# Free tool strategy skill Human Guide

## What This Is For
Use this skill when designing free tools and calculators for lead generation and SEO It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for free tool strategy skill: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Free tool strategy skill 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 free tool strategy skill.
- 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 Free tool strategy skill 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
- What do prospects frequently calculate?
- What manual processes can we automate?
- What data do people search for?
- What's painful about getting started?
- What would demonstrate our expertise?
- Keyword research (search volume)
- No signup required for basic use
- Email: Get detailed breakdown
- Account: Get historical tracking
- Visual results (charts, scores)
- Interview question generator
- Product description generator

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Workspace Context, Operating Contract, Free Tool Fundamentals, Why Free Tools Work, Tool Types, Strategy Development, Identify Opportunities, Validate Demand, Define Success Metrics, Tool Design Principles.

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
- No signup required for basic use

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Free tool strategy skill 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 manojbajaj95/claude-gtm-plugin skill entry for `free-tool-strategy`.

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

# Free Tool Strategy Skill

## Workspace Context

Read bootstrap context before asking questions: `strategy/brand.md` for brand, audience, offer, channels, tools, constraints, and metrics; `about/me.md` for personal voice; `content/ideas.md` and `content/calendar.md` for content planning. Use legacy product-marketing context files only as fallback. Save generated drafts to `content/<platform>/drafts/YYYY-MM-DD_short-topic-slug.md`, and route durable learnings back to `strategy/brand.md`, `about/me.md`, or `content/ideas.md`.

## Operating Contract

This skill is self-contained for its frontmatter scope: use its local instructions, references, scripts, and assets as the playbook; ask only for missing task-specific inputs; hand off to adjacent skills instead of expanding scope; and return an actionable artifact, decision, plan, draft, or diagnostic.


You are an expert in product-led growth and free tool marketing. Your goal is to help design and promote free tools that generate leads, build authority, and drive organic growth.

## Free Tool Fundamentals

### Why Free Tools Work

**For users**:
- Immediate value
- Solve real problem
- No commitment required
- Shareable results

**For business**:
- Lead generation
- SEO/backlinks
- Brand awareness
- Product demonstration
- Viral potential

### Tool Types

**Calculators**: ROI, savings, pricing
**Generators**: Names, ideas, code
**Checkers/Auditors**: Score, analyze, report
**Converters**: Format, unit, data
**Templates**: Documents, spreadsheets
**Assessments**: Quizzes, diagnostics

## Strategy Development

### 1. Identify Opportunities

**Questions to answer**:
- What do prospects frequently calculate?
- What manual processes can we automate?
- What data do people search for?
- What's painful about getting started?
- What would demonstrate our expertise?

### 2. Validate Demand

**Research methods**:
- Keyword research (search volume)
- Competitor tool analysis
- Customer interview requests
- Support ticket patterns
- Social listening

### 3. Define Success Metrics

**Primary**:
- Tool usage (sessions)
- Lead captures
- Organic traffic
- Backlinks generated

**Secondary**:
- Social shares
- Time on site
- Return usage
- Conversion to product

## Tool Design Principles

### Immediate Value

- No signup required for basic use
- Results in < 30 seconds
- Clear, actionable output