The Startup Marketing Checklist

This checklist provides a detailed, chronologically ordered list of marketing tactics and strategies designed to be evergreen, easy to execute, budget-friendly, and effective in providing a proven ROI.

Pre-Launch Marketing Checklist

Your marketing plan should start long before your product launch. Market research, planning, and preparation are crucial, even if your marketing team isn't fully developed.

Competitor Research

Understanding your competition is essential. Start by making a list of competitors and gather the following data:

• Competitor website links
• Taglines and one-liners
• Pricing and business models
• Blog/RSS links
• Social media profiles
• Key employees on social media

Subscribe to RSS feeds of your competitors' blogs and follow them on social media. Monitor their websites for changes using tools like Deep Dive Duck and Versionista. Also, subscribe to industry newsletters, magazines, and trade journals, and use Google Trends to research initial demand and search volume.

Customer Research

Identify potential future customers in your contact list and conduct at least 20 conversations using methods like The Mom Test. Attend meetups or conferences for your target market and network with other entrepreneurs with similar or competitive products. Make a list of your competitors' customers by checking their Twitter followers, Facebook fans, and LinkedIn connections. Reach out to these customers to understand their likes and dislikes. Create an "early access" list for potential future customers.

PR (Public Relations) Preparations

Create lists of tech, startup, and industry blogs, local small business journals, and local bloggers and journalists in your industry. Develop a "Media Kit" page for your website as a resource for journalists.

Website Setup

Choose a name and domain name for your startup. Write a site tagline and elevator pitch, and create a logo. Set up a landing page and essential pages such as "About" and "Contact". Develop a Pricing page and consider/test various pricing options, such as free trials, money-back guarantees, invite-only access, and discounted access for early adopters. Add social media follow links to your landing page and set up analytics using platforms like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Fathom Analytics, and Kiss Metrics. Implement error logging and on-site messaging to capture leads and engage customers. Test your website for common SEO, speed, and security issues using tools like Checkbot.

Email Setup

Set up an email address for communication, an email list, and a signup form. Create a standard email template for your brand and transactional emails for user signups or purchases.

Blog Setup

Choose a blogging platform and conduct keyword research using tools like Ahrefs, Positional, SEMrush, and Google Keyword Planner. Create pillar posts or pages for important keywords and brainstorm blog post ideas. Add email signup forms and social media follow links to all blog posts.

Social Media Setup

Search for available names on social networks and choose 2-3 social media accounts based on your customers' preferences (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube). Standardize your profile image, background photo, links, and call-to-action across all social channels.

Post-Launch Marketing Checklist

Once you launch, your focus shifts to growing your user base and gathering customer feedback.

Free Promotional Channels

Promote your product on directories and review sites. Write and distribute press releases, eBooks, and white papers in exchange for email signups. Give free access to influential bloggers, build a "best of" page with top blog posts, and create online courses or guides. Run influencer marketing and link-building campaigns, and share your startup story on platforms like Starter Story. Use various link-building strategies and get interviewed on podcasts. Become a source on Help a Reporter Out.

Paid Promotional Channels

Invest in social, search, and commission-based advertising platforms. Sponsor local meetups, conferences, podcasts, and industry newsletters. Set up a user referral marketing system using platforms like Expect Referrals, Frederick, Genius Referrals, InviteBox, InviteReferrals, Referral Candy, Viral Loops, and Girafi. Run engagement contests with prizes and retargeting ads to previous site visitors.

Recurring Marketing Checklist

Consistency is key to successful marketing. Regularly engage in the following activities to maintain and grow your presence.

Ongoing Content Marketing and Blogging

Build and update a publishing calendar for your blog and video marketing efforts. Regularly post blog content and solicit guest posts from early customers and fans. Repurpose existing content into different formats such as videos, podcasts, infographics, and presentations. Promote your blog content via email, social media, and other bloggers. Refresh old blog posts every 6-12 months.

Email Marketing

Send regular email newsletters featuring blog posts, use cases, and customer stories. Promote your email list on social media, send cold emails to connect with early customers, and send personal emails to new users.

Social Media

Schedule regular social media content and experiment with different types such as behind-the-scenes looks, blog posts, special offers, news, quotes, polls, and recommended books. Join relevant Facebook and LinkedIn groups, participate in Twitter chats, and interact with people discussing related issues. Offer discounts for user-generated content and feature their photos with your product.

Public Relations

Reach out to bloggers, small business journals, and reporters for coverage. Get featured on podcasts, seek links from .edu sites, and leave comments on reviews or lists of similar products. Guest post on relevant blogs and promote your posts via social media and email lists. Join and participate in forums related to your industry.

More Ongoing Marketing Ideas

Answer relevant questions on Q&A community sites like Stack Overflow, Quora, and Product Hunt. Register to be notified of topics on Reddit and Hacker News with F5Bot.

Marketing Optimization Checklist

After initiating your marketing efforts, continuously optimize for better results.

Run customer polls to generate content ideas and gather feedback. Create side projects to promote your startup, and A/B test landing and payment pages, email newsletters, and promotions. Implement Twitter cards, rich snippets, and analyze user signup flow. Test your website on multiple platforms, ensure good speed, and use tools like Website Grader to identify improvements. Set weekly traffic and growth goals, time social media posts and emails for optimal engagement, and ensure each page has a clear call-to-action. Audit and improve your conversion rate, set up automatic analytics reports, experiment with signup form placements, and use exit intent popups. Create an FAQ page, verify website tags, watch first-time user interactions, display testimonials, and survey users for feedback. Use tools like Monkey Test It and Checkbot to find and fix site issues and ensure GDPR compliance.

For startups looking to elevate their content strategy and go-to-market efforts, consider hiring a go-to-market or marketing specialist from Hire a Writer. A professional can help craft compelling narratives, create engaging content, and ensure your messaging resonates with your target audience, significantly boosting your brand’s visibility, credibility, and success in the market.