3 strategies I used for a $30,000 launch

Sep 14

Launching is a hot topic right now and and for good reason. It’s a great way to have a cash injection into your business which allows you to grow quickly and exponentially.

Having a massive launch is every business owners' dream and it can be every business owner’s reality with a few simple strategies (and some patience).

For context, this $30,000 was made during a month-long Kickstarter campaign but if I’m being honest, the work to make this a $30k launch actually started 8 month prior.

There’s a lot of hype around launching so many of us think that you do a launch for 2-weeks and make $X but the reality is this work starts well in advance.

If you are launching something, whether that’s a new business, new product or new offering, I recommend starting your launch at least 2 months before, if not 3. This is what I like to call the pre- pre-launch phase and this is essential to having a successful launch. In this phase you’re building your audience/community, building your credibility, and warming them up to whatever it is you’re launching without giving away too much about the launch.

Then you move into your pre-launch phase where you build major hype and then finally you move into your full-blown launch.

Now that you have some context and the basic launch timeframe, let’s talk about the 3 launch strategies you need to implement:

BUILD COMMUNITY/PROVIDE VALUE FIRST

This is what goes down in the pre- pre-launch phase. A minimum of 2 months before launch (if not longer), you want to put all your focus and efforts into building a strong community by providing a ton of value. You can do this by sharing tips and tricks as well as highly engaging content like graphics and quotes that align with your audience.

This helps build a connection and credibility with your target audience. That way the people in your audience already feel connected to you which exponentially increases the chances they’ll purchase from you during launch because they already trust you.

BETA TEST

Find beta testers to give your product or service a try before launch. Not only will this provide you with valuable feedback to make any improvements you need to perfect your offer but it also helps create brand ambassadors for you.

With this launch, we provided a digital version of the planner a month or so prior to the Kickstarter launch to anyone that wanted it. We were so confident in the product that we knew people would fall in love and then purchase.

Yes, we got some valuable feedback and made some tweaks prior to launch but we also had a large base (about 150 beta testers) that were all excited and primed to buy at launch too. They were also so excited about the product and that they contributed to shaping that product that when we asked them to share about the Kickstarter campaign they did which provided us momentum to not only become fully funded in 2.5 days but exceed our initial goal by 3x.

PRE-LAUNCH HYPE

And speaking of having an audience primed to purchase, you also want to warm up the rest of your audience you’ve built - whether that’s on social media, an email list, podcast, or anywhere else!

I love to drop little hints and sneak peeks and progressively show more and more to keep people engaged and invested in the process. When people get excited, they become invested. When they become invested, they want to be a part of the process. And when they want to be a part of the process, they end up purchasing… and then becoming an unofficial brand ambassador.

Ask their opinions on features
Share sneak peeks
Create a launch countdown (bonus if you want to reveal more and more each day you get closer to launch!)
Walk them through your process
Share your own excitement and gratitude for their support

Do what feels authentic to you but don’t keep it all to yourself for one big reveal. That works for the Beyonces of the world, because well, they’re Beyonce. But for small businesses, that tends to flop because you don’t quite have that Beyonce Hive yet. So get them excited by hyping up whatever it is you’re launching!

These strategies will work whether you’re a service-based business or product-based business. Just make sure you map out your strategy so it all makes sense cohesively and you start early. Building that audience and getting them excited AND invested is key here.

Need help putting together a launch plan? Let’s chat! I’d love to help.