# DocFast 30-Day Launch Marketing Plan

**Budget: $0** — organic channels only.

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## Week 1: Launch (Days 1–7)

### Day 1 — Launch Day
| Channel | Action | Expected Impact |
|---------|--------|-----------------|
| Hacker News | Post "Show HN" (see show-hn.md) | 50–200 visits if it gains traction; HN is hit-or-miss but high-quality traffic |
| Twitter/X | Tweet #1 (announcement) + #5 (pain point) | Reach depends on existing following; pin the announcement tweet |
| DEV.to | Publish article (see devto-article.md) | Steady long-tail traffic; DEV.to articles rank well on Google |

### Day 2–3
| Channel | Action | Expected Impact |
|---------|--------|-----------------|
| Reddit r/webdev | Post feedback request (see reddit-posts.md) | 20–100 visits; genuine feedback |
| Reddit r/node | Post technical discussion (see reddit-posts.md) | Smaller but more targeted audience |
| Indie Hackers | Post in "Show IH" — focus on the solo-builder story, pricing decisions | Community is supportive of solo launches |

### Day 4–7
| Channel | Action | Expected Impact |
|---------|--------|-----------------|
| Twitter/X | Tweet #2 (code example) | Code snippets get good engagement from devs |
| DEV.to | Engage with comments on your article | Builds credibility, surfaces article in feeds |
| HN | If Show HN didn't gain traction, resubmit once (allowed by HN rules) | Second attempts sometimes work better |

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## Week 2: Content (Days 8–14)

Focus: Create useful content that naturally references DocFast.

| Day | Channel | Content |
|-----|---------|---------|
| 8 | DEV.to | "5 Ways to Generate PDFs in Node.js (Compared)" — honest comparison including DocFast |
| 10 | Twitter/X | Tweet #3 (comparison) + short thread on PDF generation approaches |
| 12 | Reddit r/webdev | Comment helpfully on any PDF-related questions (don't force it — only if genuinely relevant) |
| 14 | Twitter/X | Tweet #4 (use case — invoices) |

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## Week 3: Community (Days 15–21)

Focus: Engage where developers already discuss PDF problems.

| Action | Where | Notes |
|--------|-------|-------|
| Answer PDF-related questions | Stack Overflow, Reddit | Don't shill. Answer the question, mention DocFast only if it's genuinely the best answer |
| Post on r/SaaS | Reddit | "I launched a developer API at $9/mo — here's what I learned in the first 2 weeks" |
| Share usage stats / lessons | Indie Hackers, Twitter | Transparency builds trust. Share real numbers |
| DEV.to article #2 | DEV.to | "How I Handle 10,000 PDFs/Month with Express + Puppeteer" — technical deep-dive |

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## Week 4: Iterate (Days 22–30)

Focus: Double down on what worked, drop what didn't.

| Action | Details |
|--------|---------|
| Review analytics | Which channel drove the most signups? Most API usage? |
| Write a "1 month in" post | Indie Hackers or DEV.to — share real metrics, lessons, what you'd change |
| Engage repeat visitors | If anyone tweeted about DocFast, reply and thank them |
| Plan month 2 | Based on data: more content? Different subreddits? Guest posts? |

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## Ongoing (Every Week)

- **Monitor Reddit/HN/SO** for "pdf generation" discussions — contribute genuinely
- **Tweet 2–3x/week** — mix of product updates, developer tips, and PDF-related content
- **Respond to every piece of feedback** within 24 hours

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## Channel Summary

| Channel | Effort | Expected Impact | Best For |
|---------|--------|-----------------|----------|
| Hacker News | Low (1 post) | High variance — could be 10 or 10,000 visits | Launch spike |
| DEV.to | Medium (2–3 articles) | Steady long-tail SEO traffic | Ongoing discovery |
| Twitter/X | Medium (2–3 tweets/week) | Builds over time; compounds | Developer brand |
| Reddit | Low-Medium | Targeted, high-intent traffic | Early feedback |
| Indie Hackers | Low (2 posts) | Small but supportive community | Solo founder story |
| Stack Overflow | Low (answer questions) | Very high intent (people searching for solutions) | Long-tail conversions |

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## Key Principles

1. **Be useful first.** Every post should provide value even if DocFast didn't exist.
2. **Don't post and ghost.** Reply to every comment. People remember that.
3. **Share real numbers.** "We got 47 signups in 2 weeks" is more compelling than "growing fast."
4. **One channel at a time.** Don't try to be everywhere on day 1. Stagger posts across the week.
5. **Track everything.** UTM parameters on every link. Know what works.