You’ve figured out what you’re going to sell and now it’s time to launch it. Here are 16 winning product launch strategies that will get you off to a flying start by creating excitement, urgency, and engagement.
1. Nail your target audience
Before you launch anything – a new offer, your website, a new social media channel, a book, an event – make sure you nail who your target audience is. You should have a good idea of who your perfect customer is already. But your launch needs to be even more specific. Who do you really want to be buying this offer?
2. Set a budget for your product launch
How much money do you want to spend on your launch? Set your budget. This could be zero. There are a lot of things you can do without investing cash. But you might have an ad budget or decide to employ a VA to work on your launch for you. Figure out your budget and stick to it.
3. Have a marketing plan
Once you know your audience and your budget you need to decide on your marketing plan. What activities are you going to undertake, or ask someone to set up for you, to launch your new offer? One of the things you need to decide is how long your launch is going to be. I recommend 10 days. Take a look at my marketing checklist for a rundown of all the ways you can create a buzz around your launch.
4. Have a pre-launch
Your launch doesn’t start with your launch. You have a period before that: the pre-launch. This is where you’re building up anticipation among your audience, letting them know that something exciting is coming their way and they need to look out for it. For me, this is usually a month long but you might start earlier than that. If you’re writing a book, for example, you can start telling people about it early on and encourage them to follow your progress. This builds a buzz and gives you a waitlist of people who are already interested in your offer before you open the doors.
5. Set a launch date and stick to it
You need to set a launch date for when your offer goes on sale and stick to it. If you say you are going to have a course ready or a book out on October 1 then make sure you do. Don’t tell people they need to wait another couple of days because it will hurt sales and your reputation.
6. Make it an event
Whatever it is that you’re launching is an event and therefore should be treated like an event. You need to tell everyone about it. No-one else is going to do it for you, even if they say they will. Get out there! This is big. You’ve worked hard on it. It’s going to help your clients. Treat your launch like the event it truly is.
Whatever it is that you’re launching is an event and therefore should be treated like an event. You need to tell everyone about it. You’ve worked hard on it. Treat your launch like the event it truly is. #Youpreneur Click To Tweet
7. Market like a magnet
I say this a lot and it is vital to remember it when you’re launching. Your offer is not for everyone. It’s for the people you have chosen to serve. Market like a magnet. Attract the best and repel the rest.
8. Create a launch bundle
Everyone loves a good deal, right? Think about how you could offer even more value by packaging some goodies up to create a launch bundle. Perhaps you could offer buyers a copy of your book or a bonus course. Think about how you can persuade people to make the decision to buy during your launch with time-limited offers.
9. Have a mid-launch bonus
You will experience a lull in sales mid-way through your launch. With a 10 day launch this is usually around day 5 to 7. Add an extra bonus for people who buy within that 48 hours to keep sales up. This could be an additional course, a physical product or even access to an event. You need to give people who have already bought access to your mid-launch bonus too.
10. Use testimonials
Give a select number of people early access to what you are doing and ask them for a testimonial. You want to be collecting blurbs about how great your new product or service is to use during your launch. This gives your customers social proof from people who have already seen what you’re offering. Use them on your website and social media to give people confidence to buy from you.
11. Have multiple price points
As part of your launch strategy develop multiple price points. You want an early bird price for people who get in right at the start. Then at a set time the price moves up a level. Why? Because people who missed out on the early bird price will definitely not want to miss out when you raise the price again. And you will put it up again to the full price.
12. Close the doors
This isn’t for everyone but if it suits your launch then set a day when you will close the doors and people will not be able to buy any more. Giving people a deadline makes them take action. If you choose to do this, you must stick to the date and time you say you will stop taking orders. Don’t be tempted by the people who email the next day and say they wanted to buy but they were away that weekend or whatever. They will know next time that when you say the cart is closing, they need to buy.
I don’t close the doors any more. I run promotions during my launch which then come to an end. You can still buy but those deals are gone.
13. Have a limited number available
Like closing the cart, another way to create scarcity is having a limited number of products available. It could be a limited-edition production run, or a set number of tickets, or only so many places on your coaching program. Again, this won’t be for everyone, but it works for persuading people to hand over their cash to make sure they get their hands on what you’re offering.
14. Live video
I love live video. It’s a great way to talk directly with your audience. And you should be all over it for your launch. When we were getting ready to open the doors on the Youpreneur Academy I did the pre-launch on Periscope. You can use it in all sorts of ways. One of the things I did was a live tour. Talk about what people will get from what you’re selling. Let people have a look at it. Press that live button!
15. Host a webinar
Webinars are a useful way to give value to your audience and offer a taste of what they can learn from you. Host a webinar as part of your launch strategy and deep dive into a topic. It’s another way to talk directly with your audience and get them excited about what you’re offering.
16. Go all out in the last 24 hours
Invest more time and effort in the last 24 hours of your launch than the first 24 hours. This is it. The launch is ending. You need to hammer home to people that they need to buy now. Go live again, make sure you’re all over social using testimonials from people who have already bought, and email your list to let them know there are just a few more hours to go.
Use these strategies to create a launch event which reflects you and markets like a magnet to attract the people you want to serve.
Chris founded Youpreneur® in 2015. He is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker and author of the bestselling books “Virtual Freedom” and “Rise of the Youpreneur”. He hosts our weekly podcast, Youpreneur.FM, as well as our annual conference, the Youpreneur Summit. Chris is based in Cambridge, UK.
