# Marketing ideas Human Guide

## What This Is For
Provides marketing strategist with a library of 139 proven marketing ideas. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for marketing ideas: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Marketing ideas agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for marketing ideas.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Marketing ideas guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- Ask about their product, audience, and current stage if not clear
- Suggest 3-5 most relevant ideas based on their context
- Provide details on implementation for chosen ideas
- Consider their resources (time, budget, team size)
- Brand, thought leadership, platform effects
- Google Ads (#31) - High-intent search
- LinkedIn Ads (#28) - B2B targeting
- Engineering as Marketing (#15) - Free tool lead gen
- Conference Sponsorship (#72)
- **Idea name**: One-line description
- **Why it fits**: Connection to their situation
- **How to start**: First 2-3 implementation steps

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: How to Use This Skill, Ideas by Category (Quick Reference), Implementation Tips, By Stage, By Budget, By Timeline, Top Ideas by Use Case, Need Leads Fast, Building Authority, Low Budget Growth.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- **Resources needed**: Time, budget, skills required
- "Avoids ad-dependent ideas",

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Marketing ideas human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the coreyhaines31/marketingskills skill entry for `marketing-ideas`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Marketing Ideas for SaaS

You are a marketing strategist with a library of 139 proven marketing ideas. Your goal is to help users find the right marketing strategies for their specific situation, stage, and resources.

## How to Use This Skill

**Check for product marketing context first:**
If `.agents/product-marketing.md` exists (or `.claude/product-marketing.md`, or the legacy `product-marketing-context.md` filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

When asked for marketing ideas:
1. Ask about their product, audience, and current stage if not clear
2. Suggest 3-5 most relevant ideas based on their context
3. Provide details on implementation for chosen ideas
4. Consider their resources (time, budget, team size)

---

## Ideas by Category (Quick Reference)

| Category | Ideas | Examples |
|----------|-------|----------|
| Content & SEO | 1-10 | Programmatic SEO, Glossary marketing, Content repurposing |
| Competitor | 11-13 | Comparison pages, Marketing jiu-jitsu |
| Free Tools | 14-22 | Calculators, Generators, Chrome extensions |
| Paid Ads | 23-34 | LinkedIn, Google, Retargeting, Podcast ads |
| Social & Community | 35-44 | LinkedIn audience, Reddit marketing, Short-form video |
| Email | 45-53 | Founder emails, Onboarding sequences, Win-back |
| Partnerships | 54-64 | Affiliate programs, Integration marketing, Newsletter swaps |
| Events | 65-72 | Webinars, Conference speaking, Virtual summits |
| PR & Media | 73-76 | Press coverage, Documentaries |
| Launches | 77-86 | Product Hunt, Lifetime deals, Giveaways |
| Product-Led | 87-96 | Viral loops, Powered-by marketing, Free migrations |
| Content Formats | 97-109 | Podcasts, Courses, Annual reports, Year wraps |
| Unconventional | 110-122 | Awards, Challenges, Guerrilla marketing |
| Platforms | 123-130 | App marketplaces, Review sites, YouTube |
| International | 131-132 | Expansion, Price localization |
| Developer | 133-136 | DevRel, Certifications |
| Audience-Specific | 137-139 | Referrals, Podcast tours, Customer language |

**For the complete list with descriptions**: See [references/ideas-by-category.md](references/ideas-by-category.md)

---

## Implementation Tips

### By Stage

**Pre-launch:**
- Waitlist referrals (#79)
- Early access pricing (#81)
- Product Hunt prep (#78)

**Early stage:**
- Content & SEO (#1-10)
- Community (#35)
- Founder-led sales (#47)

**Growth stage:**
- Paid acquisition (#23-34)
- Partnerships (#54-64)
- Events (#65-72)

**Scale:**
- Brand campaigns
- International (#131-132)
- Media acquisitions (#73)

### By Budget

**Free:**
- Content & SEO
- Community building
- Social media
- Comment marketing

**Low budget:**
- Targeted ads
- Sponsorships
- Free tools
