I hope you find my writing and business tips and observations useful. My business and blog are dedicated to helping businesses communicate clearly and reach their potential.
Read, subscribe to my newsletter, enjoy!Tash
Launching a new product to success
I have just heard the recording for Shayne Tilley’s sessions from Problogger Event. Well, one of his sessions anyway!
Shayne calls himself a problem solver, or the internet marketing ninja, and is an expert at launching new products such as eBooks.
The session I have just listened to (and attended in real life at the event) was about launching and marketing an eBook.
eBook launch tips…
I think a key message from Shayne was that the best launch plan is individual – each person needs to mould their own launch to suit their situation.
In other words, don’t just copy others and don’t expect the same results either.
Depending on your topic, following and personality, different approaches will suit your launch better than others.
Other tips I picked up from Shayne include:
- build relationships with people in advance so you have an audience to launch to – this will help build momentum and sales
- get to a point where your product is ready – and then leave it alone and organise your launch. In business, done is better than perfect
- get an objective opinion of your launch plan and materials by asking someone else to read over them and give you some honest feedback. Even if they only catch a typo or two, it’s worth it – and they’ll probably point out other things to be added or improved
- prepare your audience – build up some anticipation and have them receptive to the message when you send it
- get the technical sales process sorted out well in advance so it is easy for people to buy from you once you launch
- don’t launch anything else until the interest in your first product has dwindled – if you can make the initial launch last longer, all the better for short and long term success so don’t divide your efforts with a second launch until the first is definitely finished
Your launches
What have you launched, or been involved in launching?
Do you have additional tips to add to Shayne’s list?
If you want to be notified next time I launch an eBook, please subscribe to my blog – I promise I’ll give you lots of communications information in the meantime, too!
Or if you want more tips from Shayne, grab a ticket to the recordings of the problogger event – for $199 you can heard Shayne talk about preparing an eBook as well as launching it as well as 20 other sessions.
New services…
After a lot of thinking, planning and learning, I am pleased to say I will be introducing a new service in the new financial year. It is exciting to start something new, although I have been doing it quietly already, and I’m starting promotions this weekend at the Business Mums Conference.
The question now is – do I build anticipation and wait for 1 July to announce my new service, or do I tell you now? Which would you prefer?
My thoughts on such decisions:
- building anticipation is a great way to develop curiosity and (for a blog) an effective way to encourage repeat visitors
- there is no point in annoying people with part of a story so any ‘coming soon’ message needs to be intriguing and not mislead
- what does a launch date signify? Is there a strong reason to delay something new? If there are legal or IP or technical reasons to not give details in advance, be very careful of how you present any teasers
- don’t build up to a launch you aren’t sure of – it destroys your credibility and any excitement if your wesbite says “our new product will be in store on 10 June” and it’s now July.
- building up to a launch can start the process of search engine optimisation and getting some traffic and ranking for your webpages. This may be limited if you can’t use keywords in advance but it at least gives you a URL to use in preparing marketing and advertising
Launching a new product or service also raises questions such as using the same brand and business name or not, pricing the new item, packaging the new with the old, and where to focus future marketing.
As for my new service, I am not launching it until July because my website can’t be ready before then (preparing a conference presentation and client deadlines took priority.) And you’ll just have to wait a little longer to find out more…
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