Family Wall — marketing & outreach playbook

Goal: get the first trickle of real external families into /family-wall, then let the ops-board demand gate (/dashboard/admin/ops) tell us which channel converts. This is a distribution play, not a build — the funnel is done (free tier → wall → Family Wall Plus). Written 2026-08-02.

The discipline that makes it measurable: every link uses /family-wall?utm_source=<channel>. First-touch landing attribution (migration 620) stamps the arrival, and the traction instrument counts it as Family Wall demand. So we don't guess which channel worked — we read it.

The one true message

Turn the old iPad in your drawer into the family's shared screen. Routines, calendar, meals, chores, who's home — in one place the whole family can see, on a device you already own. Free to start.

What's actually true (say only this):

• No new hardware. It runs in the browser on an old iPad/tablet/spare phone propped in the kitchen.
• Free to set up and use the core (one wall). Family Wall Plus (~$4.99/mo) adds the cost-bearing extras (the owner's own cloned voice for messages, extra walls, some power features). Don't imply the whole thing is paid, and don't imply Plus is free.
• Your family's data is yours — no ads, nothing sold, kids' routines aren't a product. (This is real; it's the [[honest-custody]] posture — lean on it, it's a differentiator the incumbents can't match.)
• Voice is consent-first: you record and confirm your own voice; nothing speaks words you didn't set; kids never trigger a paid render.

Do not claim numbers we don't have (users, time saved), invent testimonials, or say "AI" where it's just a shared screen. Honesty-first is the brand and it's also what these communities reward.

Angles (pick one per post — don't stack them)

1. The junk-drawer iPad. "That iPad you stopped using in 2019? Give it a job." Repurpose + zero cost.
2. The mental load. One parent usually holds the whole family's schedule in their head. Put it on the wall so everyone — including the kids — can see it, instead of asking.
3. Chores & routines that kids actually run. Visual checklist, they tick their own, points if you want.
4. The ambient glance. Who's home, who fed the dog, what's for dinner, is it a jacket day — answered at a look, no phone.
5. Visual schedules for ADHD / neurodivergent households. A predictable, always-there routine board. Genuinely helpful, not a gimmick — post it where it's wanted, honestly.

Who + where (ICP → communities)

Cross-sell note: the homeschool communities are shared with the [[homeschool]] vertical — one honest post about the family screen can mention the homeschool toolkit if the room is right, but lead with the wall.

Attribution table (channel → utm_source)

Use these exact slugs so the demand gate slices cleanly:

(Add &utm_medium=post / =comment / =bio if you want finer cuts; source alone drives the gate.)

One-tap version: these blocks are live in-app at /dashboard/admin/marketing — copy button per platform, plus an optional affiliate ref-code field that rewrites the links to a tester's ?ref=CODE so you can hand them their own copy. Keep this doc and that page in sync.

Ready-to-paste copy

Reddit — a value-first post (r/homeschool, r/Parenting)

We turned an old iPad into a "family wall" and the kids actually use it

Our family schedule used to live entirely in my head — who has practice, what's for dinner, whose turn for the dishes. I got tired of being the human calendar, so I propped an old iPad in the kitchen and set it up as a shared family screen: routines the kids check off themselves, the week's calendar, meals, who's home. It's been genuinely calming — they check the wall instead of asking me.

Full disclosure: I build this (it's called Family Wall, part of HiveJournal), so I'm biased. But it runs free on a device you already have, and I'd rather tell homeschool folks about it honestly than run ads. The core is free; there's a paid tier for a couple of extras. Happy to answer setup questions.

If you want to try it: hivejournal.com/family-wall?utm_source=reddit

(Rule: read the sub's self-promo policy first. Many require the maker disclosure above and a value-first framing — this template gives both. If a sub bans any promo, engage in comments genuinely instead.)

Facebook parenting/homeschool group

Anyone else repurpose an old tablet as a family command center? We set up an old iPad in the kitchen with the kids' routines, the calendar, meals, and chores all on one screen — they run their own checklists now instead of asking me 40 times a day. I make the tool (Family Wall), it's free to set up, and I'm honestly just curious how other families handle the mental-load thing. Link if useful: hivejournal.com/family-wall?utm_source=facebook

Bluesky / X — short thread

1/ The old iPad in your junk drawer can run your whole family's week. Routines the kids check off · the calendar · meals · who's home · what to wear — one screen in the kitchen, no new hardware.

2/ It's called Family Wall. Free to set up on a device you already own. Your family's data stays yours — no ads, kids' routines aren't a product. I build it in the open.

3/ Try it: hivejournal.com/family-wall?utm_source=bluesky

Short video script (Instagram Reel / TikTok, ~20s)

[old iPad in a drawer] "This has been dead in a drawer since 2019." [prop it in kitchen] "Ten minutes later, it runs our whole family's week." [screen: routines being checked off] "The kids run their own routines." [calendar / meals / who's home] "Calendar, dinner, who's home — one glance." [text overlay] "Free to set up. Your data stays yours. Family Wall → link in bio."

Comment / DM template (when someone asks "what do you use?")

We use Family Wall — it's a shared family screen you run on an old tablet (routines, calendar, chores, who's home). Free to set up. Full disclosure, I'm the maker, so grain of salt, but happy to help you set it up: hivejournal.com/family-wall?utm_source=reddit

Honesty guardrails (non-negotiable)

• Always disclose you're the maker. Every template above does. Undisclosed self-promo is the fastest way to get banned and it violates the brand.
• Value first, link last. Lead with the real thing (how you solved family chaos), not the pitch.
• Respect each community's rules — read the self-promo policy before posting; when in doubt, contribute in comments instead of dropping a link.
• No astroturfing, no fake accounts, no invented reviews or numbers. One honest voice, not a fake crowd.
• Never post a real family's wall. All links go to the marketing page — a wall holds minors' routines and is private. (The in-product referral enforces this too.)

How to read whether it's working

After posting, watch Family Wall's demand dot on /dashboard/admin/ops.

• demand stays grey until ~25 external arrivals in 30d — early single visits won't flip it, and that's correct.
• The number under it (N new/30d) moves per channel — that's the honest read on which post pulled.
• Only once demand → converts → retains go green organically does a paid test (and the raise question) make sense. See [[project_fundraising_stance]]. Don't buy traffic before one channel converts for free.

Prereq for the dot to move: migration 620 applied + the pending backend redeploy (so the traction endpoint is live).