gr-oss-marketing — Open Source Marketing

When to Use

• "I'm launching an open source project, how to start from scratch"
• "GitHub star growth is stuck at xxx"
• "How to collaborate with developer KOLs"
• "How to post on Reddit/HN without getting banned"
• "How to build a content matrix on dev.to/Zenn/CSDN"

Core Framework (3 Phases)

Phase 1: Pre-launch (T-30 to T-0)

• Finalize README (English as primary, first-screen screenshot understandable in <3s)
• Demo video ≤ 60s with subtitles
• Choose the right License (MIT/Apache-2/AGPL each have pitfalls)
• Secure 3-5 early bird maintainers/contributors
• Prepare community channels (Discord or Telegram, English-focused)

Phase 2: Launch (T-0 to T+14)

• Post on Product Hunt (link with

  gr-ph-launch

  )
• Post Hacker News Show HN (Tuesday 9am EST or Saturday)
• Reddit: Select 3 relevant subs (r/selfhosted / r/programming / niche tech subs)
• Publish in-depth technical articles on dev.to/Zenn/CSDN
• Invite 3-5 KOLs to share (prioritize engagement rate over follower count)

Phase 3: Growth (T+14 to T+180)

• Publish 1 technical blog per week (link with

  gr-blog-post

  )
• Convert GitHub Issues into content materials (turn user questions into FAQs)
• Send 1 update per month (mailing list + Discord)
• Overseas localization (start with Japanese/Korean, link with gr-blog-post i18n process)

In-depth References

• references/preparation.md

  — Complete Pre-launch checklist

• references/channels.md

  — Distribution channel matrix

• references/templates.md

  — KOL outreach scripts / Reddit templates / HN Show HN templates

• references/seo-geo-guide.md

  — Open source project SEO/GEO guide

Cascading Recommendations

• After completing Phase 1 →

  gr-ph-launch

  (follow unified PH launch process)
• After successful Show HN in Phase 2 →

  gr-seo-patrol

  to monitor "<project> github"
• When content creation is needed in Phase 3 →

  gr-blog-post

• When discovering competitors' new tactics →

  gr-competitor

  for in-depth analysis

Star Regional Distribution & Launch Timeline

• No single country/region should account for more than 20% of stars, otherwise it's hard to get on GitHub Trending.
• Tools: star-history.com (growth trend), OSS Insight (regional distribution, developed by Chinese developers)
• Launch timeline: Focus only on overseas promotion in the first week, then start domestic promotion in the second week. Reversing the order will disrupt the distribution.
  • Real case of AFFiNE: Gained 6000 stars in the first week of open source, intentionally refrained from sharing on Moments or joining Chinese communities.

README Optimization Key Points

• No more than 8 screens, link to separate developer docs instead of embedding them in README
• Add a small animated reminder to star (similar to Bilibili's one-click triple, users need prompts)
• Backlink loop: All outbound links (official website/blog/docs) must lead back to GitHub

PR Article Strategy

• Prepare a comprehensive article explaining the project's advantages (official website Blog / Medium / dev.to)
• Purpose: Provide a ready-to-use resource for anyone who wants to help promote your project
• Case: A German user actively posted on over 40 forums without prior notice — this was possible because of the reference article

Competitor Follower Outreach

• Send private messages to Twitter followers of competitors (Notion / Miro, etc.)
• Practical data: Hundreds of messages → Hundreds of star conversions
• Prioritize users who have complained about competitors, as they already have the willingness to switch

Anti-patterns

• ❌ Buying stars (GitHub detects this quickly, resulting in being unsearchable)
• ❌ Post once on Reddit and leave (communities dislike this, high risk of being banned)
• ❌ Promote English projects in Chinese communities first (unless your target is Chinese users, follow the order: English > multilingual > Chinese)
• ❌ Overuse emojis/badges in README (reduces credibility)