April 18th, 2013
Do these 3 things right now if you’re itching to launch faster than you probably should.
It’s going to happen.
You come up with a great idea and want to launch it like yesterday.
Or you hit a wall and realize you must sell something like – again – yesterday.
You’re tired of being scared and want to get yourself and your business out there… right now.
Maybe your husband has threatened or warned you that you’ll have to start pounding the pavement again looking for work.
Maybe that long maternity leave is finally over.
Maybe you’re just tired of making nothing in your business.
Maybe you’re just bored and know you need to launch something new.
So you say – yep this is it. This is HAPPENING.
You start telling everyone that you are going to launch – and maybe you run the risk of falling on your face.
But there’s something in the rush of setting yourself up at the edge of an abyss and going for it!
So, nope, this is not a one-time thing. You like to fly by the seat of your pants.
Your launch plan looks something like this…
Make the decision to launch 2 weeks before the cart opens.
Write a few blog posts.
Put out a dedicated email to your list.
Tweet it: Yeah – that’s right people – I’m launching!!
I kind of dig that kind of ballsy behavior…
You aren’t afraid to test, take chances, and get yourself out there.
However… (you knew that was coming, right?)
There’s nothing worse than being that ballsy type who has NO PLAN.
Even when you want to feel the spark of spontenaity – the one you feel when you’re creating, writing, painting, doing your thanggg – you need a strategy so you can stick to your vision and not just do a launch for launch’s sake. You need to know how you’re going to achieve some sort of measurable outcome.
That’s why I’ve created this simple to follow strategy that I call “Ants In Your Pants” Launching.
If you like the rush of leaving things to the last minute…you better start doing these 3 things on a REGULAR basis.
Do these 3 things right now if you’re itching to launch faster than you probably should.
These are things some of my dearest clients are doing right now in their quick turnaround launches and it’s working!!!
They are not only great ways to establish yourself in your industry and online, but they really are the bare minimum you need to be doing at all times to make sure you stay visible.
Plus – do these on a consistent basis and you won’t even notice when you’re launching because this is just how you’ll operate.
1. Keep reaching new people
The easiest way to reach more people is to do guest posts. Yes I know … how much time can you spend doing posts for other people’s site when you barely finish your own every single week.
Here’s what to do: Write one blog post covering a topic you teach – a step by step or specific strategy works best here. Then – target 3 different types of audiences and noodle that post for those audiences. When I say noodle – I do not mean copy paste and send. I mean – give audience specific examples in each. Say specifically how they will accomplish your steps. If you’re someone teaching about going raw – write for a mom’s site, a straight up foodie site, and maybe a more general lifestyle or health site.
Here’s the best part – even if people happen to read all 3 – they will learn how universal and applicable what you’re teaching is and they won’t fall into the – oh, well this won’t work for me – trap. Plus – you won’t spend a ton of time coming up with new concepts to cover. Nail home one or two of your signature concepts and people will identify you as the expert on those concepts faster!
2. Get Help From Your Friends (i.e. find some partners fast!)
While I do think the best way to get the support for your launch is a longer term plan of finding the right affiliates, people who love what you do, and taking time building relationships with people, if you are strapped for time there is still a way to get help.
Ask people who love you and who you genuinely love. Invite your current customers or clients to spread the word for you. Send an email to your past customers, current customers, friends, business contacts who you already have a strong relationship with and formally invite them.
Then – give them all the resources they need and tell them to request whatever they need – interviews, guest posts, whatever they want, you’ll deliver it.
Make a nice page of tweets, messages, information, and graphics for them!
Don’t waste your time by sending an email to your mailing list – email only people that know you, your work, and can easily vouch for you without any stretching of the truth!
Schedule at least 1 email per week during your launch – and don’t forget to thank people for sharing!!! I don’t care if a sale is made or not – these people are supporting you – so don’t take them for granted!
Keep in contact with these people even when you’re not launching. This is a must if you want to launch at a moment’s notice.
3. Make Sure Your Timing Is Right
Make sure that your outreach — guest posts, interviews, mentions whatever — always ask if they can go live during the weeks of your launch. I like to have 2-3 things per week floating around the inter webs during my launch, in addition to my own content.
If you can’t get things timed correctly – just make sure to leverage past guest posts and other types of mentions during your launch by tweeting them, sharing them on Facebook, mentioning them in blog posts.
Partners also need some guidance on timing. This can easily be handled by letting them know when to promote! It’s as simple as – making sure they know when the cart is live, when it’s going to close and what’s working for other people who are helping you spread the message too!
Be proactive too – and email any of your partners you are closest to who have audiences you appreciate (and who appreciate you!). Connect with those people and offer yourself for a guest post and whatever else you think they might need!
So – if you have ants in your pants and you MUST launch whatever it is you’re launching…please I beg of you – please please please. Do these 3 things right and you won’t be wasting your time at least – will grow your audience and may even make a sale or two!
Getting Your Bottom Line
Launching isn’t just about these 3 things. It’s never cut and dry. There are no absolutes or do it once and your done pieces.
Just because you do a few guest posts – you won’t suddenly open the golden gates to cashflow. Asking a handful of friends to tweet and share won’t necessarily lead to sales. Timing is important, but just as soon as you think you know what the right timing is, some other unknown variable can change.
There is risk in every single launch you do. Even people who’ve had several successful product releases knows this.
After seeing what works and what doesn’t work on dozens and dozens of launches, I’m convinced that launching is part a numbers game, part a timing game, and part an amazing CLEAR AS BELL offer made to the RIGHT AS RAIN people.
If you’ve done the work to make a clear offer and sharing that with new audiences throughout your launch…you may just have the chance to pull off a launch that makes you money!
More time spent on a launch doesn’t guarantee anything. Same with a short turnaround launch.
Results Vary. Remember that.
The more you test. The better chance you’ll get a result you want.
If you’re ready to start testing offers, taking action, and finding out specific things you can do to make your launches more successful, check out Fearless Launching!
I see soooooo much of myself in this post. So much. It’s perfect. One addition to it… know what your objective is, stay focused on that objective and don’t give up. Keep trying.
Great post Anne! I always feel like you are talking to me, seriously! I love Joyce’s comment too about never giving up. Awesome post! xo
Hi Anne,
My inner procrastinator loves this post ~ especially the bit about no guarantees! Record, test and measure everything: like a scientist. I also do a Launch Post-Mortem after every launch so I can try to improve successive launches. That includes getting feedback from team members and affiliates about how communication could have been improved and what suggestions they have.
thanks for sharing!!
Hi Kellie,
I am a closet procrastinator too… I’ll admit it…but usually when that happens it’s because I don’t have something figured out. If I take the time to sit down, figure out what I want to do and when, I leave less until the last minute. But getting myself to sit down is a chore and task in itself!
-Anne