The most common launch mistake I see with AI tools is a simple one: "If we build a good tool, people will use it."

LOL Nope. Not happening. Sorry.

The AI tool graveyard is littered with incredible products that nobody ever heard about. Amazing solutions to real problems that died in silence because their creators thought quality was enough.

Look, I get it. We're builders. We love creating things. We want to believe that if we just make something good enough, the world will beat a path to our door.

Here's the reality: You need to be EVERYWHERE during launch. Social media, communities, newsletters, DMs - anywhere your potential users might be. You need to be telling people about your tool constantly.

Why? Because people are busy.

The launch might be everything for you. But not for everyone else.

As a builder though you probably don’t know what you should be talking about. How do you promote the launch?

That's exactly what we're covering today. I've got entire playbooks dedicated to each of these areas (social media strategy, content creation, community building). But right now, we're going to blast through the essentials you need for launch.

Think of this as your rapid-fire guide to making major noise about your AI tool.

Let’s get started:

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Summary

Going Loud

• Why silence kills great products

• Content types that drive AI tool launches

• Templates for each content type

• Platform-specific adaptations

• Engagement strategies that work

The Silent Launch Trap

Here's a brutal truth: The AI tool graveyard is full of amazing products that nobody knows about.

Every week I see brilliant developers launch powerful tools into complete silence. They post once on Launch Day and then... nothing. Not even crickets. Hell, crickets would be great!

They're falling into the "quality = success" trap.

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Sure, quality matters. But in 2024, with new AI tools launching every single day, quality isn't enough. You need to be constantly telling people about your tool:

• What it does

• How it helps

• Who it's for

• Why it matters

And you need to be doing this everywhere, all the time. Exhausting? Yup. But increasingly necessary.

Content Types That Drive Launches

I’m going to absolutely blast through this. Again, refer to other Playbooks for detailed instructions as, honestly, each type could be its own mini-course.

Use Case Breakdowns

Show don't tell. People need to see exactly how your tool helps in real situations. Their real situations specifically.

Structure:

• Identify the problem with a strong hook ("90% of marketers waste 4 hours a day on this task...")

• Current solution pain ("The old way? Writing everything by hand...")

• Tool demonstration ("Watch how our AI handles this in 30 seconds...cool huh?")

• Results showcase ("From 4 hours to 10 minutes - here's the proof...")

• Clear next steps ("Want to try this yourself? Here's how...click link or whatever")

Success Story Formats

Turn early wins into compelling stories. Especially important after the Whisper launch as you start to get more testimonials and reviews. We use these to knock through skepticism using social proof.

Structure:

• Initial situation ("Meet Sarah. She was spending $2000/month on copywriters...")

• The skepticism ("'Another AI tool?' she said. I’m good thanks…")

• The trial ("But here's what happened when she tested it...")

• Specific results ("48 hours later, her ad copy costs dropped 90%...")

• User quote ("'I honestly didn't believe it until …'")

Behind-the-Scenes Content

Show the human side of your tool. Specifically your building and launch experiences. Put yourself in this content as much as possible. People care about people.

Structure:

• Development insights (“had some trouble recently”)

• Challenge overcome (“tried this, this and this. Nothing worked. And then…!”)

• Feature evolution (“I’ll admit the last version sucked. But now…”)

• User feedback impact (“so and so mentioned this, so I fixed it”)

• Future vision (“looking to build on this in the future with xyz”)

Problem-Solution Posts

Position your tool as the answer. Remember all the problems we identified that our tool addresses? Yup - those are the core of this content type. We’ll literally work through them one at a time.

Structure:

• Problem statement ("Everyone's struggling with AI image generation...")

• Market gap ("Current tools take like 20+ prompts to get it right...they’re crap")

• Your solution ("We fixed this with one-click style matching...")

• Validation ("I get it. No reason to believe it’s actually better. Don’t listen to me then. Here's what our users are saying...")

• Call to action ("Want to stop wasting prompts? Try this...")

Quick Tips & Tutorials

Make your tool accessible. These are quick videos that are technically for actual users. BUT non-users will see them and think “wait that’s cool…what tool is this?”

Structure:

• Single valuable tip ("Most people don't know about the /fast command...")

• Step-by-step guide ("1. Click here 2. Enter your text 3. Watch what happens...")

• Visual demonstration ("Look what happens when I click this button...")

• Time saved/value added ("This one trick saves our users 2 hours every time...")

• Usage suggestion ("Try this next time you're stuck on image generation...")

Here's a prompt to help generate these different content types:

You are an AI content strategist for tool launches. Help create launch content based on:

Tool Details:
1. Tool name and purpose
2. Main problem it solves
3. Key features/benefits
4. Target user profile
5. Unique selling points

Generate specifically for the following channel: [Channel name]

Ask which of 5 content types I want and create 5 posts/scripts (accordingly for channel):

1. Use Case Breakdown
Show exactly how your tool helps in real situations. Include:
- Problem hook
- Current pain points
- Tool demonstration
- Results showcase
- Next steps

2. Success Story
Turn early wins into compelling stories that address skepticism:
- Initial situation
- User skepticism
- The trial
- Specific results
- User quote

3. Behind-the-Scenes
Show the human side of development:
- Development insights
- Challenges overcome
- Feature evolution
- User feedback impact
- Future vision

4. Problem-Solution Post
Position your tool as the solution:
- Problem statement
- Market gap
- Your solution
- Validation
- Call to action

5. Quick Tips & Tutorial
Make your tool accessible while attracting new users:
- Single valuable tip
- Step-by-step guide
- Visual demonstration
- Time/value benefit
- Usage suggestion

For each piece provide:
- Complete content outline
- Key messaging points
- Best platform(s) for this content
- How to adapt for different platforms
- Ways to engage and encourage sharing

Focus on authenticity and real value demonstration rather than marketing speak.

This prompt will run through a process of making 5 posts of the specific type. Small batch generation (a few posts at a time) will lead to much better results than getting the model to make 100 posts simultaneously.

You’ll notice there is also a parameter to enter your channel of choice. Be specific here - not just Twitter/X but Twitter Thread or Twitter Post. Not just TikTok but TikTok <60 second video or TikTok 2 minute video. Research what is working on the channel right now and follow that as a basic guide.

Content Frequency

During launch week you should be everywhere:

• Multiple pieces of content daily

• Different angles each time

• Various platforms (if feasible - use repurposing!)

• Constant engagement

Don't worry about being "too much" during launch. You're building awareness. And only you can “see” all of it. For most people it’ll just be another post or video flashing past their awareness. If they even see it at all.