Don’t Launch Without These 5 Things

Lately I’ve been focusing a lot on launches, and for good reason. They have the potential to drive a good chunk of students into your programs, boost your email list, and bring home the bacon. 

After countless landing pages, sales pages, and launches executed, I noticed some pretty impressive patterns. A handful of distinct characteristics of both the business and the program being launched that were instrumental for a successful launch. 

Conversely, there’s a laundry list of things that can make a launch go sideways but I’ll save that for another post!

To build suspense and keep you engaged, let’s do this David Letterman style. Here are the top 5 factors I’ve witnessed that led to a profitable (and low stress) launch:

#5 Going For it

Promoting anything requires you to get out there and talk to people. Maybe you run webinars, FB lives, or host a masterclass to bring people into your program. Regardless of how you do it, being visible and available to support your audience throughout the promotion means higher engagement, more trust and rapport, and ultimately more sales. 

For us introverts who want to hit “go” on FB ads and watch the sales come in, I’m still waiting to see that work in real life. The reality is, the internet is a big place and on the other side of it is real live people who want to connect with another human. 

Think about the last online course or program you purchased. Why did you buy it? Chances are, you resonate with the person selling it and want to dive deeper into their world or see how their experience can help you. Personally, I won’t buy from anyone whose voice I haven’t heard. It’s important that I connect with their personality and overall vibe, and that just can’t happen if I don’t know what they sound like or how they speak. 

For you it might be more about their teaching style, approach, the language they use, or how they pronounce certain words. That’s why it’s a non-negotiable for you to be visible and engaged throughout the launch. 

“But what if they don’t like my voice?”, you might ask. Excellent! Now they’ll be able to decide if you’re their flavour or not. And ultimately, getting a decision one way or another is a huge step. 

#4 Following Up

Ever heard the saying, “the fortune is in the follow up”? Well, there’s a lot of truth to it. 

Following up doesn’t mean hounding your tribe with hard sales tactics. Quite the opposite, actually. What makes the follow up so magical, is that you’re answering questions they inevitably have about taking the leap into your program. These questions, when you look a little deeper, are rooted in fears. So the follow up is as much about tactfully answering questions as it is about reassuring and building confidence. 

Here’s what I mean. Even if a course is priced at $97, which is a “low cost program” by industry standards, it will still evoke fears about whether your ideal customer has what it takes to achieve the transformation you’re promising. What if they’re not as special as you are and can’t get the same results? What if they’ve just wasted $97 that could’ve been used to pay down their debt? See where I’m going here?

These fears will pop up in the form of questions around refund policy, time commitment, and defining what skills/abilities/knowledge they need to have ahead of joining your program. 

Answering these will go a long way in solidifying the know, like, and trust factors. But to do so, you’ll need...

#3 Automations & Emails Prepped

Launches can be as busy or relaxed as you allow them to be. But one thing I’ve seen countless times that will push you towards the relaxed side of the spectrum is having your automations and emails set up waaayyyy ahead of time. 

Even if you have someone like me coordinating your launch, the last thing you want to be thinking about is your email sequences. So get those done early and they’ll be ready to work for you throughout the promo. 

This success factor ultimately reflects the customer journey, or user experience, each person gets when they engage with you. And who do you think is going to have a more positive experience? Someone who follows a carefully crafted journey or someone who fumbles through random emails, without a clear path. 

I know, I know. You don’t like setting up your email sequences and doing automations is like jabbing yourself in the eye with a fork. If it’s not something you enjoy, hire it out to your launch angel who will happily take care of those things for you. Just be sure to give them plenty of time! 

And as a side note: I could’ve included having a clear launch strategy as one of the success factors, but I’ve witnessed some pretty haphazard plans go off without a hitch and have huge revenue numbers. It wasn’t so much the plan as it was the few aspects of the plan that were clear and effective. 

Which brings me to...

#2 Rock Solid Niche

You may be raising an eyebrow right about now, because duh, of course you know your niche going into a launch. 

Ohhh you’d be surprised! I’ve seen launches turn on a dime when the business owner decided they wanted to change the niche midway through. You can guess how that turned out. 

Your niche isn’t just who you’re planning to reach out to as part of the launch promotion, it’s also who you’ve attracted leading up to the launch. Having a list full of wonderful people who have 9-5 jobs will get you nowhere if you’re launch is targeted at small business owners. I don’t care how charismatic or convincing you are, it’ll be an uphill climb.

This isn’t to say your niche today will be your niche a year from now but at least focus on one distinct group for this promotion. Please, I’m begging you!

Your messaging will be so much clearer and will connect beautifully if you do. 

And finally, the #1 thing I’ve seen that led to a profitable and low stress launch is...

#1Commitment To One Idea

Entrepreneurs are insanely creative and seem to have endless ideas floating through their minds. Yes, I’m lookin at you!

It can be hard to pick the right idea for so many reasons. What if someone else has already done it? What if no one likes it? I have 3 ideas and I’m not sure if this is the winner. 

I could go on.

The short answer: pick one and see it through to the end. You’re not married to it. The idea police will not arrest you for leaving other viable ideas behind. And you’re not ditching the other ideas by choosing one; you can always choose a different one later. 

Everything starts with your idea. 

You can’t define a niche without it. There are no email sequences or putting yourself out there until you’ve got the idea. Only then can you tap into these other areas. 

I’ve watched firsthand while an entrepreneur had a $50k launch, and then decided to change directions in their business. Sometimes you need to see one idea through to the finish line to know what the next step will be but you owe it to the idea and your ideal customers to show up with integrity as you do. 

If the thought of committing to one idea makes you squeamish, you’re in good company. I’ll share some steps to help you go through that process in an upcoming post. 

Well, there you have it. There’s no silver bullet for a successful launch but in the spirit of keeping things framed in the positive, I’ve shared the top 5 factors that I’ve experienced to help you get there too. If there’s anything I’ve missed or you’d like to chat about your upcoming launch, reach out to me at [email protected] or on IG @lindsaytucker.inc