feat(skills): add marketing skills collection

shared/skills/onboarding/references/activation-models.md

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+# Activation Models
+
+The activation model is *how* you let a user experience value before they pay. It shapes signup volume, conversion, and the entire onboarding path. Pick the model before you design the flow.
+
+## The 5 activation models
+
+### 1. Freemium
+A free tier that never expires, with paid tiers for more capacity or features.
+
+- Best when: the free tier delivers real value *and* naturally hits limits that motivate upgrading.
+- Risk: give away too much and users never need to pay (see Evernote below).
+
+### 2. Free trial
+Full (or near-full) access for a fixed window: **3, 7, 14, or 30 days**.
+
+- Shorter trials create urgency and force faster time-to-value; longer trials suit complex products with longer setup.
+- **Credit-card requirement is the key lever**: requiring a card up front **cuts signups by 50–70%**, but the users who do sign up **convert 2–3× better**. Fewer, higher-intent leads vs. more, lower-intent leads — choose based on your funnel goals.
+
+### 3. Paid trial
+A low-cost paid entry, typically **$7–10 for 7 days**.
+
+- Filters out tire-kickers while lowering the barrier vs. full price.
+- Signals seriousness on both sides and pre-collects payment details.
+
+### 4. Money-back guarantee
+Charge full price up front, with a no-questions refund window.
+
+- Removes purchase risk without giving anything away for free.
+- Works when the product delivers value quickly enough to beat the refund window.
+
+### 5. Consultation / white-glove
+A human conversation (demo, call, or hands-on setup) gates access — the **Superhuman** model.
+
+- Best for high-touch, high-price, or complex products where a human ensures the user reaches value.
+- Doesn't scale cheaply, but converts and retains well when done right.
+
+## Model-Market Fit
+
+**Model-Market Fit (Brian Balfour): "your market dictates your model."**
+
+You don't get to freely choose your activation model — your market chooses it for you. Price point, buyer sophistication, sales complexity, time-to-value, and competitor norms all constrain what will work. A self-serve $20/mo tool and a $50k enterprise platform cannot use the same model. Match the model to the market before optimizing the onboarding inside it.
+
+## The Evernote vs. Notion parable
+
+Two lessons on how much to give away:
+
+- **Evernote — gave away too much free.** The free tier was generous enough that most users never needed to upgrade. Free was a destination, not a doorway. Growth without matching monetization.
+- **Notion — hook, then limit.** Let users experience real value, then hit meaningful limits (blocks, members, features) that create a natural, well-timed reason to pay.
+
+The principle: **the free experience should hook, not satisfy.** Give enough value to prove the product and build the habit — but structure the limits so that continued value requires upgrading.
+
+## Choosing
+
+1. Start from your market (Model-Market Fit), not your preference.
+2. Decide the card-vs-no-card tradeoff explicitly: volume of leads vs. quality of leads.
+3. Design the free/trial experience to hook and then limit — never to fully satisfy.
+4. Whatever the model, the onboarding inside it still needs the shortest possible path to value (see [minimum-path-to-value.md](minimum-path-to-value.md)).