Marketing playbook. Channels, content formats, distribution rules, and tone guidelines for every platform.
Recommended order: COMPANY → MARKETING → CONTENT → OUTREACH → SUPPORT
MARKETING.md — [Company Name]
This is your marketing playbook. Every content and outreach agent reads this before executing marketing tasks. It pairs with COMPANY.md — read both together for full context.
Channel Strategy
Twitter/X
- Why: [Why Twitter works for your ICP — e.g., "our ICP is indie founders who are very active on Twitter/X"]
- Goal: [Specific goal — e.g., "build 1,000 followers in our ICP in 90 days"]
- Content mix: [e.g., 60% educational, 20% product, 20% personal/founder story]
- Cadence: [e.g., "1 thread per week, 3-5 replies per day, 2-3 short posts per day"]
- Why: [Why LinkedIn works for your ICP]
- Goal: [Specific goal]
- Content mix: [Breakdown by type]
- Cadence: [How often]
Reddit / Communities
- Why: [Why Reddit/communities work for your ICP]
- Goal: [Specific goal]
- Target communities: [List your top 5-10 subreddits or Slack/Discord communities]
- Approach: [How you engage — helpful replies, not pitching]
Blog / SEO
- Why: [Why blog/SEO is part of your strategy]
- Goal: [Specific goal — e.g., "rank for 20 target keywords in 6 months"]
- Cadence: [e.g., "2 posts per week"]
- Why: [Why email is part of your strategy]
- Goal: [Specific goal]
- Cadence: [e.g., "weekly newsletter, onboarding sequence for new signups"]
Content Types and Formats
Blog Posts
- Length: [e.g., 1,200–2,000 words for educational posts]
- Structure: Hook → Problem → Solution → Step-by-step → CTA
- Tone: [e.g., "Direct, technical, no fluff — assumes the reader is smart and busy"]
- Angles that work for our ICP:
- [Angle 1, e.g., "How we built X in Y time"]
- [Angle 2, e.g., "The problem with [common approach] and what to do instead"]
- [Angle 3, e.g., "[Tool] vs [Tool]: what I learned after 6 months"]
Twitter/X Threads
- Length: [e.g., "7-12 tweets, first tweet must stand alone"]
- Structure: Hook tweet → numbered insights → summary + CTA
- Tone: [e.g., "Casual but specific — use real numbers, real examples"]
LinkedIn Posts
- Length: [e.g., "150-300 words, no hashtag spam"]
- Structure: [Your preferred LinkedIn post structure]
- Tone: [How this differs from Twitter]
Email Newsletter
- Length: [e.g., "400-600 words"]
- Structure: [Your newsletter structure]
- Tone: [How this feels different from blog content]
Distribution Rules
Auto-distribute:
- [Content type] → [Where it gets posted, e.g., "Blog posts → Twitter thread summary"]
- [Content type] → [Where]
Requires human approval before posting:
- Any content that mentions specific competitors by name
- Any content that includes pricing information
- Any outreach reply in communities (always human-approved before posting)
- [Other things requiring approval]
Never automate:
- Direct messages to anyone
- Replies to negative reviews or public complaints
- Anything requiring account credentials we haven't explicitly authorized
Tone Per Channel
| Channel | Tone | Example phrase we'd use | Example we'd avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blog | [Your blog tone] | "[example phrase]" | "[phrase to avoid]" |
| Twitter/X | [Your Twitter tone] | "[example phrase]" | "[phrase to avoid]" |
| [Your LinkedIn tone] | "[example phrase]" | "[phrase to avoid]" | |
| [Your email tone] | "[example phrase]" | "[phrase to avoid]" | |
| Support | [Your support tone] | "[example phrase]" | "[phrase to avoid]" |
What "Good Content" Looks Like
A great piece of content for us:
- Answers a real question our ICP is actively asking
- Uses language from COMPANY.md's "language they use" section
- Includes at least one specific, real example or number
- Doesn't mention our product until it's genuinely relevant
- Has a clear, single call to action
- Passes the "would I share this?" test
A piece of content that needs revision:
- Leads with the product instead of the reader's problem
- Uses generic adjectives ("powerful", "seamless", "robust")
- Makes unverifiable claims
- Has more than one CTA
- Reads like it was written by a marketing bot
Hard Limits
- Never automate community replies — human reviews and posts every outreach message
- Never post the same piece of content identically across platforms — adapt the format
- Never purchase followers, likes, or upvotes
- Never post in communities that explicitly ban self-promotion
- Never claim endorsements from customers we don't have permission to name
- [Add your own]
Last updated: [YYYY-MM-DD] Owner: [Name or role]