EP 178 - Pre-Launch Runway: What To Do To Set Up A Winning Launch

Live launching is a high pressure situation, mainly because there are so many moving parts.

I often think that the reason why people don't enjoy live launching is because it's too stressful, especially because they haven't implemented all of the “pre-launch” steps to make it as easy and joyful as possible

I have 10 things that I do in my pre-launch runway that are going to help you massively when it comes time for your own live launch preparation.  

Decide On Your Strategy

I love strategy, and there’s never going to be just one strategy that is going to get you results. The strategy that works best for me at one time may not work for you at another time, which is why it’s important to dig deep into what will work best for YOU.

Your strategy covers everything from the delivery type (live or pre-recorded) to the mode of delivery (live on social media, in-person, or a Zoom webinar) as well as the frequency and duration (will you run a single webinar, or a multi-day challenge) and your environment (will you run a destination launch from overseas, hire a studio, or present from your home office)?

When making these strategic decision, it helps to consider things like:

• What is your natural tendency?
• What are your personality strengths?
• Are you extroverted or introverted? 
• Do you like marketing? 
• Do you like performing to an audience? 
• What live launch elements are you going to have? 
• Are you going to go live on Social Media daily? 

All of these things come into what strategy is going to work best for you, and what you personally can handle and enjoy, as well as what will work best for our audience. 

Map Out Your Calendar

We know there is a LOT to be done, but when are you going to actually do each of these things? The thing that works best for me personally is to put them in my calendar, because I know that it'll take me a full day to create all of the social media assets, it'll take me a full day to write all of our email copy, it'll take me a full day to plan our webinar funnels, and of course the content for it

I know how much time each of the elements are going to take, and so I have to make sure I'm blocking them out in my calendar, so that I can give everything to it. When launch comes around now, I never feel unprepared because I have already done each of the preparation steps in my calendar.

Once the preparation is laid out, I then work out when I'm going to run each of the key events (for example, when will my challenge, my webinar, and my interviews happen). A lot of the time this will come down to the logistics of the clients that you serve, and your timezone.

Inside Her Empire Builder we serve customers from all over the world so I always work out the time zones that will allow me to best serve the majority of people that are already engaged in the work that I do.
 

Set Up The Back End

This is probably the biggest, most time-consuming part of pre-launch. This is where you will be creating your lead magnet funnel and making sure you've got your easy opt-in working, your email sequences running after it, and your downloads all updated so that it's leading people to where you want them to go.

Here’s what ours looks like in the led up to a live launch event:

• Lead magnet funnel
• Webinar funnel
• Challenge funnel
• Email sequences 
• Reminders 
• Recordings
• Up-sells
• Down-sells
• Bonuses

For us, these back-end elements are all set up in Kajabi (which I adore using) which makes it super easy to check that we've got the right tags on our contacts, and that we've got the right automations set up.

Your Welcome And Onboarding Process

The last thing you want after you have spent so much time and money on your launch and getting people buying your products is for them to feel buyers remorse, or feel like they are lost or overwhelmed the moment that they join your world.

It’s worth investing a lot of time in making sure that your onboarding process is smooth, welcoming, and reassuring for people. I always record a new video from where I'm launching which is an opportunity to say “Hi! Welcome! This is how to find your way around!”

When you have a lot of content, it can be incredibly overwhelming when people first come in which is why a video tour and a ‘start here’ process is helpful. Some other onboarding elements that have made a huge impact for us include:

• Individual welcome calls from our community manager
• Gift packs mailed-out with our playbooks and some surprise goodies
• Group welcome parties via Zoom where our team and new members can connect
• Regular touch-points with our team

Create Your Social Media Plan

I think social media is an amazing tool, and so good for us all to be able to reach and connect with clients all over the world. It's incredible, which is why we create our social media plan with precision and intention.

Your social media plan should cover:

How - Will you be sharing reels, stories, static images, carousels, or a combination of all of these?
What - What content will you be delivering each day, and how balanced will your content be? What assets need to be created?
When - What days and times will you be posting, and with what frequency?
 

Map Out Additional Marketing Avenues

We never like to put all of our eggs in one basket, which is why I encourage our members to explore a range of marketing options to compliment their social media strategy.

Some of these avenues might include:

• Affiliate marketing
• Partnerships
• Podcasting
• Networking events
• Paid advertising 

Write Your Email Copy 

In addition to our funnel emails, I also send daily launch emails and encourage you to do the same.

I write all of the copy for these emails during our pre-launch runway, but truth be told, they often change between the day I write, and the day I send them. This enables me to map out all of the strategic points that I want to be making during the launch, but also gives me some flexibility to react to what is going on in my life (and my launch) in the moment.

If I get questions during launch that I haven’t yet addressed in the emails, I love having the option to jump back in and mix them up if I want to. I may feel inspired one day to go in a different direction with a particular email, simply based on what I have seen or done that day.

And that’s fine, because it’s a whole lot easier (and less stressful) to make these changes when the skeleton is already there to work with.

Prepare Family, Friends and Team Members

Nothing happens alone in business, and it takes a LOT to run a launch properly. 

90% of what I do in launch is customer engagement and connection, and I love having that open time to be able to engage with people. I want to be the one there helping people, and I love nothing more than seeing people with a dream totally surprise themselves with their awesomeness.

And I care deeply about my clients' success, sso I want to be there, and I want to show up with 100% of myself. So with that at the top of mind, I've also got to prepare my team so that I can be shielded from distractions. I also need to prepare my friends and family and let them know that I’m going to be MIA for a couple of weeks. 

Prepare Your Energy

Your energy, and how much energy you have during launch will make the biggest difference to your results. More than anything else.

I am always preaching that “humans buy from humans”, and people have to know, like, and trust you. The only way they're going to get to know you is if you show up fully. Some practical ways to preserve your energy might be to get a short-term meal service, or a cleaner to come to your house during launch. 

Look at the things that are going to be pain points during your launch, and brainstorm ways that you can minimize them as much as possible.

Set Your Goals And Go All In

I truly think, as humans, that we're very good at self protection. Often we just cruise along and see how we go, or we will keep doing the same things that have worked before without experimenting or improving on it. 

I get it. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself either, but the fact is that if you want to win the game, you need to go all in.

Do all of the things.

Do them all to the best of your ability. Whether you absolutely nail it, or fall flat on your face, just do your absolute best. Do it to your absolute capacity and ability, and serve people as well as you possibly can.

Set your goals high, and keep going right until the second that that door closes. You only get this opportunity a couple of times a year, and you owe it to yourself to give it absolutely everything you’ve got. 

Don’t forget to jump over to tinatower.com/checklist to grab your FREE launch checklist where I am walking you through my pre-launch runway to success.