When you look around at other people’s product launch strategies, what do you see? I tend to see a lot of 3 and 4-part video series for their online products and programs. Which can most certainly work well. But if I’ve learnt anything about YOU, it’s that you often don’t have time to sit and watch 4x half hour-long videos.
What usually happens is you get through video one and never seem to get back to watch the rest. If you’re someone who’s launching a product, this isn’t ideal if the sale doesn’t come until video 4.
The aim really for pre-launch content is to pique people’s interest and build momentum for your launch.
I’ve had the chance to explore many effective product launch strategies through my own launches and doing launches for clients. What I've come to realise is, the more fun your launch is, the more moula you tend to make.
And to make your launch as seamless as possible, I've gone ahead and created a Six Weeks To Launch Checklist, which will inject more ease and fun into your pre launch strategy and sales campaign. You can download a copy here.
So....
My advice to you is pick a pre-content type that:
- Lights you up and has you bursting to deliver it
- Appeals to how your ideal client most likes to consume content
- Is aligned with the media type you’re planning to deliver during your course, program or product.
So then, why do we go for the same ol’ four-part videos series?
There’s a few reasons, really.
- The big gurus are doing it, so it seems easy to just follow what they’re doing and blend in (by the way, blending in is NOT a good idea when it comes to marketing)
- It’s what you’ve always done and there’s a huge element of fear in trying something new (even if the old isn’t working)
- You don’t know what you don’t know
Without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to some of my FAVOURITE pre-launch content types for digital programs and courses. These are different ways for marketing before your product launch. I encourage you to pick one and give it a go. As was summed up in a quote I found recently:
Don't be afraid to change. You may lose something good but you may gain something better - Unknown
Here are SIX pre-launch content types to try (click the links below to jump ahead):
Content 1
WEBINARS or LIVE EVENT
A webinar was really how I launched my first program, back when I was learning about Seed Launches with Jeff Walker. It could be done simply, it set the expectation for the content that was to come in my program (webinar trainings), and it allowed people to connect with me to quickly build the know, like and trust factor. The downside is it can be difficult to get people to attend live, unless you come up with a clever strategy. When it comes to live events, I’ve seen Tara Gentile do this well via CreativeLive, where she piques people’s interests for her next program and talks about her launch date live during the training. Another example was Steve Jobs, who was the master of the keynote speech to launch a product at a live event.
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People to watch: Melanie Duncan, Amy Porterfield, Kimra Luna, Tara Gentile.
Content 2
SUMMIT
Having just spent the past few weeks helping put one of these together, I can tell you they're a LOT of fun. They're also a great strategy to educate and inspire people over a period of days, rather than in one webinar. There's also the option to deliver it via audio-only for those who are more likely to consume audio than video. Although, Natalie Macneil did a fabulous job of delivering a live interview series via videocast for her Conquer Club – while trying to break a world record for participation at the same time. The downside is the work involved in pulling together your guests for the summit. But the work can be well worth it.
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People to watch: Hay House, Natalie Macneil, Andreea Ayers, Lisa Sasevich, Angela Raspass.
Content 3
5, 7, 14, 21 and 30-DAY CHALLENGES
These can be a ridiculous amount of fun and delivered in all sorts of ways. Many of you have been part of my 5-day challenges for Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram. Although, I wasn't selling anything off the back of these, it was purely for list building and some entertainment! The downside is that getting people to stay with you for the entire duration can be a challenge, especially if your challenge is a longer one. You also have to think about how people are going to be able to `connect' with you if it's all written content. In saying that, there's an opportunity to link your challenges to video or audio content easily to provide a fuller experience.
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People to watch: Natalie Lussier, Kylie Patchett, Oprah and Deepak.
Content 4
eBook or Lookbook
Wasn't expecting this one? Well, if your ideal client is a big reader, there’s some merit in using an ebook to launch your next big thing. I’ve only seen a couple of people do this really well and always for evergreen launches, rather than live launches. We’ll talk more about evergreen systems on the blog a little later in the year. The obvious downside, of course, is getting people to consume the entire book. Although, there are ways around making your call to action stand out, regardless of whether they reach the end of the book or not. The other I’ve mentioned here is a lookbook, which is fantastic if you’re running a fashion or design-based business. A clever twist on this is Leonie Dawson's Life and Biz Workbooks, which includes a ``look book'' of sorts in the back to highlight per other products and programs.
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People to watch: Kat Loterzo, Joe Vitale, Leonie Dawson.
Content 5
Blog or Podcast series
Sometimes I think we overthink the whole launch thing, making it overly complicated. But you can launch simply off the back off a great blog post series or podcasts. If this is where your ideal client is at and where they're most engaged, then it makes sense. I like a series like this to culminate in some sort of ``event’’, whether that’s a Twitter or Facebook chat, an online "party", a webinar, live speaking gig or something else where they gain direct contact with you. Remember, the aim is to grab their attention and build momentum. The above ideas work well because they allow you to build an email list, which is a key part of launching. However, there are ways around that too when it comes to blogging and podcasting.
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People to watch: Jay Baer, Digital Marketer, Tara Gentile.
Content 6
Videos series
OK, so I had to go there. This is such a standard launch type that places like Leadpages now enable you to download their video templates and you’re done. The set up can be super simple – which is a big shift from years ago when it was a rather complicated process. The downside of a video series is that so many other people are doing it that it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. Another is that people know that fourth video is a sales pitch and can completely skip it. Although, I do like how Gina Devee shakes it up by moving away from 4 videos and picking a completely different number to keep people on their toes.
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People to watch: Jeff Walker, Marie Forleo, Digital Marketer, Gina Devee, Brendon Burchard.
There are more than these six, but this should get your creative juices flowing.
Download a copy of the Six Weeks To Launch Checklist to discover how to launch your product into the market.
Which one resonates with you? Have you already tried one of them? Let me know in the comments below.
Disclaimer: As a Product Launch Formula affiliate partner I may receive a commission if you invest in the program but at no extra cost to you.
I love this Kellie. It’s fantastic to see all these options laid out with pros and cons.
I have found webinars great for my launches. I did try a 3 part video series but found it very confusing as everyone was up to different videos! Now I’m wondering how I can use those videos in a different way for my next launch as I had them professionally filmed. Any ideas?
So glad to hear that, Jess.
I like webinars too – I find them easy to set up and a quick way to launch.
With the three-part videos series, it depends on what the videos are and how long they are, but the easiest option is to stop promoting once video 1 lands to avoid people getting behind.
But some other things you could do are to possibly make it more `evergreen’ so it becomes a client pathway that people can take at their own pace. Then you don’t have to worry as much about people coming into a live launch at video three and missing the first two.
If they can be edited into smaller pieces, there may also be an opportunity to make it into a challenge even. Although, challenges come with the same issues as a video series, with people easily getting behind if they come in too late. What I like about challenges is they’re more bite sized and there’s an opportunity to highlight the days they may have missed via the welcome email.
Hope this helps! x
Sure does Kellie, thanks x
Thanks for the ideas Keilie
I did the same old video opt-in with an offer at the end which like you said not everyone got to video 4.
How would you mix the video series up? Are there other cool things we can do to change it up?
My pleasure, Susan. Ah, there’s so many ideas. I don’t know where to start!! One would be to get out of the 4-part video series and mix up the number of videos, as I suggested in the post. Another I saw this week was giving the entire video series in one hit as a “mini course”, with the CTA button clearly on the same page as the videos. So it didn’t matter if they watched them all or not.
Hope this helps!
I loved this article!
Thank you! I have got some brilliant ideas brewing after reading this.
Bron
Glad to hear it, Bron! Can’t wait to see what you do now. x
This is a great resource. I’m looking forward to launching products early next year – this is an awesome list of all the way that can be done!
So glad to hear you like it, Kirsty. And I cannot wait to see what you do. x
This great Kellie, lots of options think about when launching. I’m also not a big fan of the 3-4 part video trying to sell you into a online product. But then again, I am when its educational and I am really interested to see what they offer – then I do get suck in to wanting to join! So I think that’s tricky, hard to pull off and if you do, you can get amazing results. Since I work with video, I am keen to give it a go! I’m also looking to creating a 5-7 day video challenge next year, even though I think 21 is a good number, its too much for with video. How did you stay connected with your audience during the challenge? And when did you start promoting the challenge?
Definitely give video sequences a go if you already work with video and your audience resonates with it. If you’re content is awesome, people will consume it and stay engaged!
And I agree with you about a 5-7 day challenge. It’s so hard to sustain someone’s interest for 21 days, especially with a video challenge.
I stay connected with my audience during a challenge via the emails that go out daily and also my free Media Mastermind Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/mediamastermind/ .
I usually start promoting for people to register two weeks before D-Day. Any longer and they forget and any sooner and it’s more difficult to get the numbers you want.
I’d love to know how you go with it, Susan! 🙂