/prd-v09-hn-reddit-launch

name: prd-v09-hn-reddit-launch
description: >
  Build a Hacker News + Reddit launch playbook for developer-tools and community-led products
  during PRD v0.9 Go-to-Market. Triggers on requests to plan HN/Reddit launch, "Show HN" post,
  community launch, or when user asks "HN launch", "Show HN", "Reddit launch", "launch on
  /r/SaaS", "Product Hunt vs HN", "community launch", "developer launch". Outputs GTM-* with
  Type=Channel-HN / Type=Channel-Reddit entries with timing, title, story angle, and
  engagement plan.
context: fork
allowed-tools:
  - Read
  - Write
  - Edit
  - Glob
  - Grep
  - WebSearch
  - WebFetch

execution_modes:
  default: standard
  supports: [quick, standard, deep]

HN + Reddit Launch Playbook

Position in workflow: v0.9 Launch Channels (ORB) → **v0.9 HN + Reddit Launch** → v0.9 Launch Metrics

Execution Mode

Default is **standard**. See [`.claude/rules/08-skill-execution-modes.md`](../../rules/08-skill-execution-modes.md) for selection logic.

| Mode | What this skill produces | |------|--------------------------| | **quick** | Single Show HN post draft; title; first 4-hour engagement plan | | **standard** | HN post + 2 Reddit cross-posts; story angle decision; comment-engagement rules; non-launch follow-up wave | | **deep** | HN + 3–5 Reddit subreddits + Lobsters + Indie Hackers; pre-launch warm-up posts; subreddit-specific tone variants; AMA scheduling |

What This Does

Produces a launch playbook for Hacker News and Reddit — two channels where developer-tool, technical, and community-friendly products win launches if executed well and lose them silently if executed badly. Both platforms reward authenticity, technical depth, and founder presence; both punish marketing-speak, top-of-funnel sales tactics, and absent founders.

This is a **channel-execution** skill. It assumes the ORB channel mix already includes HN/Reddit; it doesn't second-guess that choice. If positioning best-fit doesn't live on these platforms, this skill should not run.

How It Works

1. **Decide if HN/Reddit fits** — Re-check positioning best-fit characteristics. HN/Reddit work for: developer tools, technical products, B2B with developer/PM buyer, indie/bootstrapped story, open-source. HN/Reddit are wrong for: enterprise procurement, regulated B2B with non-technical buyer, consumer products targeting non-technical users. 2. **Pick the story angle** — One of:

• **Show HN** (product) — "Show HN: [Product] — [one-line description]" — works when product itself is interesting
• **Ask HN** (problem) — "Ask HN: How do you handle [pain]?" — works when category needs education before product
• **Story** — "I built X because Y" or "Why we [unusual decision]" — works when founder narrative is the hook
• **Open source** — "[Project] is now open source" — works when there's something to release
• **Technical writeup** — "How we built X" — works for HN; less for Reddit

3. **Craft the title** — Platform-specific:

• **HN**: Factual, no marketing words, no emoji. Example: "Show HN: An open-source alternative to X". HN guidelines reject hype.
• **Reddit**: Subreddit-specific. Each subreddit has tone norms. Read the subreddit's pinned rules and recent top posts.

4. **Plan timing**:

• **HN**: Post Tue–Thu, 8–10am PT. Avoid Mondays and weekends. The first hour matters most — upvote velocity determines front-page placement.
• **Reddit**: Subreddit-specific peak time. Read subreddit traffic patterns. Some subreddits ban "self-promotion" posts on certain days.

5. **Founder presence (first 24h)** — Founder responds to every substantive comment in the first 4 hours. No "thanks!" replies; engage with the argument. This is the difference between a 50-comment thread and a 500-comment thread. 6. **Non-launch follow-up** [standard+] — 30–60 days post-launch, return to HN/Reddit with:

• Technical writeup of how you built it
• "What I learned launching on HN" retrospective (if appropriate)
• Case study or growth update
• AMA if launch generated real interest

Example

Developer tool launching. Best-fit = solo developers + small dev teams. ORB matrix has HN as the primary Borrowed channel.

**Story angle**: "Show HN" — product is self-evident; demo is the hook.

**Title**: `Show HN: [Product] – Type-safe contracts between your frontend and backend`

**Timing**: Tuesday 9:00 AM PT. Founder cleared calendar for the next 4 hours.

**Post body** (HN expects substance):

> Hi HN — I built this because I spent 2 years debugging "frontend says string, backend says number" issues at my last job. > > [Product] generates type-safe API clients from your OpenAPI spec. It works with TypeScript, Python, Go, and Rust. > > Tech stack: [...] > > Some things that worked and didn't: [...] > > Free for individuals; paid for teams. Source is on GitHub: [link]. > > Happy to answer questions.

**First 4 hours**: Founder watches `Show HN` ranking. Responds substantively to every technical question. Doesn't engage with off-topic critique. Posts updates if relevant.

**Reddit cross-post**: 24 hours later, post to `/r/programming` (technical), `/r/typescript` (community), `/r/SaaS` (founder story). Each with a subreddit-tuned title and intro.

**Follow-up wave** (Day 30): "Building [Product]: 30 days after launch" — retrospective post.

What You Get Back

• **GTM-\* with Type=Channel-HN** (one entry) — Title, body, timing, founder-engagement plan
• **GTM-\* with Type=Channel-Reddit** (one per subreddit) — Subreddit-tuned title, body, posting time
• **GTM-\* engagement rules** — Comment-response policy, when to escalate to founder
• **GTM-\* follow-up wave** — 30/60-day post-launch content plan

When to Use It

| Trigger | Mode | |---------|------| | Developer-tool launch | standard | | Open-source release | standard | | Indie / bootstrapped product launch (story angle) | standard | | B2B SaaS with technical buyer | quick (just HN; skip Reddit) | | Big technical decision worth a