3 Steps to Successful Launches

Have you ever launched a course, program or product and instead of it selling out you were freaking out from the lack of sales?  Guess what? We’ve all been there.

Let me tell you a little story about my launch flops.

I created an amazing program, spent months putting it together and marketed it to my then small list of 150 people. When I didn’t create a single sale I was heartbroken.

A few months later I attempted another online course launch. This time my list was bigger, I promoted it heavily and I had only 3 sales. I was devastated.

Three months later I launched a new online course. My list was 750 people. I wanted 20 people in the course – I got it!

What you may be thinking is that my list grew and that’s why my course sold but that’s only part of the story. The real truth is that I learned how to launch my products, programs and courses so that I could fill them and not fail at them.

You’d think it would be easy to fill your courses or sell your services online, but the real truth is that it will work best when you have a launch process to follow.

There are three stages to a launch. Let me take you through them to help you have a successful one:

The Planning Stage

Before you launch a program or course you need to do survey your list so you know what they are interested in learning. When you know what they want (and ask them) you can design it.

Simple ways to ask are to create surveys and send them to your mailing list as well as sharing the survey on your Facebook page or via Twitter and LinkedIn.

The best way to launch a program or course online is to do it through a Free Teleclass or Webinar. So you’ll want to create a Teleclass topic during this stage as well.

During this stage you want to start seeding your upcoming program and promote your call or webinar. Let your list know that something is coming. Tease your Facebook page that something’s on the way – create some buzz and anticipation so that your prospects start looking out for your offer.

At this point you’ll want to make a list of all the strategic partners you have and ask them to help promote your Free Teleclass or Webinar. You’ll also need to create a marketing schedule to promote this to your list via email, ezine, blog and social media.

You’ll want to pull out all the stops to get listeners registered and on the call. The more you have live the easier it will be to sell.

The Launch Stage

This stage is when you make your offer to the listeners on your Free Teleclass or Webinar. It may seem easy to do but it actually requires some practice.

Here’s where you need to deliver the content of your Teleclass and then transition listeners to the offer.

Great ways to boost sales are to offer Take Action Bonuses or give time limits to encourage sign ups and purchases.

The After Launch Stage

Most people assume that once the launch is done then there isn’t an opportunity to make more sales but nothing could be further from the truth.

In this stage you’ll want to create autoresponders to remind prospects about the offer, Take Action Bonuses and time limits. You’ll also want to let your list know, all those who didn’t sign up for the Teleclass or Webinar. You’ll also want to contact your Warm Lead list and let interested prospects know about your offer. Lastly you’ll want to let current customers know so that they may purchase too.

A lot of business owners give up marketing and selling too soon. The key to filling your programs is planning and persistence.

Have you launched a program, course or product before? Was it a flop or success? Would love to hear what worked or didn’t work for you in the comments below.