What are the core elements of every good feature launch?

I'd say this can change based on the organization, contributing teams, goals for the launch, market you're in, audience... but a few things I would never launch without:

1. Naming. Sounds simple, but the way that your engineering team refers to something is very often NOT the way you should be communicating it externally. Take the time to name.

2. Pricing and packaging. Work out EARLY whether this should only be available to certain tiers.

3. Target personas. Exactly who is this for, and why do they care. What are their alternatives?

4. Extending from the above— a messaging house that every internal team can align behind. The way Support talks about the thing should be aligned with how Sales and Marketing talk about it. Words matter. Framing matters. Value prop matters.

5. Documentation. Whether this comes in the form of a changelog update, a new docs page, a one-pager, or even a blog. Ensure you have public-facing documentation to share.

For large launches, you'll find it handy to also have:

- A list of internal and external FAQs

- Sales & CS enablement + slideware for them to also talk about the thing in meetings

- Blog post + social assets

- Demo video or other imagery 

- "How it works" as part of your messaging house—what's the user journey, what should they do before and after?

- Metrics for success. How do we know we did the thing well?

A good product launch starts with a deep understanding of the customer – who you are building for, their needs/pain points, how to reach them. Building a phased research plan is key — it's important to gather insights to shape both the product value prop and the marketing plan. I find that a lot of teams run research early in product development, but I highly recommend building a testing plan to validate your positioning and creative concept. Concept testing and will help future proof your GTM plan by ensuring you are communicating the value prop in a compelling way that maximizes conversion with your customer base.

When I think of a successful feature launch, I think of a couple of aspects:

1. Business value: Were customers asking for something like this? What problem does it solve for them? Are customers adopting the feature - why or why not?
2. Clear positioning: Is the feature being positioned in a way that clearly articulates its value? Have we carved out the right target audience for the feature - the right segment, the right industry? How is your feature differentiated in the market?
3. Sales understanding: Can sales easily sell the value of the feature to customers and prospects?

Having a good grip of these aspects will ensure you have a good feature launch.