AAJ Marketing SkillsSkills

// design

Messaging Framework

Use when the user wants to build a messaging framework or message hierarchy — the organized set of what to say, to whom, and in what order. Also use when the user mentions messaging, message hierarchy, messaging pillars, core message, talking points, message map, value pillars, or "what should our messaging be." Produces a messaging framework — one core message, 3–4 pillars with proof, audience variants, and what to keep off-message.

DesignIntermediate
bash
$npx skills add sarojkjha/aaj-marketing-skills --skill messaging-framework

// when to use it

Use when the user wants to build a messaging framework or message hierarchy — the organized set of what to say, to whom, and in what order. Also use when the user mentions messaging, message hierarchy, messaging pillars, core message, talking points, message map, value pillars, or "what should our messaging be." Produces a messaging framework — one core message, 3–4 pillars with proof, audience variants, and what to keep off-message.

// what you give

The positioning, value proposition, ICP/segments, differentiator, proof, and voice.

// what you get

A messaging framework — one core message, 3–4 proof-backed pillars with "say this" lines, audience variants, and off-message notes.

Messaging Framework

Organize everything you say into one core message and a few proof-backed pillars — so the whole team tells the same story, in the buyer's language.

When to use

When messaging is inconsistent across the site, deck, and sales calls; when there's a value prop but no structure beneath it; or when a launch, rebrand, or new segment needs a message map the team can work from.

Before you start

  1. Read the brand/product context first. Pull the positioning, value proposition, ICP/segments, differentiator, proof, and voice from .agents/product-marketing.md. If the positioning or value prop is a gap, close it first.
  2. Gather inputs: the segments that need their own emphasis.
  3. Confirm the objective: a message map the team works from. (If positioning isn't settled, run positioning-statement; if the user just needs the hero line, use value-proposition.)

Method

The framework organizes positioning and the value prop into one core message and a few pillars — it doesn't reinvent them. Every pillar carries proof; a pillar without proof is just a claim. Variants keep the same pillars but shift emphasis and language by audience. If there are two "core" messages, you don't have one yet.

Workflow

  1. Start from positioning and the value prop.
  2. Write one core message — the single thing every buyer should believe.
  3. Build 3–4 pillars — the few themes that support it.
  4. Back each pillar with proof — a metric, an outcome, a mechanism.
  5. Write the "say this" lines for each pillar, in the brand's voice.
  6. Create audience variants and define off-message, then present.

Reference

This skill bundles no data files. Pull positioning, value prop, proof, segments, and voice from .agents/product-marketing.md.

Present the result

  • Core message — one sentence.
  • Pillars (3–4) — each with: the claim, the proof behind it, and 1–2 "say this" lines.
  • Audience variants — the emphasis/language shift per segment.
  • Off-message — what not to say (claims you can't back, or that blur the positioning).

Guardrails & common mistakes

  • Exactly one core message. Two means you haven't chosen; the story won't land.
  • Every pillar needs proof. Claims without evidence read as marketing noise.
  • Use the buyer's language. Internal jargon in the pillars means the buyer won't recognize themselves.
  • Pass the competitor test. If a rival could claim the same set of pillars, sharpen them.

Related AAJ resources

Related skills

positioning-statement · value-proposition · brand-product-context

Credits

Original AAJ skill. The Agent Skills format and the marketing-skills catalog by Corey Haines (coreyhaines31/marketingskills, MIT) were references for structure and coverage; this skill is independently written. See the repository README for the full reference list.

// faq

// install

$npx skills add sarojkjha/aaj-marketing-skills --skill messaging-framework

// worked example

Get the worked example for messaging-framework

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// sprint

Positioning & Message Sprint — $3,500, 10 business days

This skill is one of the engines behind the Positioning & Message Sprint — $3,500, ten business days.

Positioning, copy, and voice governance — every claim defensible.

See what's included.

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