Fortnite Growth Lessons

---
name: fortnite-growth-lessons
description: Shared cross-project knowledge base of what actually worked or flopped in marketing/growth work (thumbnails, titles/tags, trailers, launch plans, patch-note tone, retention proposals) across every project set up with this kit — as opposed to what sounded good in theory. Read it before starting any of the 8 fortnite-* growth skills, and add to it once a real outcome (CTR/retention/reaction) is known, not at the moment of producing the asset.
---

# Fortnite growth/marketing lessons learned

Same idea as `~/.claude/skills/uefn-lessons/` but for the growth/marketing side instead of Verse
code: this file is shared across every project set up with this kit, persists across sessions and
islands, and only earns its keep if `growth-manager` and the 8 `fortnite-*` skills are disciplined
about reading it before producing a new asset and adding to it once a real outcome is known.

## Why this exists, and how it's different from just "doing the process again"

Each `fortnite-*` skill (thumbnail-pro, competitor-analyzer, etc.) already has a solid *process*
for producing an asset — but a process alone doesn't accumulate taste. Two thumbnail concepts can
both follow the "high contrast, dominant subject, 2-4 words" rules perfectly and still differ
wildly in real CTR. This file is where that gap gets closed: not "how to make a thumbnail" (the
skill's own job) but "here's a concrete case where this approach actually under/over-performed,
and why, as far as we could tell."

## When to add an entry here vs. not at all

- **Add an entry** when a real outcome is known and attributable: the owner reports back CTR/
  retention/Discover numbers after a change, a specific thumbnail/title/trailer approach got a
  clearly better or worse reaction than expected, a patch-note tone landed well or fell flat with
  the community, a launch tactic drove (or didn't drive) real traffic. Always note the actual
  signal it's based on (a number, a direct quote/reaction, a before/after comparison) — never
  file a lesson based only on "this felt like it worked."
- **Don't add an entry** for a concept/asset that was merely produced but never actually shipped
  or measured — that's not a lesson yet, it's just output. Wait for the real signal.
- If in doubt whether something belongs here vs. per-project memory (`growth-manager`'s own
  `memory: project`): here if it would change how you'd approach a DIFFERENT project's asset too;
  per-project memory if it's specific to this one map's audience/genre/history only.

## How to add an entry

One line per lesson: what was tried, what the actual measured/observed outcome was, the likely
reason if there's a plausible one — not speculative theory dressed up as a finding. Add under the
closest matching category below (add a new one if none fits). Never delete or overwrite another
entry without being sure it's wrong; if a later project seems to contradict an existing one, add a
note next to it instead of silently replacing it — genre/audience-dependent contradictions are
often the most useful entries here (e.g. "true for Horror maps, the opposite held for Tycoon").

Remove the "(example — replace)" placeholders once real entries exist; they only show the format.

## Thumbnails & CTR
- (example — replace) A thumbnail with a single dominant character face outperformed a
  multi-element "action scene" version on the same map by a wide CTR margin — the squint-test
  rule in `fortnite-thumbnail-pro` held up in this real case, not just in theory.

## Titles, descriptions & Discover tags
- (example — replace) ...

## Trailers & social hooks
- (example — replace) ...

## Launch tactics
- (example — replace) ...

## Patch notes & community tone
- (example — replace) ...

## Retention/design proposals that were actually adopted and measured
Cross-references `~/.claude/skills/discover-retention/` for validated proposal outcomes — that
skill already tracks this category specifically; don't duplicate entries here, link to it instead
if a growth decision and a retention proposal are tied to the same real outcome.