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Today’s talking point:

In this episode, I'm taking you behind the scenes of my most recent launch which was also my most successful. I'm getting vulnerable and sharing what worked, what didn't and the lessons I learned.

Check out the Pre-Launch Planning Bootcamp

I'm doing something that I've never done before: I'm taking you behind the scenes of my most recent launch for the Busy to Boss Academy, which was actually my most successful launch to date. And the reason why I'm so keen to talk about this, and why I've never done this with you before, is because this was actually the easiest, most aligned, or most stress-free launch I've had to date.

In the last episode, I walked through an overview of what I plan and do in each phase of a launch. This week, we're taking it even deeper, and I'm going to share what worked, what didn't work and how you can use these things to inspire and ignite some new ideas for your own live launches.

What I want to say with this as well is please remember that I've been growing my business for five years. I have done a lot of launches, I wouldn't expect you to do a launch with this many moving pieces until you've launched several times.

So be inspired. But please don't compare your business to mine if you are just getting started.

The launch details

I was launching the Busy to Boss Academy, my signature group coaching programme that helps busy business owners go from feeling overworked and overwhelmed, to running their business like a boss and creating a business that supports their life and works for them.

The last time I launched it was before I went on my maternity leave, which was in February 2021. So it has actually been over 12 months since I'd opened doors.

It's a 12-month commitment and I don't market it as a membership. I market it as a membership meets group coaching programme meets mastermind because that's really what it is. It's a combination of the core curriculum that I walk the students through plus weekly coaching calls.

Now in terms of bonuses for this launch, specifically I had three core bonuses these were all brand new for this launch. These were:

live online marketing classes in the academy Facebook group, the first of which is being hosted in March and they are going to be monthly
two weekly coaching events per year hosted by guest experts on specific topics
1:1 milestone check-ins

The numbers:

it’s £97/month for 12 months or £970 pay in full for the year
32 new students enrolled (3 of these were previous members)

For full transparency is walk you through the timeline of how many members we hit on each day:

day 1: 9 new members
day 2: 10 new members total
day 3: 15 new members total
day 4: 18 new members total (new 1:1 check-in bonus added)
Then I took 3 days off for the weekend
day 5: 21 new members total
day 6: 24 new members total
day 7: 32 new members total

So it was quite consistent in terms of the number of people that joined every single day. There was a definite spike on cart open day and cart closed day. And actually, the spike on cart closed day is actually the biggest spike that I've ever had on a final day.

The pre-launch

One of the reasons I welcomed nine new members on day one was due to my pre-launch plan. By the time the doors opened, people knew what they wanted. That’s exactly why I created the Pre-Launch Planning Bootcamp.

My pre-launch runway period for this launch was eight weeks long. During that time I did four live Instagram/Facebook Group videos.

But I actually started earlier with the podcast content. So there were 14 podcast episodes published in the lead up to the launch in four different phases. From November to the end of 2021, podcast episodes were focused on core themes that we touch on in the Academy, so more evergreen topics. I also shared two interviews with Busy to Boss Academy students.

The start of my official pre-launch runway was in late January, and that's when I use my podcast episodes to get people excited for the year ahead. So I had a special 100th episode where the co-coach of the academy interviewed me.

There was a podcast episode where I introduced the launch hype piece (more on that later) which was the free course. And at that point, I knew I'd given my listeners all the strategies that they needed and what was left was mindset work to overcome any remaining objections.

So for example, we had podcast episodes on how to hit your income goals, how to quit your nine to five, how to know if a course will be worth the investment.

In terms of lead magnets, and email opt-ins, I didn't have any specifically for this launch. I did promote the Busy to Boss Academy waitlist early on. But my big focus was the promotion of the hype piece: the free course that I hosted.

And really, my goal for this launch was to test out a more robust pre-launch experience where my free content took my audience on a journey, one that helped them get into a position where they knew that enrolling in the Busy to Boss Academy was the right next step.

What I did to prepare

My focus for this launch was the big picture. I wanted to have a robust plan in place so I knew what milestones to hit and what I needed to get done.

The first thing I did was I made a list (by hand) of everything that I needed to get done, not in order. That's super, super key. I didn't try to order the list. I just wrote down every single thing that I could think of, that I knew I needed to do and wanted to do.

For example, this time around, I hosted a special masterclass in the pre-launch period before the free course. So I wrote down all the things to do with that. Things like script the masterclass, do the slides, create a Facebook event… everything big and small. I then set a date for doors opening and worked backwards from that.

Interestingly, I moved the original dates I set. I want to explain this a little bit because so many people freak out about moving launch dates, but you don't have to.

I used to approach launching with a lot of miniseries and free challenges. I'd usually host a free challenge for four days on Monday to Thursday. And then I'd launch on the Thursday, day four. The last time I did a sort of mini launch was my first launch back off maternity leave as a tester last autumn.

And for that, I did it a little bit differently and released a free lesson before I opened doors. That worked so well, so I did it again with this launch.

Another thing to know is that I wanted this to be a big launch because it’s my signature programme. So I had the idea to host a five-day free course instead of calling it a challenge. I also knew that if I did the five-day free course, it would end on a Friday with the free lesson available Friday over the weekend.

Monday is not a great day to start a launch, just people coming back after the weekend. So I decided on Tuesday. And then I realised that actually halfway through the launch, which was the Friday, was Jacob's first birthday, and I knew that it was meant to be.

I want to say: don't overthink dates. You can move them there's a difference between moving them because you're not ready versus moving them because you're scared and procrastinating. But just pick dates that feel good.

So I set my two most important dates: cart open and close. Doors were open for just over a week, and from there, I could then work backwards. (And this is why it's really good to understand the phases of a launch that we talked through in the last episode.)

Then I set the date for the free lesson availability, the free course dates, the pre-launch for the free course. So I gave myself three weeks of promo time leading up to the free course and started promoting that at the beginning of February.

And I actually loved that extra promo time, because when I've given myself two weeks, I feel like I need to talk about it every single day. But having that extra promo time means it meant that I could kind of spread things out a little bit and add in some fun content interspersed with the free course content.

And then again, we work backwards from there. Before the promo of the hype piece was my pre-launch period. Essentially, the whole of December and January was my pre-launch phase.

The next step was I put all of the dates on my Google Calendar. I wrote down all of my important tasks and ordered them into different sections. Then I put everything into my project management system.

My launch content

So a big part of the pre-launch phase is validating your idea and putting all of your focus into your pre-launch content wherever you show up online.

For me, this looked like emails, Instagram posts, reels, videos, podcast episodes. That was basically it.

So this step in terms of your launch content is all about content, ideas, and messaging. And this is a very, very strategic time. This is not just about coming up with random ideas based on what you feel like posting in the moment.

What we really want to do is really tune into your people and give them what they need. So for this part of the launch process, specifically, I spent a lot of my time really analysing market research and feedback. I also went through the surveys students fill out when they join the Academy.

So I think this was the fifth or sixth time that I've opened doors and done a launch for the Academy specifically. And something I did differently for this launch was that I really niched down. When I came back from maternity leave, I knew I wanted to revamp the Academy. And so I did a survey to get to know my members more, and I realised that a large majority of them were in the beginning stages of their journey. And so I really really niched down to that. I got in that mindset, and I spoke to that person.

My content really reflected that. Pre-launch content is educational, but it doesn't all have to be ‘three tips to do this’, and ‘five ways to do that’. It's about storytelling, and relatability.

One of my most popular reels during my pre-launch phase was actually related to favourite ways that entrepreneurs procrastinate. That was created using feedback from members in the Academy.

I also wasn't afraid to try things. I think that's so important, especially when you're when you let go of any expectations. You know, some podcast episodes perform better than others. Some carousel posts on Instagram flopped, some reels did better than I thought.

But if you look at my Instagram feed, and especially when you look at it from the start of January 2022, you'll see that my content is so focused. You'll also see that I'm talking about the same things over and over and over again. And that is the whole point.

I was constantly doing market research and using that to fuel my content, content ideas. And that's exactly what I teach in the Pre-launch Planning Bootcamp.

organising my launch content

I knew that this was going to be a big launch. And being a mom, having sleepless nights, I needed it to be manageable. Now, if you don't do step two of this process, content creation during a launch is hard. And that is why you burn out.

If you do step two, in detail, content creation becomes so much easier and so much fun. And that was why I was able to post every single day during my pre-launch, sometimes do a post and a real every single day because I had a bank of ideas.

So I basically took all the message mining that I had done from the welcome survey for my members, DM comment conversations, results of polls and question boxes and I split the responses into five key themes.

I took those five topics, and I tapped into one per day. So for my pre-launch runway, my hero content was my weekly podcast episode. Everything, all of your other content if you want it to, can funnel through that.

You need to know the purpose of your content during pre-launch because each functions differently. Emails, posts, reels, all function differently during a launch. And it's really important to understand as well how this all fits into your overall bird's eye view plan, which we talked about in step one.

So from here, I then started to map out my editorial calendar. Now, I didn't want to plan too far ahead, I usually plan my content on a monthly basis, especially my podcast episodes. For Instagram, I usually do one to two weeks ahead.

When you have all of this mapped out, you've got your plan, you've nailed your messaging, you've got your editorial calendar the final part of this process is to move into pre-launch. The pre-launch is way more important than launch week itself. This is where everything comes together.

The hype piece

Now, a big part of this, the pre-launch that I haven't actually mentioned much yet is your hype piece phase. Lots of people move from pre-launch into launch. I found that having an in-between is such a game-changer.

So what is this? Essentially, this is a big promotional event or stunt that gets attention right as you open doors or announce that your new collection is available. In the past, I've done things like a mini-series and masterclass, a free challenge. This time I upped it and did a free course. I went big and it was amazing.

It gave people a real insight into my teaching style. And they saw results within just a few days. So I wanted basically to make them think, ‘wow, if I'm getting these results from Holly's free course, what am I going to get if I'm in her paid programme for a year?’.

And it also gave the free course participants a time to come together, which again prepared them for joining the Academy because the community is such a key part of the programme.

I also had a VIP option: for the free course participants could upgrade for £27 and get access to a week of Voxer coaching support with the other VIP students and me for the week of the free course.

At the end of the free course, they got access to two free lessons from the Academy. So I gave them a few days to give them a chance to go through it. I kept talking about it over the weekend. And then there you go, doors open. And the rest, you know.

What worked well

Let's start off with some wins and what went well. The VIP option went so incredibly well. I had 10 people sign up for the VIP option. Of those people, I think eight of them joined the Academy. So that was a huge, huge win.

Other wins from a marketing perspective included lengthening my pre-launch runway to prepare my ideal community to feel ready to enrol in the academy. I knew that the ideal customer for the Busy to Boss Academy needed time to decide. I committed to a longer pre-launch runway that focused on training content and then slowly transitioned into mindset topics. So by the time the cart opened, I had prepared my audience enough so that they were ready to take that next step with me and enrol.

From a systems perspective, I successfully delivered the Busy to Boss Academy sneak peek with two lessons, and I also managed to deliver the main products and the emails without any major issues.

So creating a systematic quality control process and schedule, well ahead of product delivery was the key to success here. Being organised and allowing time to catch typos or other issues before the product was live. This really helped to ensure an amazing user experience for my prospective and new students.

A few other things that went well: the bonuses. I didn't overwhelm them. I didn't have loads and loads of bonuses, but I think the three that I chose benefited my current members. And so I knew that they would be a really good fit for new members as well.

When people signed up for the free course, they put in their first name and their email address, but I also had an optional space for them to put in their Instagram handle. I then DM’d everyone who gave their handle. Now, yes, it took a lot of time. But honestly, those initial conversations were so powerful for conversions. That was definitely a money-making activity for me during this launch.

I also had a solid plan. It was tight getting everything ready towards the end, especially with revamping the curriculum and the free lesson. Having that longer pre-launch period having three weeks of promo for the free course made such a difference.

Another win was realising that what I do in between launches works really well. For example, so many people who joined the Academy this time said, ‘I've been listening to your podcast for ages, I've been following you for ages’.

That just really goes to show the power of showing up and being consistent. And specifically, so many people mentioned the podcast. So I know that this works so well for me, and is definitely a money-making activity.

The free course itself was a game-changer. It was the perfect topic. I was so involved and gave feedback on homework. And I think me being in it so much definitely added that extra level. I also did a close friends strategy on Instagram, which I also think worked for a lot of people who were on the close friends list. I also did an extra training for them. So I'm definitely going to utilise that in the future.

I felt like my messaging was spot on. I remember being like ‘I don't know if this is right’ or second-guessing everything but clearly it worked.

And then finally I would say the last thing that went well, was my energy. I really prioritise my mindset. How I showed up was a huge win. And that is a big reason why so many people joined, it was because of my excitement and passion for and how I showed up.

what I learned

So the first thing that I want to say with this is, don't be afraid to pivot. I knew that I wanted to do a VIP option for the free course. My original plan was going to be an extra coaching call for each day of the challenge.

I would go live 12pm and then I was thinking that I could hop on another call just with the VIP members as another session. But in the DM conversations, a lot of people were saying ‘I'd love to, but I work’. Obviously, the offer didn't fit the client, when I changed it to have the week of Voxer support people were just in.

Another lesson that I want to share along the same lines is don't be afraid to pivot with your content. So I didn't plan out every single thing from the start of January until the end of the launch. It wasn't set in stone.

I changed things up and moved things around based on real-time conversations I was having. And this is especially important during the hype phase and launch week itself. It's also important for your messaging to change. I know that the week before my I was due to host the free course, that was when the war started between Russia and Ukraine. I saw lots of people pulling their launches and I remember speaking to my coaches about it and they both said, ‘Holly people need you now more than ever’.

Another lesson: don't get caught up in the numbers. So you will see a lot of business coaches talk about conversion rates. And conversion rates are super important. But you can have fun with the numbers don't get caught up on them. It's not always set in stone like that

Another thing that didn’t work so well is that I sent a lot of emails. That may have exhausted a portion of my email list. I can't really find a way to get around that because the emails that I sent out were all really valid. I am going to re-evaluate it next time and see which ones performed best.

Another lesson was that I need to feature my current Busy to Boss Academy students more. I shared loads of written testimonials and graphics. But I realised that I need more videos and more lives with me and my students. I did one live with a student during the launch week itself, and three people joined because of that live.

Another lesson that I learned is the power of following up. I followed up every single day in launch week. And this is why I talk about why I think it's so powerful to have as much as you can ready before launch week. So then while you are in launch week, you can focus on showing up being present and having conversations with people and following up. I know one student signed up on the last day and she was like, ‘Oh, thank you for this reminder’.

I embraced mindset work more than ever more than any other launch I've ever done. I relaxed into receiving, I held the space, I held the focus. And one of the mantras that I said to myself over and over again, was something along the lines of ‘I am so serving so many people that I don't even know about’.

I really embraced the energy of being planned and playful. I always acted as the next version of myself and I operated from that place. I filled myself with positive mind food. And I did everything I could possibly do to stay in a good headspace.

Then the final thing I learned was that having a solid plan that you can rinse and repeat, is invaluable. The constant ups and downs are so normal, but it is within your power to keep going, hold the space and hold your nerve.

Also what I learned about the launch process is the importance of messaging, the power of pivoting. And you always hear I've seen a few people launch recently, and they've done posts afterwards being like, I sent this many emails, I did this many stories, I did this many posts. For me, it's not about how much you talk about it. It's about how you feel. And I felt so good during this launch. And I know that's why it was all one of my most successful.

What you should do

As you can see, going through an audit like this and creating a thorough debrief document, a launch playbook, can be such an important helpful tool in your business.

So what I want you to take away from this:

Set goals before you launch. Without launch goals, you won't have a measuring stick to see how well you did or where you might need to improve.
Block time in your calendar. Now, for time to put together your debrief after your launch, we definitely want to set aside a couple of hours at least to discuss those findings and map all that out.
Journal on every day of the launch and audit in real time
Work on your debrief within one week after your launch ends.