Odessa — organic launch kit (copy-paste ready)

Phase 1 of ODESSA_AUDIOBOOK_GTM.md: post the creative organically, A/B the three headlines for free, and let the funnel data accrue toward the Phase-2 paid go/no-go. Every link is UTM-tagged so the odessa_landing_view funnel we shipped attributes each post.

Voice: pull from ETHOS.md — fiction as evolution, not entertainment. No consumption metaphors. The promo cuts live in apps/frontend/public/promo/ (build-promo.mjs).

UTM convention (use these exact links)

https://hivejournal.com/odessa?utm_source={CHANNEL}&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=odessa_launch_2026_06&utm_content={CREATIVE}

• {CHANNEL}: instagram · tiktok · x · linkedin · reddit · email · in_app
• {CREATIVE}: becomes (#1) · someone (#2) · hear (#3) · shown (manifesto) · amy_sample
• (Confirm the production domain for /odessa before posting.)

The A/B: post the three headline cuts as separate posts with different utm_content. Watch landing→signup by utm_content in PostHog / the ad-efficiency dashboard. The winner becomes the paid creative in Phase 3.

Instagram — feed (asset: becomes-square 1:1)

Your life is too close to see. So we made it something you can read from the outside.

Odessa turns the journal you've already kept into a story with its own world and characters — then Graphene gives it a voice you can press play on.

The life you wrote down becomes the story you press play on. 🎧 Link in bio.

#journaling #journal #audiobook #writing #storytelling #selfreflection #amwriting #mentalwellbeing

Instagram Reels / TikTok (asset: shown-story 9:16 + the demo video below)

I turned my journal into an audiobook.

Odessa reads what you've already written, finds the pattern underneath, and tells it back to you as fiction — different names, a world of its own. Then it becomes a real audiobook you can press play on.

We didn't build this to entertain you. We built it to show you something. ✨

#journaling #audiobook #AI #storytelling #journaltok #writing #selfgrowth

X / Twitter (asset: becomes-og 1.91:1)

Your journal is already a story. Now you can hear it.

Odessa turns what you've written into fiction — then into an audiobook you can press play on.

hivejournal.com/odessa?utm_source=x&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=odessa_launch_2026_06&utm_content=becomes

LinkedIn (asset: shown-og, founder voice)

For most of a century we asked stories to distract us, and we forgot they were ever load-bearing — that the oldest ones were built to carry a person across a threshold, not around it.

We built Odessa on the opposite premise: that fiction is one of the most effective tools we have for actually seeing — and changing — our own lives. It turns your journal into a personalized story, then an audiobook. Your life is the inspiration; the fiction is what you share.

We didn't rise from the ashes by being entertained. We rose by being shown.

hivejournal.com/odessa?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=odessa_launch_2026_06&utm_content=shown

Reddit — r/Journaling (value-first; link in a comment, not the title)

Reddit punishes ads. Post as a genuine maker asking for honest feedback.

Title: I built a tool that turns your journal entries into a personalized fiction story — and I'm not sure if it's brilliant or strange

I've always found my own life hard to see clearly from the inside. The idea: take what you've journaled and retell it as fiction — different names, a world of its own — so you can look at it from the outside. It can even become an audiobook. Someone close to me made one from her journals and genuinely loved hearing her own life told slant.

I'd really value this community's honest read — does this resonate, or does turning a journal into fiction feel wrong to you? (Happy to share a link if folks want it.)

(Drop the UTM link — utm_source=reddit — in a comment when asked, per subreddit rules.)

The demo video (the single highest-converting asset — make this first)

A 25–30s screen recording. This is the aha in motion.

Cut it 9:16 for Reels/TikTok/Shorts; a 1:1 crop for the feed.

Owned surfaces (free, high-intent — do these first)

Email to existing journalers

Subject: Your journal is already a story — now you can hear it

You've been writing. Odessa can turn what you've written into a personalized story — its own world, its own characters — and then into an audiobook you can press play on. Someone made one from her journals recently and loved it. [ Hear how it sounds → ] (link, utm_source=email)

Import-success screen

The /dashboard/import success card already says "See your story with Odessa →". Add the audiobook hook: "…and hear it as an audiobook." (Small code change — ask and I'll wire it.)

In-app banner

For users with entries but no Odessa story yet: "Your journal is already a story. Hear it → /odessa".

The Amy angle (strongest post — consent-gated)

"Someone turned her real journal into an audiobook and loved it" is the most powerful organic post available — it's proof, not pitch. But only run it attributed with her explicit OK (it cuts against the ethos's "no real names"). Un-attributed default: feature the audiobook ("a real story, made from a journal — press play") and link to the /odessa sample. Decide with her before naming her.

Sequencing (first 2 weeks)

1. Make the demo video (it carries every channel).
2. Owned first — email + import-screen hook (highest intent, free).
3. Organic A/B — post all three headline cuts across IG/TikTok/X over a few days, distinct utm_content.
4. Read the funnel by utm_content; the winner is your eventual paid creative.
5. Still no paid spend — that waits for Phase 2's CAC ceiling.

Homepage hero key-art — Midjourney prompts

Goal: an Odessa home-page background that reads as a sibling of the Emberkiln hero (apps/frontend/public/emberkiln-hero-bg.webp, used center / cover on /emberkiln). Same painterly, cold-with-one-warm-glow DNA; only the transformation metaphor changes — Emberkiln is a kiln (change through fire), Odessa is story → becoming (the version of yourself you didn't know was available, and walking toward it).

Shared style spine (keep identical across variants so they render as siblings):

painterly digital concept art, expressive visible brushwork, cinematic, atmospheric mist and smoke, deep teal and slate-blue near-black palette anchored on #0c1d22, a single warm amber-gold glow as the only light source, lone solitary silhouetted figure, moody, vast scale, water reflections

Variants (each is a full copy-paste prompt):

1. The lit threshold (closest sibling — kiln-mouth → doorway)

   A lone silhouetted figure standing at the edge of a dark ruined shore, facing a tall glowing doorway of warm amber light set into a vast ancient structure rising from still black water, the light spilling across the water toward them, painterly digital concept art, expressive brushwork, deep teal and slate-blue near-black palette anchored on #0c1d22, single warm amber-gold glow as the only light source, atmospheric mist and smoke, cinematic, contemplative, vast scale --ar 16:9 --style raw --v 7

2. The luminous path

   A lone silhouetted figure on a dark winding road at night, a single warm amber-lit path of light unspooling ahead toward a distant glowing horizon, cold teal fog on either side, painterly digital concept art, expressive brushwork, deep slate-blue near-black palette anchored on #0c1d22, one warm gold glow as the only light source, mist, cinematic, moody, vast open space --ar 16:9 --style raw --v 7

3. The other self across the water (Odessa = port city; mirrors Emberkiln's water + structure comp)

   A lone silhouetted figure standing at a dark harbor's edge, looking across still black water toward a distant city glowing with warm amber light, mist rolling over the water, faint reflections, painterly digital concept art, expressive brushwork, cold deep teal and slate-blue near-black palette anchored on #0c1d22, single warm gold glow as the only light source, cinematic, contemplative, vast atmospheric scale --ar 16:9 --style raw --v 7

4. The story that lights the way (the book as the ember)

   A lone silhouetted figure seated in a vast dark space, an open book in their hands radiating warm amber light that pushes back the cold teal shadows around them, drifting embers of light rising like pages, painterly digital concept art, expressive brushwork, deep slate-blue near-black palette anchored on #0c1d22, single warm gold glow as the only light source, mist, cinematic, intimate yet vast --ar 16:9 --style raw --v 7

5. The reflection of who you're becoming

   A lone silhouetted figure standing before a still dark pool, their reflection in the water glowing with warm amber light — a luminous truer version of themselves — cold teal mist all around, painterly digital concept art, expressive brushwork, deep near-black palette anchored on #0c1d22, single warm gold glow as the only light source, cinematic, contemplative, dreamlike, vast scale --ar 16:9 --style raw --v 7

Practical notes:

• Aspect ratio: --ar 16:9 suits a wide hero background (Emberkiln's is 1:1 used center / cover). Use --ar 1:1 to match Emberkiln exactly, --ar 21:9 for an ultra-wide banner.
• Text-safe space: headlines overlay the image, so favor variants where the figure/glow sits to one side (1, 3, 5). Add , large area of empty dark negative space on the left side to reserve room for the H1.
• Skip in-image text: Emberkiln got "EMBERKILN" legible on the laptop screen by luck — MJ butchers text. Overlay real type in code instead of prompting the word.
• Consistency lever: once one render lands, prepend its image URL as a style reference (--sref <url> on v7) to pull the next renders toward the same look.
• Save target: export the winner as apps/frontend/public/odessa-hero-bg.webp and wire it the same way Emberkiln does (background: '#0c1d22 url(/odessa-hero-bg.webp) center / cover no-repeat').