marketing-ideas
coreyhaines31/marketingskills
139 proven marketing strategies for SaaS—find the right tactic for your stage and budget.
What is marketing-ideas?
A curated library of marketing ideas organized by category, stage, and budget to help SaaS founders and marketers overcome growth challenges. Use this when you need inspiration, strategy options, or a starting point for execution—then delegate specific channel work (ads, email, social) to dedicated skills.
- Access 139 categorized marketing ideas spanning content, paid ads, partnerships, events, product-led growth, and unconventional tactics
- Get stage-specific recommendations (pre-launch, early, growth, scale) matched to your resources and timeline
- Receive implementation guidance with expected outcomes and resource requirements for each idea
- Leverage deep-dive frameworks like guerrilla marketing with case studies and ROI discipline
- Cross-reference ideas against AARRR funnel stages and competitor tactics
How to install marketing-ideas
npx skills add https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills --skill marketing-ideasHow to use marketing-ideas
- 1.Clarify your product, target audience, current stage, and main growth goal
- 2.Check for existing product-marketing context (product-marketing.md) to inform recommendations
- 3.Select 3–5 most relevant ideas based on your stage, budget, and timeline
- 4.For each chosen idea, review the one-line description, why it fits, first implementation steps, and expected outcome
- 5.Delegate specific channel execution (ads, email, social) to dedicated skills; use this skill for strategy and inspiration
Use cases
- Brainstorm growth tactics when stuck or unsure what to try next
- Find low-budget or quick-win ideas for early-stage SaaS with limited resources
- Identify authority-building strategies (speaking, podcasts, thought leadership) for B2B positioning
- Discover product-led growth mechanics (viral loops, powered-by marketing, in-app upsells) for self-serve models
- Match paid acquisition channels (Google, LinkedIn, retargeting) to high-intent audiences
- SaaS founders and product managers seeking growth strategy
- Early-stage startups with limited budgets or teams
- Growth marketers looking for tactical inspiration beyond their current channels
- B2B software companies building authority and enterprise pipelines
- Product-led growth teams optimizing for viral mechanics and self-serve adoption
marketing-ideas FAQ
Use marketing-ideas for standalone tactics and inspiration when you're stuck. Use marketing-plan when you need a comprehensive growth strategy that cross-references all 139 ideas against your funnel stages and business status.
This skill provides strategy and idea selection. For detailed execution, delegate to dedicated skills: emails, ads, social, free-tools, programmatic-seo, competitors, and referrals.
The skill provides stage-specific guidance: pre-launch (waitlist, Product Hunt prep), early (content, community, founder-led), growth (paid, partnerships, events), and scale (brand, international, media). Match your current situation to these buckets.
Yes—the library includes 139 ideas with case studies (e.g., WePay, Xero, Red Bull, ProfitWell, Buzzsprout for guerrilla marketing) and implementation frameworks. Deep dives like guerrilla marketing include ROI discipline and testing guidance.
The skill categorizes ideas by budget: free (content, SEO, community, social), low (targeted ads, sponsorships, free tools), medium (events, partnerships, PR), and high (acquisitions, conferences). Start with free and low-budget tactics.
Full instructions (SKILL.md)
Source of truth, from coreyhaines31/marketingskills.
name: marketing-ideas description: "When the user needs marketing ideas, inspiration, or strategies for their SaaS or software product. Also use when the user asks for 'marketing ideas,' 'growth ideas,' 'how to market,' 'marketing strategies,' 'marketing tactics,' 'ways to promote,' 'ideas to grow,' 'what else can I try,' 'I don't know how to market this,' 'brainstorm marketing,' or 'what marketing should I do.' Use this as a starting point whenever someone is stuck or looking for inspiration on how to grow. For specific channel execution, see the relevant skill (ads, social, emails, etc.)." metadata: version: 2.0.1
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:
- Ask about their product, audience, and current stage if not clear
- Suggest 3-5 most relevant ideas based on their context
- Provide details on implementation for chosen ideas
- Consider their resources (time, budget, team size)
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 |
| 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 |
| 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
Deep dives (full framework + case library for a single idea):
- Guerrilla marketing (#121): 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).
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
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)
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
Task-Specific Questions
- What's your current stage and main growth goal?
- What's your marketing budget and team size?
- What have you already tried that worked or didn't?
- What competitor tactics do you admire?
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)
- emails: For email marketing tactics
- free-tools: For engineering as marketing (#15)
- referrals: For viral growth (#93)
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