Product Launch Strategies
Have you ever seen the power and profitability of a well-orchestrated, targeted product launch? These guys can generate thousands of dollars on launch day, and go on to sell thousands more through their back-end systems, time-limited offers, and special deals available only to those who purchase during the launch phase.
If done correctly, even “first-time” product developers who have never launched a product before can easily build a targeted customer base that they can tap into time and time again, all from that one strategically organized product launch.
There’s no question; a carefully planned and executed product launch can catapult you into the six-figure earning bracket, and set you up for ongoing success.
There should be only one question on your mind right now: How can I get started?
This special report will show you exactly how to build the foundation for a successful product launch quickly and easily. Even if you’ve never launched a product before, I’m confident the information in this report will give you the insider knowledge needed to get started.
Building The Foundation
You’ve likely heard the term “pre-launch”, which is when product developers begin to create buzz around their upcoming launch. This period is crucial to every successful launch strategy because it’s where you focus on building anticipation around your launch, and get people excited and ready to purchase when it goes live.
But there is another part of every pre-launch that not everyone talks about, and that’s what some of us call the “Foundation Launch”. In reality, it’s not a launch at all, but more of a relationship builder because this is the time in which you begin to identify leaders and authority figures in your market and strategically place yourself in their line of sight.
These key players are usually established businesses, bloggers or marketers in your niche that can help you successfully launch your product. And of course, this is also the time in which you begin to recruit affiliates and build your sales army.
You mustn’t overlook the importance of spending time working on the foundation of your launch long before you move ahead with phase 2 when you begin to generate buzz and get people excited about your product. Many new developers and product creators jump the gun, putting most of their attention and energy on the launch day itself, but it’s at the pre-launch and foundation-building level where the real magic happens.
The more effort you put into your foundation-building phase, the more successful your launch will be because not only do you have a solid team of promoters in place, but you’ve established yourself as a leader in your market, or at the very least, a credible source for high-quality information and resources.
Let’s take a closer look at how you can create a launch strategy that includes a foundation launch that will catapult your sales on your big day!
On The Shoulders Of Giants
To connect with the leaders and top affiliates in your market who will push your product to the front line on your launch day, you need to first identify key players in your industry.
Who are these people who have the means to drive targeted traffic to your website on launch day? Who are the most influential players in your market? Who should you align with? Who will help you extend and maximize your outreach?
Identifying authorities and key players in your market isn’t all that difficult to do, especially if you’ve been keeping a pulse on your industry already, and have done any research prior to creating your product. By now you should be able to name at least 2-3 powerhouses in your market. Can you do that? If not, you should spend a bit more time researching your market and better understanding your niche.
If it means pushing your product launch back a couple of months to give you the time to build relationships with leaders in your industry and to get on their digital radar, it could make all the difference in your ability to successfully launch your product.
Here are a few easy ways to find potential joint venture partners:
Bloggers:
Bloggers are usually the easiest to identify and find, and quite often, the easiest to connect with. Not only are you given the opportunity to get to know them through their writing, and the type of content they provide, but you easily reach out to them and get on their radar just by responding to posts, providing useful information to those who have already left comments, and by reaching out directly.
Don’t spam their blog posts with links to your website or product. The idea is to provide value by helping their readers in some way. Answer questions, thank them for their post, provide additional insight and be consistently active on their blog. This is a great way to get on their radar without being pushy or intrusive.
Pro Tip: Study a few of the leading blogs in your niche to determine the type of products and services they promote. This will give you an idea as to whether they are likely to be interested in promoting your product so you’re not wasting your time creating relationships with bloggers whose audience doesn’t match your target market.
Existing Affiliates:
Depending on how you plan to offer affiliates the opportunity to make money promoting your product, you might be able to locate top affiliate marketers in your industry just by looking through affiliate marketplaces like JVZoo.com or other launch systems that reveal their top affiliates.
Tip: One way that I’ve kept a pulse on my market is by subscribing to the newsletters of established marketers. Not only am I able to keep an eye on what kind of products they tend to promote, but by responding to some of the emails, I can build rapport with these affiliates and marketers so that they recognize me later when I ask them to promote my launch.
Your List:
If you have a mailing list or an existing customer base of any kind, this is one of the first places you should go when developing your affiliate army.
Send out an email to your subscribers letting them know about your upcoming launch and offer them early-bird access to review the product as well as higher commission levels to those who can push your product out to a larger audience.
Surveys:
You could also create a survey that is designed to collect feedback and information regarding what affiliates are looking for and most interested in. I’ve used tools like www.SurveyGizmo.com to create surveys in a matter of minutes.
The data you collect from direct feedback from your subscriber base is invaluable. Not only will it help direct you in creating future products, but it will help you design a product launch around what is more likely going to attract key players and top affiliates.
Beta Testers (aka Early Birds):
You can also send out a survey to potential customers as well, asking them what their burning questions are, how you can better help them, and if you want to take things a step further - offer them access to your product before public launch as “beta testers” (either free or at a reduced price).
These people will help you find bugs, provide feedback on the product itself and even provide ideas as to how you can create a backend system that includes additional money-making funnels through upsell offers!
You could even set up a private Facebook beta-access group and open up discussion about your product so that users can interact and you can gain insight into what potential customers like most as well as key areas that could use improvement.
People love being part of limited, private groups as it makes them feel as though they are gaining access to something that isn’t available to everyone else. You can send out an invitation link to your Facebook group early on, and begin to interact with your audience in a more personal, engaging way.
Pro Tip: Track Everything:
If you want to maximize conversions and sell more products on launch day you need to track everything possible.
From on-site visits to implementing an affiliate program that accurately tracks sales and automatically assigns commissions to promoters, you must have a strong tracking system in place.
Before launch, consider setting up a Chatbot on your website so that visitors can ask questions and receive automated responses. This type of communication is invaluable to you as it will tell you exactly what people are most interested in and concerned about.
A lot of companies and business owners are using chatbot technology to deliver content in a new and interesting way as well. Websites such as CNN and CBS are sending automated content to visitors through messaging apps like Chatbots.
Since so many people are using messenger apps like Facebook and Kik regularly, delivering content straight to the platforms they’re already using makes sense and is an easy way to stay engaged and active with potential customers, especially during the pre-launch phase. https://www.chattypeople.com/
The chatty people platform is one of the most popular chatbots available for the Facebook Messenger system and works with Facebook comments. They are remarkably affordable, with a 30-day free trial and a permanent free plan for under 100 customers.
And finally, you need to implement a system that automates the delivery of your product while streamlining the entire process so that you are free to focus on maximizing your traffic.
One of the easiest ways to set up a content delivery system while automating the entire process is by using a service such as Product Dyno, at ProductDyno.com
Product Dyno works for all digital product formats including plugins, license software and of course, eBooks and it’s just one of the easiest ways to get set up with minimal cost and effort.
You can also use Product Dyno to create membership-based websites where your content is securely protected until a subscriber has paid to access it. It’s hands down one of the most simplified solutions online. Be sure to check it out.
Pre-Launch Success Strategies
You have your sales page ready to go and your product is waiting to be distributed to the thousands of customers who purchase on launch day. Great! You’re one step closer to a successful launch.
But, let’s go back to the pre-launch phase for just a moment because to make more money with your launch (by selling even more copies of your product), you need to work on a strategy that builds excitement, generates buzz and ultimately gets people ready to purchase the moment it goes live.
Most of the work involved in a successful launch takes place long before the day your product goes live. The components of a profitable launch involve all that we’ve talked about recruiting affiliates, connecting with key players, building relationships with authorities and implementing a reliable system that will track everything and accurately assign commissions to those who refer a sale.
A successful launch day also involves building and generating buzz and anticipation. So, how can you do this? Here are a few ways I’ve been able to build a successful pre-launch campaign that continues to generate buzz right up (and beyond!) launch day:
Provide Value Long Before Launch Day:
While my product itself will be my main money-maker, providing the high-quality, solid content to my audience right until launch day warms up prospects and works towards building my credibility as a product developer they can trust. It helps to eliminate concerns from my target audience that my product isn’t worth the money while helping me connect with potential customers so I can generate buzz around my upcoming launch.
A lot of marketers and product developers are afraid to release too much content before launch day. Many others save their best content for those who are willing to pay for it. This doesn’t make sense to me! Why wouldn’t you want to deliver some of your best content upfront and instantly set yourself apart from the competition?
Why would you reserve great content for paid buyers when you could offer high-quality, informative and irresistible content to potential buyers upfront - at no cost - and win them over with little work involved?
Consider offering free content in the form of auxiliary components to your product launch. Every bit of information, content and free offers should lend value to the main offer that goes live on launch day.
Pro Tip: One quick and easy way to create shareable content before launch day is by using the powerful WordPress plugin, PostGopher. I’ve used this on many websites to allow my visitors to create downloadable PDFs out of my content. What better way to connect with readers and remind them of my website than by letting them download my content so they can read it later?
You can grab the plugin from PostGopher.com
Remember, give away as much free content as you can to support your value proposition and to get people excited about your launch. Don't be afraid to over‐deliver leading up to your big day.
The more value you give to your audience, the more attached they'll get to your content and the more they'll buy from you. It's as simple as that. Cultivate your audience by over‐delivering and don’t worry about giving too much away upfront.
Give away things like:
Video courses and snippets: that remind your audience about your upcoming launch while providing useful information to help them better understand what you are offering. Your videos shouldn’t be an advertisement for your product launch. They should offer exceptional value while gently reminding your audience that they’ll be able to gain access to even more when your main product goes live.
Special reports: that are exclusive to your product launch. Do not use PLR of any kind. The content needs to be rock-solid and unique. Work out a different angle or slant for a topic that supports your product launch, ensuring it’s relevant and works towards building excitement.
Worksheets and Case Studies: If you have proof that your information or product has helped someone already, feature them in a case study. Nothing speaks to an audience like proof of results!
Regardless of the content you offer during your pre-launch phase, always implement a strong call-to-action within your marketing message and information itself. Remind them about your upcoming launch and be sure that you offer them a way to be reminded of it.
Whether that is by giving them the option to subscribe to a pre-launch newsletter or add your launch to a Google or iCalendar, always go the extra mile to keep them informed.
Building Your Affiliate Army
The more people are talking about your launch, the easier it will be to bring it all together during your pre‐launch phase, so you want to focus on the movers and shakers in your industry.
Your pre‐launch phase is when you need to start communicating with JV partners and affiliates.
One important thing to remember is that you want to ensure you give them enough time to get their system to support your launch effectively. This could include allowing them the time to set up their newsletters, create ad campaigns, develop bonus products to compete with other affiliates, and secure web property if needed.
Make sure you do this early on so that you can snap up the best social media usernames to match your product before anyone else does. Same for domain names.
Don’t overlook the importance of this! You need to allocate enough time for your JV partners and affiliates to be able to do their job if you want to get the best from them.
Keep in mind that your prelaunch date should be set early on, but that you are flexible in making sure everyone has enough time to jump on board and prepare for your launch. Remember, you’re a team!
When you begin to contact partners and affiliates, you want to set up your email sequence to include an 'identifiable prefix'. What I mean is that you want people to instantly recognize the emails you send out as being associated with your upcoming launch.
For example, whenever you email your JV partners and affiliates, consider adding something like "JV Partners: Product Name” to the subject line of all your outgoing emails. It will capture your attention and make sure your affiliates and joint venture partners don’t miss your emails.
You should also set up your autoresponder sequence and write your emails ahead of time so that you can maintain consistency when staying in touch with your JV partners and affiliates. It’ll also help with time management, ensuring that you don’t fall behind during the pre-launch-to-launch phase.
You want a fluid delivery system that will keep your launch in the front of their minds, by following up with them consistently before pre‐launch. You want them to focus on your launch just as much as you are, and to remember the time frame so that they can create their campaigns and have everything ready to go out on the day of pre‐launch.
If you use an autoresponder service like GetResponse or Aweber.com, you can schedule your content delivery so that it is queued to go out at specific dates, leading up to your launch.
It will save you time, and keep you on schedule because once your pre‐launch begins you'll be busy. The last thing you want to do is overlook an important step or fail to stay in contact with your partners, so set this up ahead of time and let it go out on autopilot once your prelaunch begins.
Your emails leading up to the launch should keep your partners motivated. Provide them with as many promotional tools as possible, including emails, landing page templates, email subject lines, graphic creatives, and swipe copy.
Make it as easy on them as possible so that they can push out your message in a matter of minutes, just by copying and pasting content that you have already created for them.
You also want to email them their affiliate link and include their affiliate link in every single email you send out.
Final Tips
As your launch progresses, you'll want to keep tabs on what people are saying, how people are responding to your launch sequence, and when it comes to your JV partners and affiliates, how they are getting ready to promote your product on launch day.
Monitoring market response will also help you identify weaknesses in your launch sequence so you can quickly work to make changes. You can tighten up your content, speed up content release frequency if you find that your target audience is growing impatient, deliver even more content or pull back if your audience is feeling overwhelmed.
You can easily monitor what is being said about you and your brand by setting up a Google alert at http://www.Google.com/Alerts as well as subscribing to social media sites, setting up Twitter notifications, and through RSS subscriptions.
Social media sites and blogs are where you'll find your marketing message spreading quickly, and so it's the easiest way to stay on top of how your market feels about your launch process.
This is also a great way to keep track of JV and affiliate campaigns as well, with Google Alerts, you can receive an instant email notification whenever keywords relating to you, your brand or your product are mentioned on blogs, in article content, social news and media circuits (such as press releases).
If you want to jump-start the pre-launch phase of your website before launch day, consider creating a giveaway or incentive system that rewards people who promote your upcoming launch and refer people to your website. There are many different ways you can do this such as by creating a Rafflecopter.com account and setting up a custom giveaway that assigns points based on activity throughout your launch, and then having the system automatically select a winner at the end of the giveaway run.
With a service like www.RaffleCopter.com or www.KingSumo.com, you can easily set up giveaway-style promotions and assign points based on many different actions, including through social media sharing with points assigned for every retweet, Facebook sharing, etc. Giveaways are truly one of the easiest ways to generate buzz and get people actively promoting your website throughout your launch phase.
Another way to maximize exposure and generate a massive amount of traffic to your website at very little cost is by signing up for an account with a website like www.PerkZilla.com and setting up a reward-style promotion. This is, hands down, the easiest way to encourage people to start spreading the word about your upcoming launch. Giveaways are also one of the cheapest ways to get a hoard of people promoting you while only having to give away a couple of prizes.
PerkZilla is one of my favourite products because it’s one of the most user-friendly products I’ve ever used. With their intuitive system, you can build a reward-based offer in a matter of minutes even if you’ve never created a campaign like this before. Give it a try!
And finally, keep in mind that most large‐scale launches only stay open for 7‐10 days before shutting down. You can always do a secondary re‐launch later, using the scarcity technique to fuel interest and sell even more products, but if you want to encourage tire-kickers into action, consider setting a time-based launch so that your initial run is only available for a week or two. There is no better way to get people to take action than by letting them know that your product won’t be available forever and that if they are serious about purchasing, they need to take action before the time is up!
I wish you the very best with your upcoming product launch and hope this special report has helped you to come up with ideas that will maximize your outreach and ensure a smooth and successful launch day.
Resources
Here are links to the resources found in this guide:
PostGopher:
Grow Your Subscriber List, Increase Engagement and Get Free Traffic on Autopilot by Turning Your Blog Posts and Pages into Irresistible Lead Magnets.
Perkzilla:
If You Need More Traffic, More Subscribers And All The Social Love You Can Handle, this one's for you.
Product Dyno:
Product Dyno is a new way to effectively manage clients and efficiently deliver all your premium digital content, software, product licenses and digital services.
Chatty People:
The chatty people platform is one of the most popular chatbots available for the Facebook Messenger system. It also works with Facebook comments.
GetResponse & Aweber:
https://www.GetResponse.com - https://www.Aweber.com
Build a mailing list before your launch day so you can connect with potential affiliates, customers and joint venture partners.
Google Alerts
Keep up with what is being said about your product easily by setting up a Google alert for your name and website.
Funnel Builder Software:
The Better FREE Way To Build Funnels And Sell Digital Products
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