/marketing-ideas

name: marketing-ideas
description: "When the user wants marketing ideas or growth tactics for a software product, or asks what to try to get attention or the next customers with little time or budget, or after the obvious channels. Draws on a library of 139 ideas. For a specific channel, see that skill (ads, social, emails, and others). For a full plan, see marketing-plan."
metadata:
  version: 2.0.5

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)

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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](references/guerrilla-marketing.md) | | 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)

**Deep dives** (full framework + case library for a single idea):

• **Guerrilla marketing (#121)**: [references/guerrilla-marketing.md](references/guerrilla-marketing.md) — the direct-mail 3-rule framework (relevance / relationship-building / precision targeting), ROI discipline, "think in stories, not campaigns," "test small before going big," and a named case library (WePay, Xero, Red Bull, Antimetal, Arrows, ProfitWell, Buzzsprout, Wistia).

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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

**Medium budget:**

• Events
• Partnerships
• PR

**High budget:**

• Acquisitions
• Conferences
• Brand campaigns

By Timeline

**Quick wins:**

• Ads, email, social posts

**Medium-term:**

• Content, SEO, community

**Long-term:**

• Brand, thought leadership, platform effects

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Top Ideas by Use Case

Need Leads Fast

• Google Ads (#31) - High-intent search
• LinkedIn Ads (#28) - B2B targeting
• Engineering as Marketing (#15) - Free tool lead gen

Building Authority

• Conference Speaking (#70)
• Book Marketing (#104)
• Podcasts (#107)

Low Budget Growth

• Easy Keyword Ranking (#1)
• Reddit Marketing (#38)
• Comment Marketing (#44)

Product-Led Growth

• Viral Loops (#93)
• Powered By Marketing (#87)
• In-App Upsells (#91)

Enterprise Sales

• Investor Marketing (#133)
• Expert Networks (#57)
• Conference Sponsorship (#72)

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Output Format

When recommending ideas, provide for each:

• **Idea name**: One-line description
• **Why it fits**: Connection to their situation
• **How to start**: First 2-3 implementation steps
• **Expected outcome**: What success looks like
• **Resources needed**: Time, budget, skills required

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Task-Specific Questions

1. What's your current stage and main growth goal? 2. What's your marketing budget and team size? 3. What have you already tried that worked or didn't? 4. What competitor tactics do you admire?

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Related Skills

• **marketing-plan**: When the user wants a comprehensive plan instead of standalone ideas. Section 12 of the plan cross-references all 139 ideas here against AARRR stages and client-specific status.
• **programmatic-seo**: For scaling SEO content (#4)
• **competitors**: For comparison pages (#11)
• **reverse-engineer-marketing**: For ideas drawn from how a specific company grew, with plays to copy
• **emails**: For email marketing tactics
• **free-tools**: For engineering as marketing (#15)
• **referrals**: For viral growth (#93)