# Product hunt launch plan Human Guide

## What This Is For
Purpose Generate a comprehensive, personalized Product Hunt launch plan with actionable steps from A-Z to help the user rank #1 Product of the Day. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for growth marketing: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Product hunt launch plan 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 product hunt launch plan.
- 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 Product hunt launch plan 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
- Complete 3-phase launch strategy (Before, During, After)
- Timing and day selection guidance
- Asset requirements and examples
- Support list building strategies
- Launch day timeline hour-by-hour
- Hidden gems and pro tips from makers who ranked #1
- 20+ alternative launch platforms
- **If it exists:** Read it and extract all relevant product information (product name, description, target audience, unique value proposition, current traction, audience size).
- **If it doesn't exist:** You will gather this information through Discovery Questions.
- What is your product name and one-line description?
- What problem does it solve and for whom?
- What's your current launch date (or target timeframe)?

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Purpose, Execution Logic, If $ARGUMENTS is empty or not provided:, If $ARGUMENTS contains content:, Task Execution, MANDATORY: Read Reference Files FIRST, Check for Business Context, Discovery Questions (MANDATORY), Analyze & Personalize, Generate Personalized Launch Plan.

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
- BLOCKING REQUIREMENT — DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP
- Before doing ANYTHING else, you MUST use the Read tool to read the reference file:
- **DO NOT PROCEED** to Step 2 until you have read this file and have the complete guide in context.
- Don't promise #1 if their support base is too small
- **Critical Success Factor:** [The ONE thing they must nail]
- This file MUST be read using the Read tool before creating any launch plan (see Step 1):
- Never pay for hunters - it violates PH terms
- **Important:** Ensure supporters have warmed Product Hunt accounts (accounts that have been active, not just created).

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Product hunt launch plan 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 ognjengt/founder-skills skill entry for `product-hunt-launch-plan`.

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

# Product Hunt Launch Plan

## Purpose
Generate a comprehensive, personalized Product Hunt launch plan with actionable steps from A-Z to help the user rank #1 Product of the Day.

---

## Execution Logic

**Check $ARGUMENTS first to determine execution mode:**

### If $ARGUMENTS is empty or not provided:
Respond with:
"product-hunt-launch-plan loaded. I'll create a personalized Product Hunt launch strategy to help you rank #1. Let me gather some information about your product first."

Then proceed to the Discovery Questions phase.

### If $ARGUMENTS contains content:
Use the provided content as initial context, but still proceed through Discovery Questions to fill any gaps.

---

## Task Execution

When user engages with this skill:

### 1. MANDATORY: Read Reference Files FIRST
**BLOCKING REQUIREMENT — DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP**

Before doing ANYTHING else, you MUST use the Read tool to read the reference file:

```
Read: ./references/ultimate_product_hunt_launch_guide.md
```

**What you will find:**
- Complete 3-phase launch strategy (Before, During, After)
- Timing and day selection guidance
- Asset requirements and examples
- Support list building strategies
- Launch day timeline hour-by-hour
- Hidden gems and pro tips from makers who ranked #1
- 20+ alternative launch platforms

**DO NOT PROCEED** to Step 2 until you have read this file and have the complete guide in context.

### 2. Check for Business Context
Check if `FOUNDER_CONTEXT.md` exists in the project root.
- **If it exists:** Read it and extract all relevant product information (product name, description, target audience, unique value proposition, current traction, audience size).
- **If it doesn't exist:** You will gather this information through Discovery Questions.

### 3. Discovery Questions (MANDATORY)
**Ask up to 10 targeted questions to personalize the launch plan.**

Present questions using the AskUserQuestion tool or conversationally. Gather:

1. **Product Basics**
   - What is your product name and one-line description?
   - What problem does it solve and for whom?

2. **Current State**
   - What's your current launch date (or target timeframe)?
   - Do you have a Product Hunt account? Is it active/warmed?

3. **Audience & Reach**
   - How large is your email list?
   - What's your Twitter/X following size?
   - Are you active in any communities (Indie Hackers, Discord, Slack)?

4. **Assets Readiness**
   - Do you have product screenshots/demo video ready?
   - Do you have a landing page live?

5. **Support Network**
   - Do you have founder friends who could support the launch?
   - Have you supported other Product Hunt launches before?

6. **Goals & Constraints**
   - What's your primary goal? (users, awareness, investors, validation)
   - Any constraints? (budget, time, team size)