I was asked recently to spill the beans on the workflow I use to get ready for the online launch of my various digital products and services.
To be honest, if you asked me this question about 4 years ago, I would have said: “Just launch it, will ya!” That’s what I did in the past and I failed each time.
Then I figured out my mistake. I was going all-in on the launch, the actual announcement of the big day, while completely ignoring the runway that led to a successful campaign.
In the online world, a pre-launch is the period of time you can use the time to build anticipation, and overcome objections.
You should use it to plan an amazing content strategy that takes all your potential customers from a position of curiosity to interest to purchase.
I want you to learn from my mistakes and how I went from making zero sales to selling significantly well with my social media bundles. But I also need you to cling to my next idea like a green mango to a tree.
A few tips to get started with your online lauch
There is no silver bullet to launch. Your business model and tactics may be different from mine and so you may have to adjust some of the tips I dole out here.
Still, some principles are universal: like creating the scarcity model, or building content around your launch two-three months in advance and including video, etc.
I’m sharing these tips with you because I want you to save time and money. Shoot, I actually don’t mean time because that is exactly what you need to invest to successfully launch.
What I’m saying is that you’ve got to be willing to put in the time and implement the strategies below that seem right for your business and see how your audience responds and then adjust to suit.
Still, there are certain fundamentals you need to be aware of. Most of these ideas have worked well for me and my students that have successfully used them.
So here’s the deal, whether this is your first launch or you know the drill and you’re a pro, all the facts I share are things you should generally be paying attention to.
Let’s take off!
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The Ultimate Content Guide To GetInto Launch Mode
Wait, let’s put on the seat belts first. I am assuming that you’re here because you’re ready to craft launch content, that you have all your other digital assets in place.
I’m talking about everything from your offer to your landing page, the checkout page, the e-mail sequence, etc. If not I’d like you to get more clarity on this sign up HERE to book your FREE clarity call with me.
The clarity call is for serious entrepreneurs and small biz owners who are a bit lost and need a one-to-one session for 20 minutes only. Paid solutions can be your next step if you are willing to take it.
Listen for a second, automated income can make a huge difference to your bottom line. Be sure to book your FREE call. Also, you will be notified when I roll out my next set of content modules.
Let’s get into the learning.
No 1| Get Into Launch Mode 2-3 Months Ahead Of Your Date
So you’ve got an irresistible offer, you’ve lined up your ads to get the traffic and you’ve got your announcement ready to go. You feel proud of where you’ve reached and you should be. Getting to this point is no easy feat.
However, I wouldn’t be a coach worth her salt if I said your mission was complete. To make sure your marketing campaign is checking off all the boxes you’ve got to go a few miles more.
It’s like seeing the coastline of a gorgeous island from an aircraft and knowing the pilot still has a few miles to go before he successfully lands.
Let me clear something up first. Your pre-launch should be about 8-12 weeks out from your launch. I know you’re thinking: “WHY?” Well, it’s because you have to use the months to do some core content work.
I want to get straight to a few facts so you can tick off as many boxes and get deep into pre-launch mode.
For A New Offer
- 12 weeks ensures that all your content is spaced out well and that you are releasing one piece of Pillar Content (podcast, weekly live videos, or a blog post) per week ahead of your launch
- Yes, can also shorten this period to 8 weeks but you’ll have to release your Pillar Content more frequently ( you can shorten your pieces to achieve this). You can definitely shorten the weeks only if you already have an interested audience.
- 12 weeks will give you more time to build up and nurture your audience if you don’t have an existing one.
For An Already Existing Offer
The content strategy below will not need to change much, because you’re a pro and have rotated through your offer many times, plus you’ve built all that great evergreen content.
The only thing you may have to do is update your blog posts and emails and of course, slot in your calls and create fresh sales-driven content to make sure you’re covered.
No 2| Use Your Pre-launch Months to Bridge the Knowledge Gaps.
I’m gonna give it to you straight. Some of your ideal customers don’t even know they need your offer.
While some will be aware of how your product or service can solve whatever challenges or pain points they face, others will be completely oblivious. Your goal, as you get into launch mode is to awaken them.
8-12 weeks out, you need to think about the knowledge gaps around your offer that your ideal customer will have. It’s a gap that you’ll need to fill before your customers can buy from you.
It’s important to close these gaps because if you don’t close them you’ll be missing out on reaching a whole heap of people who don’t know your product/ service is something that they even need or want.
Got it?
Let me give you an example. With 30 Day Social Media Jumbo Kit, I know that my ideal is a small business owner who writes content all the time as a way to market her business.
What I also know, for the most part, is that she is overwhelmed by all the details of modern marketing: reels, captions, taking the right photos, etc.
She gives up and becomes inconsistent with her online marketing.
The story templates and daily caption prompts in the Jumbo Kit were designed to help her create more engaging content and show up every day, online with ease.
So the goal in my pre-launch is to create content around that. I need to show my desired person that she has a need that my product can fulfill.
I need to create information-based posts that show her how 30 Day Social Media Jumbo Kit will help her solve her content challenges.
Listening To Objections Is Important For Your Online Launch
In this phase, I’m also considering all of her objections. The stuff that will make her hesitate, the concerns she may have that will prevent her from wanting to move from curiosity to interest to purchase.
This is an ideal time for you to story mine as you consider closing the knowledge gap your own customer may have.
One of the best pieces of advice I give my students is to go to Amazon, under a similar section area/industry/ to their own, and get really intimate with the questions/ statements people are asking/making.
Stick with those comments with the 3-4 star rating. This kind of information is GOLD because you’ll find so many different questions/objections, that you can use to close knowledge gaps during your own launch.
So think about any potential hurdles that clients may have about your methodology or what you’re selling, and craft content to suit even before you create your hardcore sales content.
This exercise takes a full day or two, depending on how you split your time. Don’t sit on it though. The ideas are boundless and become very helpful as you get into launch mode.
No 3| Know What Makes Your Product Stand Out
While crafting your offer- whatever it is you’re selling online- you need to be constantly thinking about what makes your product or service special.
As you get into launch mode remember to pull those things out and make sure you’re highlighting them often. To be honest you should not have to dive in too deep here.
As you built your offer you must have already scanned the competitive landscape and noted your unique value proposition, which is just a fancy way of saying the features, benefits, and values that made your offer stand out from the crowd.
Don’t be afraid to talk about these things in launch mode. I’m not saying to point fingers at your competitor. It’s better just to show how “other people” got their offer wrong?
You can also refer to things you have tried in the past, why they didn’t work and what you learned from the experience, and how you used the information to make your product better.
This makes you vulnerable like your audience. You’ll be sharing a common coin of communion with them because you know first-hand what they are experiencing.
It also sets you apart because you did something about it. You solved the problem. you know what they are experiencing. It also sets you apart because you did something about it. You solved the problem.
You do not want to be thinking of these things when you are in full-throttle launch mode. So you need to be grooming your audience not only about their needs but also about the specialness and uniqueness of your offer.
A great way of doing this is by hosting lives or doing behind-the-scenes stories. Both can feel very intimate and personalized.
No 4| Tie Your Expertise
Make sure you’re talking a lot about YOU. I talked before about the need to be BOLD here in this post and how people seldom buy from timid folks.
For introverts, the one tip I will share is to find the platform that you’re comfortable creating content on and where your audience is, and go all in. Like to talk? Get onto Clubhouseor do a podcast.
Do you love to work with words? Create a blog. Enjoy being in front of the camera? Do a YouTube channel.
See where I am going with this? As you position your offer, don’t forget to showcase yourself as an expert with the right kind of solution.
As you get into launch mode you need to build out a content strategy that’s doing two things 1) educating and 2) nurturing.
Talk about your WHY, your experiences, your struggles /conflict, your successes. You’re the expert, You’ve got to show up and stand out.
Oh, and don’t forget to lean into your own quirks, stories, and personality. Do you, BOO!
No. 5| Map Out The Pillar Content For Your Online Launch
Now I want you to go back to all those ideas I told you about, from No.1 to now. You’ll see you’ve noted all the content around your why, the benefits, and features, you’ve noted all the objections your customers may have.
You’re aware of the unique value your product brings to the table.
You should have about 4-5 categories. Your next step is to write them all down on paper, look at them closely and think deeply about them. Now go put 5-6 objections or information-based topics in each category.
These could be the objections that you’re likely to hear all the time or the things people will need to know about.
Narrow them down to 2-3 per category and once you group them appropriately You should have about 5-7 ideas for your Pillar Content
Once you do this your next step is to create all your Pillar content. The idea is that you’ll release one per week as you get into launch mode about 5 weeks out.
You're Almost There
This is is your X spot. You’re front-loading all your work so you don’t have to be in many different places during your launch week.
All you need to do is put the investment of your time and energy into crafting those 5-7 weeks’ worth of Pillar content that is going to get you to land your launch successfully.
This is what I love most about the process. The work is upfront leaving you to focus on selling and sales calls and your Lives.
Once you’re done, you’ll need to splinter each piece of PILLAR content into 15 pieces of short-form content that you can put on different platforms.
This is like a two-for-one sale. Create your pillar posts, stuff them with lead capture forms, drive traffic to them, and also get in the process, a bunch of social media content.
What a time saver!
I bet this all makes sense because no matter what is going on as you launch, your content is ready to go! You’ll be oozing readiness and this is going to help you breathe and enjoy your launch week.
Don’t forget to add video
Before I get on with it. I do have to say one thing about video. I know some of you don’t have the best love affair with the camera but I don’t recommend you skip video.
There’s got to be some sort of vehicle where your audience is able to hear you talk about your launch, to connect with you eye-to-eye, to hear your voice as you keep repeating day after day through launch week: “I’ve created this just for you.”
Now, I’m not telling you to create a YouTube Channel, there are so many other avenues: Live, Stories, Reels (if in your country), Toks.
In some o them you can explore a virtual launch party, a free course, a webinar, or a video series.
Don’t limit yourself because there are tons of things out there and vehicles to communicate eye-to-eye. Finally, if you can afford to work with a pro-photographer for all your social media cards, do it.
If you cant then plan out a photo list and take the photos yourself. Please no bad lighting. Please!
No 6| Put Your Ideas Down On Paper
Okay, so see why this phase of the game was important. I don’t want to scare you but can you imagine launching without all this figured out? Aghhh, you’d go crazy.
So now that you have all this content, you know you have to plan. You need an editorial calendar that will act as your map.
If you’re a Simplify member you’ve got this already figured out because your social media planners already come in your monthly content success box.
I’d recommend planning all the things your people want to hear from you, the objections that you need to overcome, etc.
Once you plan, your next step is to schedule your posts. One of my most loved apps is Planoly With it I can schedule posts, disseminate messages, discover the best time for posting, save hashtags etc.
Look, as you get into launch mode it is all about planning. I can’t talk about this enough.
A Final Word As You Get Into Launch Mode
I absolutely love launches. I’ve gotten so much better at them and it shows in my bottom line. What I hope I showed is that you can’t focus on the launch week alone.
You need to be warming up your audience weeks in advance by overcoming their objections and showing up as an expert and dropping hints about what is to come. You have to fire your audience up.
If this inspired you at all, and you’re not quite ready to go full throttle into launch but want something that can grow engagement on social media and build your brand, then my 7-Day Content Plan will help.
It’s my answer to how on earth you can figure out how to build a successful engagement strategy which is a significant step before you even begin to think of creating all these big content pieces.
I would love for you to check out the link below, it’s amazing the difference it will make.
