Marketing & Launch Strategy
Positioning, messaging, channels, and content strategy for v0.2.0 launch.
Brand Identity
Logo: Version 3 of Concept D (Bracket Style)
- Minimalist bracket frame with "LS" monogram
- Represents: Context window/boundary (specs must fit), code-like aesthetic
- Works at all sizes (16px to full-size)
- Color variants: Dark (#1a1a2e), Light (white), Accent (#00d9ff)
- SVG format for scalability
Design Rationale:
- Brackets visually represent "bounded context" (Context Economy principle)
- Minimal, technical aesthetic matches first-principles philosophy
- LS monogram is simple and memorable
- Scales perfectly from favicons to headers
Brand Assets Needed:
- Export logo as SVG, PNG (16px, 32px, 64px, 128px, 512px)
- Create favicon (16x16, 32x32)
- Update docs site with logo in header
- Add logo to README.md
- Create social media assets (Twitter card, OG image)
- GitHub social preview image (1280x640)
Marketing Positioning
Tagline: "First-Principles Spec-Driven Development for AI-powered teams"
Key Messages
- First Principles Foundation - Built on 5 immutable constraints (physics, biology, economics)
- Operationalized Philosophy - Tools that enforce principles, not just document them
- AI-native - Built for human + AI collaboration from the ground up
- Practice what we preach - Dogfooded extensively, specs demonstrate principles
Differentiation
- vs Traditional SDD: We optimize for context windows and token costs (first principles, not convention)
- vs Agile: We capture intent for AI execution (Bridge the Gap principle)
- vs "No docs": We document what matters (Signal-to-Noise principle)
- vs Heavyweight tools: We stay lean by design (Context Economy principle)
Target Audience (Priority Order)
- Solo developers using Cursor/Copilot/Claude (need lightweight SDD)
- Small teams (2-5 devs) adopting AI pair programming
- Startups scaling from solo to team (Progressive Disclosure)
- Engineering teams frustrated with heavyweight SDD
- First-principles thinkers curious about principled design
Launch Channels
Primary Channels
- Product Hunt (Tuesday launch, aim for top 5)
- Hacker News (Show HN post)
- Dev.to blog post
- Twitter/X announcement
Secondary Channels
- Reddit (r/programming, r/devtools, r/SideProject)
- LinkedIn engineering groups
- Indie Hackers
- Dev community Discord servers
Partnerships
- Reach out to AI tool creators (Cursor, Aider, Continue)
- Model Context Protocol community
- VS Code extension developers
Content Strategy
Launch Blog Post
Title: "LeanSpec: First Principles for AI-Powered Development"
Structure:
- The Problem: Documentation for AI era
- First Principles Approach: Why constraints matter
- How LeanSpec Works: Demo walkthrough
- Results: Dogfooding experience
- Get Started: Installation and first spec
Tone: Technical, principled, pragmatic
Demo Video/GIF
- Install to first spec in <5 minutes
- Show validation catching violations
- Show complexity analysis
- Show MCP integration with Claude/Copilot
Social Media Posts
Product Hunt:
- Focus on first-principles angle
- Highlight validation tooling
- Emphasize AI-native design
- Include demo GIF
Hacker News:
- Technical deep-dive into principles
- Link to blog post and docs
- Discuss design trade-offs
- Engage with comments thoughtfully
Twitter/X:
- Thread explaining 5 principles
- GIFs of features in action
- Comparison to traditional SDD
- Call to action: Try it out
Reddit:
- Community-specific messaging
- r/programming: Technical depth
- r/devtools: Tool comparison
- r/SideProject: Indie hacker story
Marketing Content Checklist
Pre-Launch
- Branding & Assets - ✅ COMPLETE (spec 052)
- Export logo in all required formats (SVG: 4 variants, PNG: 16/32/64/128/256/512)
- Create favicon files (16x16, 32x32, .ico)
- Update docs site with logo (theme-aware variants configured)
- Add logo to README.md (centered with badges)
- Create social media assets (social-card.png, social-github.png)
- Branding guidelines documented (BRANDING.md)
- Write launch blog post - ✅ DRAFTED (blog/2025-11-10-ai-agent-performance.mdx, 275 lines)
- Create demo scripts - ✅ COMPLETE (DEMO-AI-ASSISTED.md with full voiceover)
- Record AI-assisted workflow video (split-screen, 3-5 min) ← Next priority
- Create short GIF demos extracted from main video
- Prepare social media posts
- Write comparison guides (vs Agile, vs No Docs)
- Create Product Hunt submission
- Prepare Hacker News Show HN post
Demo Strategy: Focus on AI-native workflow (MCP integration, semantic memory, natural conversation) rather than CLI commands. Differentiate from traditional spec tools.
Launch Day
- Publish blog post
- Submit to Product Hunt (Tuesday 00:01 PST)
- Post on Hacker News
- Tweet launch announcement thread
- Post on Reddit communities
- Share on LinkedIn
- Post in relevant Discord servers
- Monitor all channels for feedback
Post-Launch
- Respond to comments/questions within 2 hours
- Collect testimonials from early users
- Write follow-up posts based on feedback
- Create case studies from dogfooding
- Plan content calendar for ongoing updates
Messaging Framework
Elevator Pitch (30 seconds)
"LeanSpec is spec-driven development for AI-powered teams. We enforce first principles like Context Economy and Signal-to-Noise through tooling, not just documentation. Specs stay under 400 lines, fit in context windows, and work seamlessly with AI coding agents."
Problem Statement
"Traditional documentation is either too heavyweight (loses signal in noise) or nonexistent (AI can't understand intent). LeanSpec finds the middle ground: minimal, structured specs optimized for both human and AI consumption."
Solution Overview
"Five first principles guide every decision: Context Economy, Signal-to-Noise, Intent Over Implementation, Bridge the Gap, and Progressive Disclosure. We operationalize these through validation, complexity analysis, and pattern detection."
Call to Action
"Install in 30 seconds: npm install -g lean-spec. Create your first spec in 5 minutes. Let the tooling enforce good practices."
Community Building
GitHub Setup
- Set up GitHub Discussions (needs repo settings access)
- Create issue templates (bug, feature, question) in
.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ - Enhanced CONTRIBUTING.md - ✅ EXISTS (needs review for first principles guidance)
- Create CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
- Set up GitHub Actions for community management
FAQ Content
"Why <400 lines?"
- Context windows (AI), working memory (humans), token costs (economics)
"Isn't this too restrictive?"
- Use sub-specs for complex features. Constraint breeds clarity.
"How is this different from Agile/Lean?"
- Optimized for AI execution, not just human communication
"Can I use custom fields?"
- Yes! Progressive Disclosure: add when you need them
Support Strategy
- Respond to issues within 24 hours
- Weekly community highlights in Discussions
- Monthly office hours / AMA sessions
- Recognize contributors in CHANGELOG
Analytics & Tracking
Key Metrics
- npm downloads (daily, weekly, monthly)
- GitHub stars/forks
- Documentation page views
- MCP server usage (if trackable)
- Community engagement (issues, PRs, discussions)
Tracking Setup
- Google Analytics for docs site (gtag not configured in docusaurus.config.ts)
- npm download tracking (can use npm-stat.com post-launch)
- GitHub star notifications (GitHub watch settings)
- Social media mention tracking (manual or tools like Brand24)
- Sentiment analysis (manual)
Success Indicators
- 1,000+ downloads in first 30 days
- 100+ stars in first 30 days
- 10+ community contributions
- Positive sentiment (>80%)
- Featured in 1+ newsletters/podcasts