and templates for developer-focused product launches.

---

## Messaging Principles for Developers

### DO:
- ✅ **Be specific** - Use concrete technical details
- ✅ **Show code** - Developers want to see, not read
- ✅ **State limitations** - Honest about what it can't do
- ✅ **Provide metrics** - Performance numbers, benchmarks
- ✅ **Explain why** - Technical reasoning matters
- ✅ **Link to docs** - Make it easy to try

### DON'T:
- ❌ **Use marketing jargon** - "Revolutionary", "game-changing"
- ❌ **Oversimplify** - Developers can handle complexity
- ❌ **Hide limitations** - They'll find them anyway
- ❌ **Make unsubstantiated claims** - Back it up with data
- ❌ **Skip code examples** - Abstract descriptions fail

---

## Messaging Framework

### Problem Statement
**Format:** [Current pain point] → [Why existing solutions fail] → [Impact on developers]

**Example:**
"Debugging distributed systems is painful. Traditional logging tools weren't built for microservices, forcing developers to manually correlate logs across dozens of services. This turns a 5-minute bug into a 5-hour investigation."

---

### Solution Overview
**Format:** [What it is] → [How it works (technical)] → [Key benefit]

**Example:**
"Distributed Tracer automatically instruments your services to create a unified view of requests across your entire stack. Using OpenTelemetry standards, it correlates logs, metrics, and traces in real-time, reducing MTTR by 80%."

---

### Key Differentiators
**Format:** [Feature] → [Technical implementation] → [Why it matters]

**Example:**
"Zero-config auto-instrumentation. Our SDK uses bytecode injection to automatically trace all HTTP calls, database queries, and external APIs without code changes. Deploy in under 5 minutes instead of days."

---

## Launch Announcement Template

### Blog Post Structure

```markdown
# Introducing [Product]: [One-line value prop]

## TL;DR
- [Key point 1 with metric]
- [Key point 2 with metric]
- [Get started link]

## The Problem

[Describe the developer pain in detail. Be specific.]

**Example:**
Every API call in a distributed system touches 5-10 services. When something breaks, you're left grep'ing through gigabytes of logs, trying to piece together what happened. We've all been there.

## The Solution

[High-level overview]

**How it works:**

\`\`\`python
# Show concrete code example
import tracer

tracer.init(api_key="your_key")

# That's it. All requests automatically traced.
\`\`\`

## Key Features

### 1. [Feature Name]

**What it does:** [Technical description]

**Why it matters:** [Developer benefit]

**Example:**
\`\`\`[language]
[Code showing the feature]
\`\`\`

[Repeat for top 3-5 features]

## Performance

[Include benchmarks, metrics]

- Latency: < 1ms overhead (p99)
- Throughput: 100K traces/second per instance
- Storage: 90-day retention included

## Get Started in 5 Minutes

\`\`\`bash
# Installation
npm install @company/sdk

# Basic setup
[Minimal code to get value]
\`\`\`

[Link to full documentation]

## What's Next

[Roadmap tease for 1-2 upcoming features]

## Resources

- [Documentation]
- [Sample apps]
- [API reference]
- [Community Discord]
```

---

## Email Announcement Template

**Subject Lines (A/B test these):**
- "[Product] is now GA - [Key benefit]"
- "Ship faster with [Product]"
- "[Pain point solved]: Introducing [Product]"

**Body:**

```
Hi [Name],

We're excited to announce [Product] is now generally available.

What it does:
[One sentence technical description]

Why it matters to you:
[Specific benefit for recipient's role/tech stack]

Get started in 5 minutes:

```[language]
[Minimal code example]
```

Key features:
• [Feature 1 - one line]
• [Feature 2 - one line]
• [Feature 3 - one line]

Resources:
→ Documentation: [link]
→ Sample code: [link]
→ API reference: [link]

[If Beta]: As a beta user, you already have access. Check your dashboard to enable.

Questions? Hit reply or join us in [Discord/Slack].

Happy building,
[Name]
[Title]

P.S. [Call to action or incentive]
```

---

## Social Media Templates

### Twitter/X (Technical)

**Format 1: Problem → Solution**
```
Tired of [pain point]?

[Product] gives you [benefit]:
• [Feature 1]
• [Feature 2]
• [Feature 3]

Get started: [link]

[Include code snippet image or architecture diagram]
```

**Format 2: Show the Code**
```
This is all it takes to [achieve outcome]:

[Code snippet image]

Try it now: [link]
#developer #[tech stack]
```

**Format 3: Metrics**
```
We just reduced distributed tracing overhead from 5ms to < 1ms.

How? [Link to technical blog post]

Open-sourced the approach: [GitHub link]
```

### LinkedIn (Business + Technical)

**Format:**
```
[Company] is launching [Product] today.

The problem we're solving:
[2-3 sentences about developer pain]

Our approach:
[Technical differentiation]

Early results from beta:
• [Metric/testimonial 1]
• [Metric/testimonial 2]

If you're working on [use case], check it out: [link]

[Include demo video or architecture diagram]
```

### Hacker News Post

**Title Format:**
- "Show HN: [Product] – [One-line description]"
- "[Product] – [Interesting technical approach]"

**Comment (required):**
```
Hey HN! Creator here.

We built [Product] to solve [problem we experienced].

Technical approach:
[2-3 paragraphs explaining interesting technical decisions]

What's different:
[Why this approach vs. alternatives]

How to try it:
[Quick start instructions]

Happy to answer questions!
```

---

## Positioning Statements

### General Template
"For [target developers] who [need/pain point], [Product] is a [category] that [key benefit]. Unlike [alternatives], we [unique differentiation]."

### Examples

**API Tool:**
"For backend developers who need reliable API integrations, FastAPI Connect is an API orchestration platform that auto-retries, caches, and monitors all external calls. Unlike building retry logic yourself, we provide production-grade reliability out of the box."

**Developer Platform:**
"For platform teams building internal developer platforms, DevHub is a self-service portal that gives developers one-click access to infrastructure. Unlike traditional ticketing systems, we automate provisioning in seconds instead of days."

---

## Value Propositions by Persona

### Backend Developers
**Focus:** Performance, reliability, ease of integration

"Reduce latency by 40% with one line of code"

### DevOps/SRE
**Focus:** Reliability, observability, automation

"Cut MTTR from hours to minutes with automated root cause analysis"

### Engineering Leaders
**Focus:** Productivity, costs, team velocity

"Ship 2x faster by eliminating [bottleneck]"

### Security Teams
**Focus:** Compliance, security, visibility

"SOC 2 Type II compliant with built-in audit logging"

---

## Messaging by Launch Tier

### Tier 1 (Major Launch)
- **Bold claims** backed by data
- **Vision** for the future
- **Ecosystem** impact
- **Industry** transformation

**Example:**
"Redefining how developers build distributed systems"

### Tier 2 (Standard)
- **Practical benefits**
- **Specific use cases**
- **Integration** value
- **Productivity** gains

**Example:**
"The fastest way to add real-time features to your app"

### Tier 3 (Minor)
- **Specific improvement**
- **Developer benefit**
- **Clear changelog**

**Example:**
"Python SDK now 3x faster with async support"

---

## Competitive Positioning

### When to Mention Competitors

**DO mention when:**
- You have clear technical superiority
- Migration is a key use case
- Comparison requested by prospects

**DON'T mention when:**
- You're the market leader
- Competitor is much larger
- Claim isn't defensible

### Competitive Messaging Template

"Unlike [Competitor], [Product] [specific advantage]:

**[Competitor]:**
- [Limitation 1]
- [Limitation 2]

**[Product]:**
- [Advantage 1] - [metric]
- [Advantage 2] - [metric]

[Code comparison or performance benchmark]"

---

## Technical Credibility Signals

Include these to build trust:

- **Open source** components used
- **Standards** supported (OpenTelemetry, OAuth, etc.)
- **Scale** handled (requests/sec, data volume)
- **Customers** using in production (if allowed)
- **Team background** (ex-Google, ex-AWS, etc.)
- **Security** certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001)
- **Performance** benchmarks
- **GitHub** stars (if applicable)

---

## Avoiding Common Mistakes

### Mistake 1: Too Abstract
**Bad:** "Simplify your workflow"
**Good:** "Reduce deployment time from 45 minutes to 2 minutes"

### Mistake 2: Jargon Overload
**Bad:** "Leverage synergistic paradigms"
**Good:** "Run the same code on AWS, GCP, and Azure"

### Mistake 3: No Proof
**Bad:** "The fastest API"
**Good:** "p99 latency < 50ms (see benchmark: [link])"

### Mistake 4: Feature List
**Bad:** "Includes caching, retries, and monitoring"
**Good:** "Auto-retry failed requests up to 3x with exponential backoff"

### Mistake 5: Ignoring Migration
**Bad:** [No mention of existing solutions]
**Good:** "Migrate from [Competitor] in under 1 hour: [guide]"

---

## Testing Your Messaging

### Internal Test
- [ ] Can a new engineer explain the value?
- [ ] Do engineers volunteer to use it?
- [ ] Does it pass the "so what?" test?

### External Test
- [ ] Beta feedback positive?
- [ ] Clear from HN/Reddit comments?
- [ ] Low support questions about "what is it?"

### Metrics to Watch
- Email open rate (> 25% good for developer emails)
- Click-through rate to docs (> 10%)
- Sign-up conversion (depends on product)
- Social engagement (shares, comments)
- Media pickup (for Tier 1)

---

## Summary

**Technical messaging succeeds when:**
1. Problem is relatable
2. Solution is clear (with code)
3. Benefits are concrete
4. Limitations are honest
5. Getting started is easy

**Keep developer-first always.**