I’ve never been a fan of looking back on what has been.
I’m always more interested in what’s coming up next.
Which is why I’ll never write a memoir. Why waste this delicious present moment focusing on what happened in the past?
But… I’ll admit. There are times when a dose of 20-20 hindsight can inform the present and lay down a smoother road for the future.
Which is why I’m writing to you today.
Last month, I launched my core copywriting course, Crack the Copy Code. This launch was hands-down the easiest, most rewarding, and successful launch I’ve ever done. And I’m pretty sure I know why.
It boiled down to 3 Commandments I made for myself before I began planning or taking any kind of action.
So today, I’m consciously and purposefully looking backwards to review the wins and misses of my launch so I can learn, take note, and, of course, pass on my hard-won wisdom to you.
At some point, I’ll share more of the strategic things I learned. Like… the surprising gifts of hosting a Challenge. And what not to forget when hosting a webinar. Or how to prepare for snafus and technology glitches.
But today, I want to share the 3 Commandments because I know they turned this particular launch into one of the most rewarding, exciting, expansive things I’ve ever done in my business.
Commandment #1: Thou shalt set your own boundaries.
Last year, I launched this same coursen (Crack the Copy Code), and it damned near killed me.
No lie. It took me 6 weeks to recover. Physically, psychically and emotionally.
But… it was all my fault. I set myself up for overwhelm and pressure. And I didn’t set my own boundaries around what I would and wouldn’t do.
This year, once I decided, yes, I was going to launch the program again, I declared a clear, no-going-back, stake in the sand boundary (or Commandment) for myself: I would not, in any way, allow myself to become stressed, pushed or pressured by this launch in any way.
I realize this is a negatively-stated boundary and as such may not be deemed ideal. But it worked for me.
I knew what it was like to be undone by a launch, and I was entirely unwilling to let myself to be a victim to that nonsense again.
At times when I started to feel anxious or frayed around the edges (like when my opt-in page was signing people up for the wrong email list so everyone was receiving the wrong email responders), or my heart would race at night as I thought about all that needed to be done the next day, I would just say, “Nope. Not going there.”
And it worked. It worked because I was totally willing to let things go undone or be less than perfect in order to stay present, in the flow, and feeling good.
Oddly enough, very little went undone. And unexpected crises were handled easily and quickly. In fact, during the week of cart open to cart close (the week that nearly killed me last year), I had very little to do. So little to do that I created something to do: a spur-of-the-moment Copy Coaching Partay that resulted in two additional sign ups. Sweet!
Commandment #2: Thou Shalt Dedicate Your Launch to a Higher Purpose
I’ve come to my own very personal conclusion that anything that’s not inspired by, aligned with, or expressive of Love has no value and isn’t worth my time or creative attention.
So, when I decided to do my launch, I knew I had to make it all about Love. Meaning… I wanted every action, every decision, every word of copy, every interaction to be inspired by, aligned with and expressive of Love.
Now, I’m talking about Big Love here. Divine Love. The Love that connects us all.
More than any quest to reach x-number of people or make x-number of sales, this personal, spiritual quest was my priority and higher purpose throughout my launch.
This Commandment raised the bar for me. And slowed me down. Because instead of relying on tried-and-true strategies and reliable-but-worn-out rules of launching, I had to stop and ask myself if I was being led by Love or by what I’d been taught. Or what I’d done in the past.
I’d be writing a piece of copy (and oh… there were so many of them!) and I’d check in with myself… “Am I letting Love guide my writing right now? Or am I simply falling back on all the copywriting techniques I’ve practiced for years? Is what I’m writing a true and honest expression? Do I really mean what I’m saying here? Or am I just churning out a message that’s creative, clever, and well-crafted but not fully aligned with the Love I know and feel?”
While my quest may have slowed down my creative process and demanded more deliberate and conscious thought, it gave every aspect of my launch a richer meaning and deeper level of satisfaction. Every action, every email, every interaction, every to-do flowed easily on this wave of Love, a wave that energized and excited me. By dedicating my launch in this way, the process, not the results, became my biggest reward.
Commandment #3: Thou Shalt Define Success By Something Other Than Money
Some of the enticements of doing a full-blown launch are expanding your reach, building a bigger audience, and making a sweet chunk of money in a short period of time.
Yum! Those were certainly some of the reasons I chose to launch as well.
But I discovered an even greater source of income and reward than the thrill of attracting a bigger audience, growing my list, and making some money; it was the joy and fathomless sense of fulfilled purpose I felt as I witnessed people transform their experience from “I can’t” to “I can!” From “I don’t get it” to “I get it!” From “This sucks!” to “This is fun!”
I got to witness this transformation mostly during my free 5-day Challenge, “Stop Stalling & Start Writing.” I’d never offered this Challenge before, so I had no idea how it would go over with people. All I knew is I felt called to create it.
I’m so glad I did. Because by Day 3 of the Challenge, people were having all kinds of breakthroughs. They were amazed by what they were discovering as well as how easy it could be to access the words they needed to write client-connecting copy. They were so into it!
I have to say, the biggest ROI of my launch was the profound joy and soul-deep satisfaction I felt as I got to engage with people who were so excited by what they were discovering. In a matter of days, they moved out of resistance, doubt and fear when it came to writing copy and moved into the fun of using words to connecting with their ideal clients with their words.
This is what I loved most about my launch. The real and lasting payoff had nothing to do with money and had everything to do with what I experienced and discovered along the way.
Oh, and yeah, sure. I made a sweet chunkette of money as well!
If you’re getting ready to launch your own program or product, or if you’re just starting to think about it, know this: you get to do it in a way that serves both you and your audience. It does not have to be (and indeed, really shouldn’t be) a big, narley self-punishing drag.
Set your own boundaries. Make your own rules (or Commandments)… ones that allow you the most pleasure, ease and reward while launching.
Feel free to borrow my Commandments, or use them as a jumping off point to create your own.
At some point, I can’t say when, I hope to share with you more of the strategic nuts and bolts of what I learned during this launch… my mistakes and some genius moves I didn’t even realize I was making. Until then…
I invite you to think about how you can design and orchestrate your own launch so it feels good, evolves effortlessly, and feeds every aspect of your being.