Spoiler alert: just focusing on selling and building hype during a launch can REALLY damage your results.

There is a big misconception about the meaning of launching. A lot of people think it means you put your product out there, you create this buzz, and you get people excited about it. Now, yes, to some extent, we do want people to be excited about your product… but your launch is about so much more than that.

Your pre-launch period (the 60 to 90 days leading up to your launch), is WAY more important than what happens once you actually open doors or your product goes live. The pre-launch period is what really matters and the point of it is not just to tell people that you have a new product coming out soon. People aren’t going to be excited just by the fact that you have something coming unless you’ve built a BIG following and people have been waiting for what you have to offer them.

There is so much more to launching than just building hype, so let’s first look at this whole idea of building hype, and then later on, I’ll share 5 of the main objectives for your pre-launch content that aren't about building hype.

HOW TRYING TO BUILD HYPE IS HURTING YOUR LAUNCH

#1 | There’s Only So Much Building Hype You Can Do

Building hype is based around the idea that we need to make people excited to buy our product, because if they’re not excited to buy it then they’re not going to want to buy it when it’s available. We also believe that if we don’t do enough work to sell our product, then people aren’t going to want to buy it.

There’s only so much talking about your product and teasing that you have a launch coming that you can do before your content starts to get really REALLY boring. If your audience doesn’t think they need your product, they are going to get really bored listening, watching, or reading your content.

This is where things get interesting. If your audience doesn’t realise they need your product, or that they even have the problem that your product solves, your content is going to be extra boring for them and they are not going to want to listen to you talk about your product.

#2 | You Are Aimlessly Putting Out Content

Aimlessly putting out content to build excitement that has no real strategy behind it is seriously harming your launch.

Here’s an idea of the strategy that I use behind my own launch content. If your pre-launch content strategy is missing any of these types of content, you’re really missing out on its effectiveness (more to come on these later!)

Content that builds your audience
Content that builds know, like, and trust
Content that positions you as an authority
Content that shows your audience what they need to know about themselves, the product or your area of expertise in order to be ready to buy from you
Content the overcomes any objections your buyers might have.

Notice how none of these categories involve building hype!

Your pre-launch content is about making your audience aware of the problem, making them aware of your solution, and showing them why you are the person that is perfectly positioned to help them get that solution or overcome that problem.

#3 | Your Launch Isn’t About Getting People Excited

There is this big misconception that people have to be excited about our product in order to buy it. Like I said earlier, we want them to be excited to some extent (we don’t want them to be not excited about it!)

What we really want is for them to feel like it’s a no brainer. We want it to be an easy yes for them. We want them to feel like this is the product for them, like this was made for them - it’s made for overcoming their problem and it’s the perfect solution for them. In order to get to that point, they need a little bit of educating, which Is where these five types of pre-launch content come into play.

THE 5 MAIN OBJECTIVES OF YOUR PRE-LAUNCH CONTENT

#1 | Build Your Audience

When people launch they think, “let me build my Instagram followers, let me get more Instagram followers!” NO!

When I talk about building your audience during your pre-launch phase, I don’t just mean building your social media following (even though that is the first place everyone goes to). Instagram followers do not convert anywhere near as well as email subscribers do. If you can get people onto your email list, then when you do you launch your product, you already have this audience waiting for you.

Let’s do some comparing. A standard email open rate is anywhere between 20 and 30% vs between 2 and 5% of your Instagram following who might see your latest post. And then how many of those people are actually going to take the time and effort to click through or comment or visit your website? The whole aim of your pre-launch phase is to try and get people onto your email list and if you are doing that, then you are doing a good job.

#2 | Build Your Know, Like & Trust

A lot of people that you are getting onto your email list during your pre-launch phase might not have been following you for very long. They might not know who you are, they might not know your journey, and so you need to get them to know you, to like you, and to trust you.

My favourite way to do this is to share connection building content. This is really honest, raw, behind-the-scenes content. Not just trying to give them more, more, more value, but trying to show them that you are a real human. It’s showing them who you are, not just who you think they want to see, but who you actually are.

#3 | Position Yourself As An Authority

Positioning yourself as an authority is even more important if you are going to be teaching about a particular topic. For example, Marie Forleo teaches you how to create a business and a life that you love. She has positioned herself as an authority in the online business space through press articles that are written about her, through content that she shares, and so much more.

She has positioned herself as an authority and that is exactly what you need to do when you are creating and launching your product, especially in that pre-launch phase.

#4 | Get Your Audience Ready To Buy From You

It’s so important through your pre-launch content to get your audience where they need to be in order to be ready to buy from you.

Ask yourself:

What does my ideal customer need to know themselves in order to be ready to buy when I launch?
What do they need to know about the topic that I’m teaching to be ready to buy when I launch?
What do they need to know about my product to be ready to buy when I launch?

This is going to form the bulk of your content in the lead up to your pre-launch phase, because you’ll often find that you need to make some little mindset shifts with your audience.

Take this blog post as an example. One of the things you need to know in order to be ready to buy my course about launching (coming in 2021!) is that your launch isn’t just about building hype. You need to know that there is an art and science to the content that you share in the lead up to your launch. I’m using this as one of those pieces of content to shift you to where you need to be and what you need to know in order to be in the right place to enrol in my course.

#5 | Overcome Objections

Objections are things that your customers will have when it comes to signing up for your course or your membership or buying your product - whatever it is that you are launching.

Two of the biggest objections that can pop up with every launch include:

I don’t have enough time to do this
I don’t have enough money

You need to have content that discredits those objections, that shows your audience why those objections aren’t unique to them, why they don’t really matter, and why they are not going to hold them back from seeing success.

There we go! Those are five types of content that I would share in a lead up to a launch. As you can see, none of them are really direct or salesy. None of them say, “hey listen up I have a brand-new course coming soon!” You might sprinkle in a few calls to action throughout the content to say “download my freebie” or “get on my email list”. Once your launch begins that is when you turn into sales mode. But the bulk of your content isn’t selling. The bulk of your content is educating your audience.

And whether they buy from you or not, you’ve still improved their lives a little bit. I have no doubt that a lot of you reading this blog post may not sign up for my course and that is completely fine. I’ve just shown you five different types of content that you can share during the pre-launch phase that aren’t about building hype, so even if you don’t buy my course, I have still made some kind of improvement to the launches that you have in the future.

So remember: launching isn’t just about building hype. It’s about sharing value, it’s about building your audience, building that know, like, and trust, positioning yourself as that authority, getting your audience to be where they need to be to be ready to buy, and overcoming those potential objections. Do that and you will have a very well-rounded, successful launch every time.

ABOUT THE BLOGGER

Hi! I’m Holly Bray

I’m an expert at online marketing, a nerd when it comes to the numbers, and my obsession is teaching others how to know what tasks to focus on so they can create a business that GIVES them life (not one that takes it away).