It happened again.
So I just have to speak up.
For the past few years, I’ve watched super-talented, well-meaning entrepreneurs get seduced by the idea of doing a great big launch. An all-out, balls-to-the-wall launch involving joint venture partners, a series of pre-launch freebies, social media blitzes and a huge commitment of time, money, stamina and handfuls of anti-anxiety medication.
What’s the allure of doing these big daddy launches?
The potential to make a year’s worth of income in 2-3 weeks while skyrocketing your visibility, credibility and clout throughout the online world.
It’s a pretty enticing prospect, right?
Lots of attention. Lots of promotion. Lots of 3rd party endorsements. Lots of new subscribers. And (hopefully) a big pot of gold at the end of it all.
But damn it! That’s not what happens for most entrepreneurs.
The truth is you can pour a ton of time, money, good intentions, expertise and positive thinking into a big launch and not make a dime. In fact, you can dig yourself into a big hole of debt.
But no one ever tells you that.
Especially those high profile experts with a how-to-launch program to sell you.
I’ve seen it happen too many times now. Entrepreneurs with incredibly valuable offers, great sales copy, impressive pre-launch freebies and a deep commitment to their clients will faithfully follow all the successful launch guidelines only to end up with zero sales. And a whole lot of heartache.
Just this past month, it happened again.
A client of mine launched a product that, in my opinion, was one of the most exciting, game-changing products I’ve seen in years. Her sales copy was stellar. So was the swipe copy she gave to her many, highly enthusiastic joint venture partners. She aced her preview webinar and received glowing, appreciative emails from many who attended.
But no one bought her product.
Could it have been the price? Perhaps. But I thought her price was low for the value she was offering. Plus, she offered a ridiculously generous payment plan.
So what gives? Why does this keep happening?
And why is no one talking about it?
Here’s what I’ve learned by witnessing these heartbreaking launches over the years:
Don’t Do A Big Daddy Launch. Not Until…
This is the biggest mistake I see so many starry-eyed launchers make. They launch too soon. Before they’ve invested enough time and focused attention on attracting a tribe of genuinely interested fans. You’ve got to build a relationship with your online audience first and nurture that relationship until your ideal peeps know you and trust you. And hopefully like you.
One entrepreneur I know had a thriving and highly lucrative coaching practice. Her clients and colleagues loved and respected her. But when she launched her first group coaching program online, it flopped.
Why? Because she’d built a strong relationship offline with her one-on-one clients, but she hadn’t yet built an ongoing relationship with her ideal peeps online. She was hoping her joint venture partners would send people her way. And they did.
But here’s the deal.
You may get a whole slew of new people on your email list during your launch, because of your pre-launch freebies, like a report, webinar or whatever you line up as bait for your launch prospects.
But those newbies on your list? They’ve only just discovered you. They’ve only had one interaction or maybe two with you via your free whatever. They simply haven’t had enough time to get to know, trust and like you. At least, not enough to invest $1-2000 in your program or product.
Don’t launch until you’ve invested months into attracting, building and richly nourishing a tribe of perfect peeps who dig you and what you’re all about.
Get Professional Help and Feedback
Launches require a million moving parts, brilliant sales copy, an impeccably synchronized back-end and the flexibility to change course in an instant.
So…. don’t try to go it alone. Hire a team. And make sure the members of this team include:
- A launch mentor (someone who knows how to design, timeline and execute a successful, money-making launch).
- A back-end admin person, like a virtual assistant, who has experience coordinating the technical aspects of launches.
- A copywriting coach who can help you write, edit and finesse your copy so it’s convincing, compelling and completely irresistible.
- A massage therapist who can be on call and available to you at a moment’s notice.
When it comes to launch experts or mentors, I can only recommend one: Jeanna Gabellini. Launching isn’t her primary expertise. Her brilliance is helping business owners double or even triple their profits in less than a year’s time.
But Jeanna has executed a slew of 6-figure launches. And her program Happy Wealthy Launch is one of the most comprehensive, step-by-step, and inspiring programs I’ve ever experienced.
Some other experts in the area of launching are Jeff Walker and Bronwyn Martin. I haven’t had direct experience with either, but I hear they’re great at what they do.
Change Your Definition of Success
How will you know if your launch is a raging success or not?
By the amount of money you make? The number of programs or products you sell?
If so, you’re limiting your possibilities and ignoring some of the bigger benefits of launching.
For instance, you may make zero income on your launch. But you may get another 1500 people on your email list. And while these new prospects may not buy right now, they could, after getting to know you, fall madly in love with you and buy everything you have to offer.
You could also build incredibly strong relationships of respect, admiration and support with your joint venture partners during your launch. And in turn, make oodles of additional income when you support their launches.
Plus, you could make money in other ways you didn’t expect.
A client of mine recently finished a big launch. When I asked her how it went, she told me about the things that went wrong. Technical difficulties during her free webinar. Wrong links sent out.
She also sounded disappointed in the number of sales she made.
But then, she told me how many people had signed up for her free offer. How many had emailed her to tell her how much they loved her content. She’d also broken the mold when it came to enlisting the support of her JV partners by eliminating the competitive aspect of leaderboards that so many entrepreneurs have been taught to use. Instead, she created a mutually supportive, “we’re all in this together” environment that her joint venture partners loved.
Plus, during her launch she upgraded the effectiveness of her sales copy, refined her overall message, created a ton of good will, and raised her visibility and her credibility as THE expert in her field.
Oh, and even though she didn’t make her sales objectives for the program she launched, she signed up 2 new clients to her high-end coaching program.
Now… that sounds like a huge success to me!
If you can define the success of your launch by something other than sales made, you’ll have more fun and won’t be heartbroken, disappointed and feeling like a big fat failure just because you didn’t make 6-figures in 2 weeks time.
One more critical thing…
If you do a big launch, be sure to promise yourself that you’ll do another one with the same product or service within a year’s time. No matter what the results.
Promise me you won’t devote months and months of your time and millions of gallons of your life blood into planning and promoting a big launch and then, when it doesn’t fulfill your wildest dreams, disappear from the scene, go underground and swear you’ll never do that again.
That would be a huge mistake.
Because you’ll be throwing away all the money-making momentum, good will, visibility and name recognition you built all through your launch. Along with that huge surge of interest, curiosity and appreciation you stirred up within your growing tribe.
Instead, start engaging with your tribe. Become even more visible and consistent on social media. Create fun freebies to give away. And start planning your next launch. Of the same product or program.
Remember… just because people didn’t buy this time doesn’t mean they won’t buy next time. Sometimes, your new prospects just need more time. To get to know you. To see if you’ll stick around, be consistent and not abandon them.
It’s like running for mayor.
The first time you run, you rarely win. Mostly because people haven’t seen your name enough to feel like they can trust you. But if you run again, the very next term, your chances of winning skyrocket. Because now you not only have name recognition, they know you’re in it for the long haul. You’re not a fly-by-night candidate. You actually give a damn.
So, in summary, I’m not advising you to avoid big daddy launches. Only to venture forth with your eyes wide open and your expectations in check. You may make a bundle of money. You may not.
But if you expand your definition of success to include all the wonderful side benefits of launching, and you celebrate both your big and little wins along the way, your launch won’t be a disheartening, debt-ridden liability. It will be a springboard to more success, clients and cash.