How to Create a Unique Launch

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Creating an intriguing launch can seem very daunting. I know many of my clients have such amazing ideas, but don’t know how to execute the details. This is normal. It’s best to start small and build toward something that adds value to your business.

I put a few ideas together to help stir the creative juices. Please don’t feel like you need to do every one of these ideas. These are just starting points to use for your next launch.

When you launch a product you can’t do the same old stuff everyone else in doing. You are going to have to create fun events, sticky copy that gets people excited and make sure it’s easily spreadable.

1. Create a Great Sales Pages

Your sales page is the Holy Grail of a good launch. It’s where you want everyone to land, get excited about your offer, buy from you and send their friends to buy too. I could write a book about all the ins and outs of a good sales page. In fact a fellow launch expert and I are doing something even better. We are creating a whole course for you, so stay tuned.

Until then make sure your sales page follows three rules:

1. Make your offer crystal clear so they know exactly how much your product will help them.
2. Keep your message congruent so it builds trust from first point of contact all the way through the purchase of your product.
3. Create a duel readership layout, so people who like to scan landing pages as well as people who read and view everything are both happy.

Of course these rules are just the tip of the sales page iceberg, but if you start here you will have a solid sales page that will convert for you.

2. Throw Micro-events

I’m talking about mini-events like Webinars, Twitter parties, Google hang-out. I’m not just talking about slapping some micro-event together so you end up disappointing your audience. A great microevent takes time to plan, coordinate and execute. You have to be strategic in how you put it together.

I threw a Twitter party for Danielle LaPorte. We had been planning the Twitter party for over 5 weeks before we launched it. The process is not to be taken lightly because it can be a very powerful business building event if done right. It didn’t look like it took 5 weeks of preparation to the people who attended, but that’s what a great party is all about. Make it look effortless. Great planning and great execution are very important before anything happens then just having fun while the event is going on.

You can use a micro-event to launch a product, bring attention to an old product and celebrate something special. Charlie Gilkey of Productive Flourishing threw a Twitter party to celebrate people in his community. He used it as a business building event that rippled through his community.

3. Create Conferences, Seminars and Workshops

Every launch is a chance to build your tribe and connect with people that are willing to tell their friends about your greatness.

Social Media Examiner puts on virtual conferences every few months. They bring in amazing speakers to talk about all kinds of marketing topics. The beauty of it is every event generates buzz that builds for the next event. I’m not going to lie they take a lot of work, but the payoff can be very big.

If you have the opportunity to create an in-person conference, seminar or workshop and you can bring a lot of amazing people together then you will strike “word of mouth” gold. The people that I usually feel closest to are the people I’ve met in person. There is just something special about having a chat for coffee, tea, beer or whatever. A very intimate setting.

Whether online or offline a conference is a great way to gather likeminded people to support and rally around your cause.

4. Include Contests

Contests can be very powerful if targeted to your ideal people. You have to look at what type of contest your people would like to be a part of. Do they want a Facebook contest, video contest or something new? The best way to figure this out is to test it out.

Don’t go to big right away. Start small and see what type of contest your people like to participate in.

The best contests have some sort of interactive component. If you have people create videos or write essays they are more likely to get involved with your launch. Yes, it’s harder to create this interaction, but a lot more powerful then more passive type of contests.

5. Borrow the Microphone

A lot of creative entrepreneurs think they need to do everything on their own. That’s one of the biggest myths that needs to be crushed right now. Every launch needs help from friends, family and strangers.

You need to borrow as many microphones as your network will allow. That can mean guest posting on other people’s blogs in the early stages of a launch to creating a blog scavenger hunt contest. A contest can be a great way to borrow someone else’s audience and draw in new people.

The key component is to make this a mutually beneficial experience for everyone. If you are connecting with someone else’s audience you need to give as much value back in return as possible.

6. Craft An Intriguing Story

Chris Guillebeau created an e-course for people who wanted to create an online business. He calls it Empire Building Kit. He takes a person step by step through the process of creating an online business. From coming up with a unique angle to bringing it to the world. I reviewed the course, helped promote it and highly recommend it.

He created a really good product, but it was his launch that I was impressed with. He could have just created a great course and told his huge readership that it was live. He would have sold a lot of copies, but as you’ve probably guessed by now that wouldn’t make for a great launch story.

Chris decided to launch his course while he was riding the Empire Builder train from Chicago to Seattle. He talked about this on his blog as the course was live. It kept people interested and encouraged people to check out his new course.

Creating a great launch means creating a great story that ties in with your product.

You can and should create a great course, but letting people in on the story behind your product is where the real power is. You have a great story. I’m positive of this. It’s up to you to uncover it and create a unique launch around it so people who hear about it want to tell their friends, so you bring in new fans.

Big Picture

When putting your launch out there you have to look at the big picture. What do you want people to take away from launch?

It’s important to think long term. You don’t want to burn your people out and bang them over the head with your offer. The key is to build trust as your launch builds to its crescendo.

Your Turn

What is the story behind your next launch? What can you do to make it unique?