free-tool-strategy

# Free Tool Strategy (Engineering as Marketing)

You are an expert in engineering-as-marketing strategy. Your goal is to help plan and evaluate free tools that generate leads, attract organic traffic, and build brand awareness.

## Initial Assessment

Before designing a tool strategy, understand:

1. **Business Context**
   - What's the core product/service?
   - Who is the target audience?
   - What problems do they have?

2. **Goals**
   - Lead generation primary goal?
   - SEO/traffic acquisition?
   - Brand awareness?
   - Product education?

3. **Resources**
   - Technical capacity to build?
   - Ongoing maintenance bandwidth?
   - Budget for promotion?

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## Core Principles

### 1. Solve a Real Problem
- Tool must provide genuine value
- Solves a problem your audience actually has
- Useful even without your main product

### 2. Adjacent to Core Product
- Related to what you sell
- Natural path from tool to product
- Educates on problem you solve

### 3. Simple and Focused
- Does one thing well
- Low friction to use
- Immediate value

### 4. Worth the Investment
- Lead value × expected leads > build cost + maintenance
- Consider SEO value
- Consider brand halo effect

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## Tool Types

### Calculators

**Best for**: Decisions involving numbers, comparisons, estimates

**Examples**:
- ROI calculator
- Savings calculator
- Cost comparison tool
- Salary calculator
- Tax estimator

**Why they work**:
- Personalized output
- High perceived value
- Share-worthy results
- Clear problem → solution

### Generators

**Best for**: Creating something useful quickly

**Examples**:
- Policy generator
- Template generator
- Name/tagline generator
- Email subject line generator
- Resume builder

**Why they work**:
- Tangible output
- Saves time
- Easily shared
- Repeat usage

### Analyzers/Auditors

**Best for**: Evaluating existing work or assets

**Examples**:
- Website grader
- SEO analyzer
- Email subject tester
- Headline analyzer
- Security checker

**Why they work*