---
name: community-launch-planner
description: >
  This skill plans the public launch of the community platform.
  Use when asked to launch a community, plan a community rollout, or define a go-live strategy.
  Also consider when migrating from a private beta community to a public one.
  Suggest when the user is about to open community access without a structured launch plan.
department: marketing
agent: community-manager
version: 1.0.0
complexity: medium
related-skills:
  - early-community-builder
  - community-health-grower
  - community-led-growth-designer
triggers:
  - "plan community launch"
  - "launch community platform"
  - "community kickoff plan"
  - "community go-live strategy"
  - "new community launch"
---

# community-launch-planner

## Agent: Community Manager

L2 community manager responsible for extracting community signals, designing community-led growth, building the early community, and maintaining community health.

Department ethos: [ideal-marketing.md](../../../../departments/marketing/ideal-marketing.md)

## Skill Description

Plans the public launch of the community platform including timeline, channel strategy, content seeding, and success criteria.

## When to Use

- When the community platform is ready to move from private beta to public access.
- When leadership sets a date for community launch and needs a comprehensive rollout plan.
- When a product launch includes a community component that requires coordinated timing.
- When rebranding or migrating an existing community to a new platform.

## Workflow

1. **Define launch goals**: Establish measurable success criteria using the success metrics table in [framework.md](references/framework.md) (member count targets, activation rate, first-week engagement, 30-day retention). Deliverable: launch goals document.
2. **Audit readiness**: Verify platform configuration, moderation policies, welcome flows, seed content, and team coverage against the readiness checklist in the framework. Deliverable: readiness checklist with pass/fail for each item.
3. **Build launch timeline**: Create a phased timeline covering pre-launch seeding, soft launch, and public launch per the phase model in the framework, with owners for each milestone. Deliverable: launch timeline with dependencies mapped.
4. **Prepare launch content**: Draft announcement posts, welcome messages, onboarding guides, and initial discussion prompts using the 3-2-1 seed pattern from the framework. Deliverable: content package ready for publication.
5. **Coordinate cross-functional**: Align with marketing, product, and support teams on launch messaging, escalation paths, and monitoring responsibilities. Use the [community-launch-plan-template.md](assets/community-launch-plan-template.md) RACI section. Deliverable: RACI matrix for launch week.
6. **Execute and monitor**: Run the launch sequence, monitor real-time metrics, and activate contingency plans if targets are missed. Deliverable: daily launch metrics report.
7. **Conduct post-launch review**: Compile results against goals, document lessons learned, and hand off to ongoing community operations. Deliverable: post-launch retrospective.

## Anti-Patterns

- **Big bang without seed content**: Launching a community with empty forums expecting members to generate content from scratch. *Why*: Empty spaces signal low value and cause first visitors to bounce, creating a negative first impression that is hard to recover from.
- **No moderation coverage**: Going live without moderators scheduled for the first 72 hours. *Why*: Early negative interactions or spam go unchecked and set toxic norms that persist long after launch.
- **Skipping soft launch**: Moving directly to public launch without a controlled soft launch phase. *Why*: Soft launch catches platform bugs, confusing flows, and content gaps when stakes are low and fixes are cheap.

## Output

**On success**: Produces a complete launch plan containing timeline, content package, readiness checklist, RACI matrix, and post-launch retrospective. Delivered to community and marketing leadership.

**On failure**: Report which readiness items failed, what blocked launch preparation, and recommend a revised timeline. Every error must be actionable.

## Related Skills

- [`early-community-builder`](../early-community-builder/SKILL.md) — The early community built pre-launch provides the seed members and content for launch.
- [`community-health-grower`](../community-health-grower/SKILL.md) — Post-launch health monitoring picks up where launch metrics tracking ends.
- [`community-led-growth-designer`](../community-led-growth-designer/SKILL.md) — Growth programmes activate after successful launch to scale the community.