# Open Source Marketing for Non-Technical Founders

You don't need to be a developer to market an open-source project. This playbook bridges the gap between technical excellence and market visibility.

## README as Landing Page

Your README is your homepage. Most visitors decide in 10 seconds whether to star or leave.

### Structure That Converts
| Section | Purpose | Max Length |
|---------|---------|-----------|
| Hero banner | Visual identity | 1 image |
| One-liner | What it does + for whom | 1 sentence |
| Demo GIF | Show, don't tell | 15 seconds |
| Quick start | Copy-paste to try | 3 steps |
| Features table | Scannable benefits | 5-8 items |
| Social proof | Stars, users, press | 1 section |
| Contributing guide | Invite participation | Link |

### Badge Strategy
- Build status (trust signal)
- Version number (active project)
- Discord members (community size)
- License type (legal clarity)

## Community-First Growth

### Discord/Slack Strategy
- Create channels: #general, #help, #showcase, #feedback
- Post daily for first 30 days (you, personally)
- Answer every question within 4 hours
- Run weekly "office hours" voice chats
- Celebrate every contributor publicly

### Content Calendar (Non-Technical)
| Week | Content Type | Platform |
|------|-------------|----------|
| 1 | "Why we open-sourced" story | Blog + Twitter |
| 2 | User showcase / case study | Discord + Reddit |
| 3 | Comparison with alternatives | Blog + HN |
| 4 | Roadmap update + community input | GitHub + Discord |

## Star Momentum

### How GitHub Trending Works
- Velocity matters more than total stars
- Threshold: ~50 stars/day for category trending
- Duration: need 3+ consecutive trending days for impact
- Timing: Monday launches get more weekday momentum

### Trigger Tactics (Ethical)
- Coordinate content across 3+ channels on same day
- Time posts for US morning (9 AM EST)
- Ask existing users to star (not strangers)
- Cross-post to r/programming, r/opensource, HN

## Contributor Funnel
1. **Awareness**: "Good first issue" labels, clear CONTRIBUTING.md
2. **First PR**: Fast review (<24h), warm welcome comment
3. **Retention**: Tag repeat contributors, invite to maintainer chat
4. **Advocacy**: Feature them in release notes, offer swag

## Monetization Bridge
| Stars | Revenue Model |
|-------|--------------|
| 0-1k | GitHub Sponsors (individuals) |
| 1k-5k | Open Collective + Sponsor badges |
| 5k-10k | Hosted version / Pro features |
| 10k+ | Enterprise tier + Custom deployments |

Built by Gingiris — grew AFFiNE from 0 to 60k+ stars. Follow [@WeiYipei on X](https://x.com/WeiYipei).