SaaS Product Launch Playbook

Who this is for

Founders, product marketers and small growth teams launching a new SaaS product or a new product line, with a website they can publish to.

Before you start

• A one-paragraph description of the problem the product solves, in the words a customer would use.
• A short list of the alternatives a buyer already considers, including doing nothing or using a spreadsheet.
• A sign-up or waitlist page that a reader can reach from every article.
• Somebody who can review each draft for product accuracy before it is published.

Step 1

Plan the problem space

Decide which questions the launch should answer before deciding which articles to write.

1. 01List the jobs a buyer is trying to get done, then the questions they search while trying to do each one.
2. 02Group those questions into a small number of clusters, one per job, each with a pillar topic and supporting articles.
3. 03Mark which questions need a product screenshot, a comparison or a worked example, so drafts are not published thin.
4. 04Choose the order: the cluster closest to your core use case first, adjacent topics after it.

Step 2

Create the launch content

Write the pillar and its supporting articles in one consistent voice, then add the launch-specific pages.

1. 01Write the pillar article for your first cluster and outline each supporting piece before drafting it.
2. 02Write an honest comparison page for each alternative on your list, stating where the alternative is the right choice.
3. 03Draft the launch announcement as a standalone article that explains the problem, not only the release.
4. 04Link every supporting article to its pillar and to the sign-up page, with anchor text that describes the destination.
5. 05Have the reviewer check claims, screenshots and feature names against the product as it ships.

Step 3

Publish in a deliberate order

Release the content so that each new page has something to link to and something linking to it.

1. 01Publish the pillar first, then its supporting articles, updating the pillar to link to each one as it goes live.
2. 02Publish the announcement on launch day and link it to the pillar rather than only to the pricing page.
3. 03Set a steady schedule for the remaining clusters rather than releasing everything at once and then stopping.
4. 04Submit the updated sitemap in your search console once the first cluster is live.

Step 4

Measure and revise

Read what search tells you about the launch content and change the pages, not only the plan.

1. 01Check which queries each page appears for in your search console and compare them with the questions you planned for.
2. 02Rewrite introductions and headings where a page is shown for a question it does not answer directly.
3. 03Track sign-ups that arrive from articles separately from those that arrive from the homepage.
4. 04Revisit comparison pages whenever you or an alternative changes a feature or a price.

Common pitfalls

• Writing only about the product. Readers searching a problem have not heard of it yet, so the article has to start where they are.
• Comparison pages that never concede anything. A reader can tell, and the page stops being useful to them.
• Publishing every article on launch day and nothing afterwards, which leaves the site looking abandoned a month later.
• Feature names in articles that no longer match the product after the first few releases.

Where Opus Rank helps

Tutorials for the parts of this plan you can do in Opus Rank.

• Build a topical map

  Turn the jobs and questions from the planning phase into a map of clusters and articles.

• Create a content brief

  Write down the angle, audience and points to cover before an article is generated.

• Create and use brand voices

  Keep the pillar, the comparisons and the announcement in one voice.

• Publish an article to your CMS

  Send reviewed articles to your CMS from the article workspace.

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