I am gearing up to launch my fourth business under the Imperfect Concepts umbrella. As I embark on this new journey, one thing I am thankful for is the skin in the game. It has helped me create a launch strategy that works for my business. So many people have asked me how to launch with a huge impact and guaranteed sales on first day.
90 Day Launch Plan
Stop, launching businesses with no one in the market, social media, or even your own family knowing. You can guarantee no sales on the first day if you do that. Launching a business is hectic in itself, however, if you create a launch schedule you will able to stay on track.
Things to cover in your launch plan:
- Your Actual Launch Date
- Social Media Strategy
- Marketing Strategy
- Email Marketing Strategy
- Target Audience Strategy
- Check Off list For Business (legal, website, social media, and more)
With each of these strategies, outline what you will need to do over the next 90 days to make sure your launch is smooth. You can create a simple spreadsheet outlining every detail from acquiring your social media to establishing a budget for your company. In addition, make sure the little details like your company’s P.O. Box and legal entities are taken care of.
Building A Solid Foundation
You should be building awareness everyday for the product you plan to sell 10 years from now. Who is your company and why should people trust you? Trust equates to the sales you want from your audience. You can start laying a foundation for yourself and your business, by engaging your future audience members on social media, your website, and in other communities. In the digital age, people are able to search years into the past on you. Make sure your digital footprint matches who you are right now. Yes, you might have a beer pong or red cup photo in a Facebook album, but I am talking more so about your stance on business and in other relevant areas. What you’re saying now matters today, tomorrow, and five years from now. Be consistent.
Knowledge of Audience
Who is your audience and do they need/want what you’re selling? I believe in the Steve Jobs principle of selling people things they don’t know they want. However, you’re not Steve Jobs. You’re Ashley from Idaho. Build a community. Then, survey them every chance you get. Find out their likes, dislikes, and needs. My lawyer, Brandi Howard, is launching a business this fall to help business owners with their legal needs. Someone poses a question regarding legal aspect essentially everyday on social media, and each time I send Brandi a screen shoot. Right now, she’s gathering information on what her audience needs. By doing it this way, she can create several products based off of their needs, instead of, just guessing.
You can learn about your audience by:
- Joining An Existing Online Communities
- Creating Your Own Community
- Survey Friends and Family
Expertise In Your Industry
Be knowledgeable about what you’re trying to sell. I would not support a business owner who couldn’t answer basic questions about their service or industry. That is like, discussing eCommerce platforms and not being able to outline why I prefer WordPress over Squarespace. Or like not being able to tell someone how to scale a business on a small budget. You should be writing 1,000 words a day about your industry. You don’t need to publish all that content. Have it stored up, if you need to. The purpose is so people can some day read it and see your expertise. Share your insight via Twitter. One of the best compliments I have received is, “I know your products are amazing because of how great your free content is”. People trust me because of what I am willing to giveaway.
Opt In
You need an email list of at least a 1,000 people before your launch day. If you get even one percent to buy on the first day it’s better than none. Create a simple guide, resource list, or a How-to on getting people to opt in. With the opt-in they get access to the free tool and then they join the online community that you’re creating. Killing two birds with one stone. Your opt-in doesn’t need to be 100 pages. A simple 3-5 page opt-in is fine. Take an old blog post that got a lot of track and add extra content to it. Boom, your free opt-in.
It’s all about having a launch plan for your launch. If you receive sales on first day that’s great, but if not, it can make you feel some type of way about the future of your business. The art of launch strategy is pretty simple once you create a plan and stick to it.
