On today’s episode, James and Phoebe look at launching. When introducing a new product or service, do you really have to “go big”, or can it really be done with minimal stress and effort?
You might feel stuck because you don’t have a support team in place and launching something live adds a certain level of pressure, but if you set the right intention from the start, an “effortless launch” can happen for you.
James’ team had a successful promotion last summer using only emails to sell a $49/month membership product. This generated about $40,000 in revenue, so it was not only effortless, but also lucrative.
He notes that big launches aren’t sustainable or something that can be done every month, or every quarter, as that would lead to a certain level of burnout.
First step, you need to define what a launch means to you. What ingredients, or pieces go into a launch? Giving your customers a free experience with value, content and information will set the stage and create the desire. When doing this you need to identify that problem and address what the possible solution is. Once the offer is presented and objections are addressed, a deadline has to be set. By offering the right offer to the right audience, you are giving them the opportunity, or reason, to take action now!
Most people online are sharing their top-level sales numbers, which often leads to comparison. It’s easy to fall into this trap, but are we really comparing the same things? It’s important to know all of your numbers when launching, including such items as refunds, affiliate payouts, advertising costs and more. Knowing how to minimize your costs will make your next launch more efficient and improve your bottom-line.
Launches can take a lot of time to manage and then build rapport with your community after the promotion, which is why Phoebe says you need to consider the opportunity cost of everything involved.
Give yourself permission to do less! It’s easy to keep adding more elements to your launch, but what is the minimal amount of components needed to generate the desired results? This known as the “MVP”, or minimal viable product/promotion).
At the end of the day, the offer is 99% of it. Marketers may have a great product, but they can struggle with communicating how it will solve the problem for someone.
There are three P’s to an offer: the promise, price and the process. The promise is the transformation, results or way out of the problem they are experiencing. Price is the actual cost of the offer, and the process is how you are fulfilling your promise and delivering (via online courses with modules, bonuses, video training, resources, etc.).
James feels that if you actually listen to what your people want, putting together an offer becomes really easy. A great offer isn’t just great because the customer gets what he or she wants, but because you’ve communicated it effectively to the person. This is why knowing your audience is so crucial!
One of his highest converting launches had no sales page and people were directed to a checkout page with no sales script, after having been directed there from a webinar. He likes to use this classic framework, of “here’s what I’ve got, here’s what I’ll do for you and here’s how you get it.”
An important component to add to this is irresistible urgency by setting a deadline. However, you don’t want to cheapen your brand by discounting your offer. Instead, add to the offer by stacking it with content and items that make it unbelievable to those that are buying it.
All ready to launch your product? Consider what’s the least amount of work and elements needed to still see maximum results – and give your audience the reason to take action now!
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