marketing

# Marketing Skill for Theme & Plugin Agency

## Writing Style Guidelines

### Tone & Voice (Non-Negotiable)

**Be Human, Not AI:**
- Write like a helpful colleague, not a marketing robot
- Use natural language that sounds like a real person wrote it
- Avoid buzzwords: "revolutionary", "game-changing", "seamless", "leverage", "synergy"
- Skip filler words: "basically", "essentially", "simply", "just"
- No excessive punctuation (!!!) or ALL CAPS for emphasis

**Emoji Policy:**
- Maximum ONE emoji per piece of content (or none)
- Use only when it adds clarity, not decoration
- Prefer text over emoji for important information

**What to Avoid:**
```
❌ "🚀 This REVOLUTIONARY plugin will TRANSFORM your workflow!! 💥"
✅ "This plugin handles form submissions automatically, so you can focus on your actual work."

❌ "Simply leverage our seamless integration to unlock game-changing results!"
✅ "Connect it to your email list in two clicks. New subscribers sync automatically."
```

## Folder Structure

When creating marketing content for a product, create this folder structure:

```
marketing/
├── 01-slides/                    # Visual presentation content
│   ├── product-overview-slides.md
│   ├── feature-breakdown-slides.md
│   ├── use-case-slides.md
│   └── free-vs-pro-comparison.md
├── 02-video-scripts/             # Video content
│   ├── 01-product-overview.md    # 2-3 min explainer
│   ├── 02-installation-setup.md  # Tutorial
│   ├── 03-feature-demos.md       # Feature walkthroughs
│   ├── short-ads.md              # 15s, 30s, 60s scripts
│   └── shot-list-template.md     # Production notes
├── 03-website-copy/              # Website content
│   ├── landing-page.md           # Full landing page
│   ├── features.md               # Feature highlights
│   ├── product-description.md    # Marketplace descriptions
│   ├── faq-content.md            # FAQ section
│   └── feature-pages/            # Individual feature pages
│       └── [feature-name].md
├── 04-email-sequences/           # Email campaigns
│   ├── welcome-sequence.md       # Onboarding emails
│   ├── feature-announcement.md   # New feature emails
│   ├── free-to-pro-upgrade.md    # Upgrade campaigns
│   └── re-engagement.md          # Win-back emails
├── 05-social-media/              # Social content (separate files per platform)
│   ├── twitter-posts.md          # Twitter/X content
│   ├── linkedin-posts.md         # LinkedIn content
│   ├── facebook-posts.md         # Facebook content
│   └── instagram-captions.md     # Instagram content
├── 06-sales-materials/           # Sales enablement
│   ├── one-pager.md              # Quick sales sheet
│   ├── objection-handling.md     # Sales FAQ responses
│   ├── feature-comparison-chart.md # Competitive comparison
│   ├── roi-calculator-content.md # Value justification
│   └── testimonials.md           # Customer quotes
├── 07-brand-assets/              # Brand guidelines
│   ├── persona-profiles.md       # Target customer profiles
│   ├── messaging-guide.md        # Voice and messaging
│   └── seo-keywords.md           # Keywords and meta content
└── README.md                     # Index and quick reference
```

## Instructions

### 1. Always Start with Personas

Before creating content, define 3-5 target personas in `07-brand-assets/persona-profiles.md`:

```markdown
## Persona: [Name]

### Demographics
- Role, Age, Team Size, Industry, Technical Level

### Goals
- What they want to achieve

### Pain Points
- Problems they face (be specific, not generic)

### Why Product Appeals
- Feature-to-benefit mapping

### Key Message
> "One sentence that resonates with this persona"

### Content They Respond To
- Types of content that work
```

### 2. Product Descriptions

Lead with benefits, not features:

```
❌ "Includes auto-moderation feature"
✅ "Stop spam automatically — so you can focus on growing your community"
```

**Power words to use wisely:** effortless, powerful, stunning, instant, automatic
**Words to avoid:** revolutionary, game-changing, seamless, leverage, synergy, cutting-edge

### 3. Feature Highlights

Transform every feature into a benefit using:
- "so you can..."
- "which means..."

```markdown
**What It Does:**
[Feature description - plain language]

**The Benefit:**
[Outcome] — so you can [user benefit].

**Why It Matters:**
- [Feature detail], which means [benefit]
- [Feature detail], so you can [benefit]
```

### 4. Screenshots & Visuals

**Requirements:**
- Use real screenshots from local development environment
- Show actual product UI, not mockups
- Annotate with arrows or highlights for clarity
- Crop to relevant area (no full-screen captures)
- Ensure no sensitive data visible
- Use consistent browser/window size

**Before creating visual content, ask:**
> "Do you have a local development setup where we can capture real screenshots? I'll need access to take authentic product images."

### 5. Video Scripts

Structure for each video:
```markdown
## Video Details
- Title, Duration, Purpose, Tone, Target

## Script

### INTRO (0:00 - 0:XX)
**VISUAL:** [Description]
**NARRATOR:** "[Script - conversational, not salesy]"
**ON-SCREEN TEXT:** "[Text overlay]"

### [SECTION NAME] (X:XX - X:XX)
...

## Production Notes
- Visual style
- Music suggestions (upbeat but not overwhelming)
- Screenshots needed (from local dev environment)
```

### 6. Social Media (Separate Files Per Platform)

**Twitter/X:** (`twitter-posts.md`)
- Hook in first line
- 1-2 key benefits
- One emoji maximum (or none)
- Thread format for longer content

**LinkedIn:** (`linkedin-posts.md`)
- Professional tone
- Problem → Solution format
- Statistics and proof points
- No emoji or one maximum

**Facebook:** (`facebook-posts.md`)
- Community-focused
- Storytelling approach
- Engagement questions

**Instagram:** (`instagram-captions.md`)
- Visual-first (describe image needed)
- Short, punchy captions
- Carousel/Reel ideas included

### 7. Email Campaigns

Structure each email file with multiple templates:
- Subject line variations (A/B test)
- Full email body (human tone, not salesy)
- CTA options (clear, action-oriented)

### 8. Sales Materials

**One-Pager:** Print-ready summary with:
- Problem/Solution (lead with the problem they feel)
- Key features (3-5 max)
- Results/Stats (real numbers when possible)
- Pricing
- CTA

**Objection Handling:** For each objection:
- Understand (clarifying questions)
- Acknowledge (validate concern genuinely)
- Address (provide information)
- Confirm (check if resolved)

### 9. Pricing Messaging

Always include accurate pricing from product page:
```markdown
| License | Price | Sites |
|---------|-------|-------|
| Single | $XX/yr | 1 site |
| 5 License | $XX/yr | 5 sites |
| Developer | $XX/yr | Unlimited |
```

## Quality Checklist

Before completing, verify:

### Content Quality
- [ ] Personas defined
- [ ] All folders created
- [ ] Pricing accurate
- [ ] Benefits (not just features)
- [ ] "so you can..." language used
- [ ] Social media split by platform
- [ ] Objection handling complete
- [ ] README index updated

### Tone Check
- [ ] Human tone (not robotic/AI-sounding)
- [ ] No excessive emojis (max 1 per piece)
- [ ] No buzzwords (revolutionary, seamless, etc.)
- [ ] No filler words (basically, simply, etc.)
- [ ] Reads like a helpful colleague wrote it
- [ ] Direct and respectful of reader's time

### Visual Content
- [ ] Screenshots requested from local dev environment
- [ ] No stock photos where real product images should be
- [ ] All visuals annotated clearly
- [ ] No sensitive data visible