Whether it’s a podcast or a blog or a book or a course, launching can make or break you. Break is a LITTLE extreme, but your spirit can definitely feel broken after a not-so-hot launch! According to Jenny Melrose of the Influencer Entrepreneur podcast, it’s all about the strategy. In this episode we are going deep to learn tips for a successful launch!

And don’t miss a live workshop with Jenny (and me!) on May 24 at 9am CST where she’s going to teach us how to run a successful challenge– a key component to her launching success. Register HERE!

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Tips for a Successful Launch with Jenny Melrose

There are so many kinds of launches. You can launch tons of different products, first of all, and then you can choose to launch just to your list or do a joint venture (JV) launch with someone else. You can launch with affiliates. You can use ads. You can have open and closed cart or evergreen. You can use webinars. You can go on podcasts as a guest. YOU CAN DO ALL THE THINGS.

But what really works? 

It will vary depending on what you’re launching and what your goals are, but here are some great tips for a successful launch from Jenny Melrose, who has done a number of launches for different products and in different ways.

If you Build It, They WON’T Come

I’ve busted the Field of Dreams myth with books, blogs, and even podcasts that I thought would naturally bring in the right audience in DROVES because they were quality. Nope.

Without a strategic plan, your launch is not likely to be a huge success. It seems obvious, but I think most of us have done this at least one time. Do NOT build a book or product that you assume everyone will want and find without strategic planning.

Note: If you have something you truly love and want to build it for the sheer love of it, go for it! Just realize that this is not the most strategic path for launching success. 

Launch with Challenges

Jenny creates evergreen challenges so people can come as they want to. The challenges up engagement, give people a taste for the content and quick wins that make them feel successful.

To promote her challenges, Jenny utilized Facebook groups, but not in a smarmy way. (Read my full post on how to not be smarmy in Facebook groups.) She searched for questions that people were asking related to her challenge, answered the question as fully as she could, then let the person know she had a challenge and invited them in a no-strings-attached kind of way. After some time of this, even group owners started tagging her as the expert when people had questions related to her topic.

The purpose of the challenge is to show them that the next step is your product, whether that’s your tripwire or your bigger course or product. You don’t overwhelm with information, but give just what people can handle in a 5-10 day period. 

Evergreen challenges connect to evergreen products or that add people into a group in your email list that you target with a related launch. Another option is to have a live challenge that runs during the launch of a course where every person in the challenge starts and ends the challenge on the same day. 

Another place to use this same kind of strategy is Quora. See this post from Teachable for ideas!

Use a Tripwire Product

Jenny recommends using a tripwire product, one that’s less than $20.This could be an ebook or a video training that’s evergreen. Many people fear selling too much, but this early introduction to an affordable price gets people primed as customers. Once people have given you money once for a product, they are much more likely to give you their money again (assuming you’re creating quality content). 

Work Backwards with Aligned Products

Start with what your final product will be and work backwards to the smaller, tripwire product, and then to the challenge (or other kind of funnel you’ll be using to attract people). For an evergreen launch, you can pitch your larger product sometime after the time after the challenge (or email series) ends.

Evergreen or Open-and-Closed Cart?

Jenny has found better results with the open-and-closed cart, where there is a limited time for the sale. This urgency results in more conversions. People (like me!!!) wait often until just before the cart closes to make that decision. Other people know going into a webinar that they are planning to buy something. 

When Launches Aren’t Working

The first failure you have can really keep you from doing more (read about my failed launch and thoughts on this), but you should consider where you can fix things.

• Were you using a strategy?
• What could you tighten up?
• Can you ask your audience?
• What tweaks and changes affected the sales from one launch to the next? 
• Were you in front of your audience enough? 

Jenny found that doing more Facebook lives and webinars really helped with her launches. People don’t expect Facebook live videos to be perfect, so you can put less pressure on yourself. Instead, they help people see the REAL you and are often winsome and attractive to people because they see the real person behind the product. Being authentic builds trust. 

Jenny’s Big Tips

• Find a way to engage with your audience as soon as possible, whether through a challenge, welcome sequence, or live videos in a group 
• Remember people purchase because of the WHY (see the link to Simon Sinek below), so show them YOUR why

Links mentioned in the interview: 

• Simon Sinek on Start with Why
• My podcast episode: When Your Launch Fails
• My interview on Jenny’s podcast
• The 80/20 Rule for Sales & Marketing by Perry Marshall
• Buy Our Future (currently closed) from Jason Zook & Caroline Zook