Ah, procrastination. My favorite way to get things done.
Just kidding, but it is a natural human reaction when we have work to do, especially work that can feel a little scary or overwhelming, like an offer launch. But as we all know, procrastinating can usually come back to bite you on the ass.
If you leave all of the launch details until the last minute, you’re going to be scrambling. That’s going to affect how successful your launch is — I’m talking complete chaos on launch day. Everything-is-on-fire-and-nobody-has-purchased-yet level of chaos. So, if you want to avoid the last-minute launch scramble and get ahead of your usual procrastination tendencies, I’m here to help. Let’s talk about how to plan your offer launch to avoid the chaos.
Plan ahead
Plan your launch at least two to three months in advance. That might seem WAY too early, but it’s not. You’re going to need that time, so mark it off in the calendar and add in webinars, IGTVs, live chat times, everything. Anything you need to do for your launch goes in the calendar — and stays there.
For good measure, block off the whole week of your launch. No work, no trips to the dentist, no family in town. Just focus on your launch. (If you have extra time, sure, you can squeeze in that client project or a trip to the grocery store, but this launch takes priority!)
Build your email list
Get to work building your email list as soon as you start planning your launch. Offer a freebie, share tips, tricks, and juicy tidbits on your newsletter and email lists. You want to get as many people added to your list as you can BEFORE you launch. If you don’t already have an opt-in, make sure you’re creating one that lends well to the new offer you’re launching in the coming months. I’ll talk later about the problem with getting people in the door with a crappy opt-in, but the gist is this: People want to get value from you before they buy. Don’t provide them with something that doesn’t align with your paid offer!
Don’t just “spring” your launch on people
Make sure your offer is ready to go before your launch starts. If you need some help finding the time to get it ready, check out my previous blog full of great tidbits for scheduling your creation time.
Of course, it’s not just creating your offer; you need to test it and get feedback as well!
Beta testing
Don’t forget to leave time for beta testing. If you have a course or other product that someone can consume, give them free access in return for their feedback. If your offer isn’t easily consumed, you can reach out to your ideal customers, loyal fans, or even your clients and ask for their honest feedback on your product. It will be worth your time to troubleshoot any issues before you launch.
Show behind-the-scenes progress
Like I said, don’t just spring your launch on folks. Instead, invite your followers behind the scenes. Everyone loves a look behind the curtain. Sharing your creation process as you develop your offer with your followers will drum up interest before your launch — even provide some great feedback you hadn’t considered!
Get people talking about your offer
At least TWO weeks before your launch, you’re going to want to start laying down the runway that leads to your launch. Get your followers thinking about what you’re offering, why it matters, and why they want to buy from or learn from you. Then, entice your audience with sneak peeks as you prepare to drum up even more excitement.
Get ready for the final countdown
This is where most launches go off the rails. You assume you have until the very last day before your launch to create everything — but you really don’t. At least a week before launch, you should really be making sure EVERYTHING is ready to go. I’m talking graphics, video scripts, webinar slides, emails, automations – whatever you need to make your launch a success. So before that cart opens, the whole kit and caboodle should be ready to go.
Don’t put so much pressure on yourself
Launches are always a bit chaotic because they’re happening in real-time with actual results.
Instead of panicking if your sales numbers are a bit flat right out of the gate, slow down. Look at the data, and tweak where you need to.
How are your email open rates? Play around with your subject lines. Nobody converting on your sales page? Tweak the copy. Dealing with payment issues? Get that fixed ASAP.
Since you planned your launch ahead of time (pat yourself on the back), you have the extra time to fix any potential problems that pop up before they become disasters. Most of all, don’t freak out. Remember, the best day of sales is typically the LAST DAY, if not the last HOUR. Stay the course!
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Look, we all procrastinate. But launches are not something that can wait until the last minute. If you want help and someone to hold you accountable, plus awesome resources and support, I’m your gal. Make sure you get on my newsletter list because I've got something secret coming down the pipeline for my list soon!