“I had a $50k/$100k/$1m launch”. You’ve surely seen this flex before — it’s cool, isn’t it? For most products/services, the launch itself isn’t the most important thing, though, and too much focus on it can harm your long-term revenue opportunities.
Today, we’re fixing that.
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There are two types of products you can launch — time-sensitive, ephemeral products or evergreen products. In other words, sneakers or restaurants.
Are you launching a pair of sneakers or a restaurant?
Nike ​recently announced​ their first shoe release with all-star baseball player Devin Booker. Much like their previous launches, this one is going to get a lot of media buzz, launch parties, influencer marketing, various endorsements, and more.
Sneakers, much like all fashion items, are ephemeral. Nike will launch another shoe next season and they will rarely mention this spring’s sensation.
Sure, some of these sneakers will become classics and their value will increase with time. But those are the exceptions. Most sneaker aficionados live by ​launch calendars​ because fashion items are hot for a limited time.
The core audience for these launches wouldn’t be caught dead in last year’s sneakers! This is why Nike and others need to get their shoes worn by celebs, micro-influencers, and as many people as possible as early on as possible.
This is why they invest so much (almost their entire budget) in the launch — most of the pairs will be sold around launch time.
Restaurants are different.
The launch day matters too, of course. You want some local influencers to drive buzz on day 1 and you want your restaurant to be packed.
But then what?
In the restaurant world, launch day matters much, much less than what comes next. You don’t open a new restaurant every season. It’s much harder to drive a steady flow of patrons for years to come than to nail the launch.
In this industry, launching is just a blip on the owners’ radar. The real work comes afterward when you need to:
- Attract new patrons
- Keep the old patrons coming back
- Get everyone to leave you reviews and tell their friends about you
- Stay on top of your game and keep serving good food in a good ambiance
See, both the sneaker and the restaurant industry are highly competitive but their launch and survival strategies are very different.
Sneakers vs restaurants — identify what you’re selling
In the “sneaker” category, you’ll find products with a short shelf-life:
- Live events (workshops, webinars, masterclasses)
- Cohort-based events that you only launch once or several times per year
- Time-bound digital products, i.e. yearly calendars sold at the end or the beginning of the year.
- Any seasonal product.
In the “restaurant” category, you’ll find evergreen products, things you plan to sell for years (or at least one year) to come:
- Services
- Digital downloads or templates
- Courses
- Community memberships
Shameless plug
Grab ​my 5+1 email sequence​ and take writing launch emails off your to-do list. It’s funny, witty, and warm — it reads just like a life update from an old friend.
Or ​schedule a strategy session with me​ and let’s make sure your launch and, most of all, the launch aftermath help you maximize the value of your brand-new product!
Now that you know what you’re selling, here’s a quick overview of how to launch it:
Let’s dig a bit deeper, shall we?
Launch discounts: should you or shouldn’t you?
Yes, for sneakers, a big NO for restaurants.
If you sell time-sensitive products, it makes sense to discount them: you want to fill in the first seats in your masterclass quickly or make sure that your cohort-based product will have enough members to call it a cohort.
Early bird discounts are popular for all types of events, online and offline.
If you sell an evergreen product, on the other hand, a launch discount is usually a mistake. You’ll be anchoring your audience to the discounted price and that’s what they’ll think your product is worth in perpetuity.
[​Learn more about discounts and how to maximize their impact​.]
Exception 1: you estimate that your audience will increase significantly in the near future/after the launch, so you’ll have access to buyers who have never seen the discounted price.
Exception 2: you offer a discount for a limited segment of your audience i.e. your VIP customers, buyers on a waitlist, and so on.
This is your permission slip to take the pressure off the launch week
You’ve worked hard enough to build the product itself. If it’s an evergreen product, you don’t need a 6-figure launch.
Heck, even some time-sensitive products sell better after the launch. The last purchase of ​the Audience Accelerator workshop​ happened 30 minutes before we went live.
Yes, the flex is cool — there’s no denying that. But do you know what’s cooler? Finding ways to promote your product for year(s) to come
So, instead of obsessing over how many figures will be in your launch, do this:
- Create a long-term promotion plan for your product. How often will you talk about it? On which channels?
- Figure out what ​content you can repurpose​ to mention your new product.
- Make a plan to ​collect testimonials/reviews​ regularly, not just in the beginning.
- Look at your content calendar: how many of your upcoming pieces will support your product and build a case for buying it?
Case in point: my shameless plug above about ​my launch email sequence​. This product is anything but new, but I talk about it whenever the context fits.
You may have noticed this about all my products — they have a “forever” home in the footer of all my emails but I also mention them as often as the context allows me.
If I’m launching a new product, I also bend the context and create more launch-supporting pieces. Cialdini calls it pre-suasion — talking about a topic that’s relevant to what you’re selling before you even start selling it.
Future-proof your business and avoid feast-and-famine cycles
Feast-and-famine cycles are freelancers’ scarecrow AND content creators’ now, sometimes even SaaS companies’. It’s not uncommon to have a great launch day/week/month, only to make exactly $0 in the upcoming months.
So, the next time you see someone brag about their launch, ask them about the aftermath — how many sales did they make in the next couple of months? Odds are they dropped the ball on constantly promoting their product and that’s a shame!
You’ll do better, though, I know that!
After all, the beauty of building evergreen products is that they keep bringing you revenue. For that to happen, you have to keep talking about them. Yes, even if launch day didn’t go as well as expected.
Remember that no one knows that except for you. Also, no one cares about that, as long as the product is good.
Would you avoid a restaurant just because only four patrons showed up on opening day? Me neither! I never even thought about asking a restaurant owner about their opening day.
What matters is that the place doesn’t stay empty.
Don’t be a one-hit wonder like Milli Vanilli. Plan ahead and get the most out of every product you build!
Adriana’s Picks
- Meta is building ​a giant AI model​ to power its recommendations algorithm. And to take on TikTok.
- The ​EU’s new DMA rules​ spell trouble for giants like Alphabet, Apple, and Meta. But it’s good news for smaller companies and consumers!
That’s it from me today!
See you next week in your inbox!
Here to make you think,
Adriana
Need me in your corner? There are three ways I can help you:
- Boost your chances of success by 400%: document your strategy with The Guided Strategy Template.
- Get my product launch email templates that sell: 5+1 emails you can send to your list in 45 seconds.
- Book a 1:1 strategy session with me. Let’s unlock your growth in 60 mins!
