The very first time I tried to sell something on the internet, it felt horrifying. Would anyone buy? What did I know? Would it work? I posted on my Facebook page and mentioned it to a few friends.
Crickets.
The mental duress of sharing something you're working on and wondering if people will buy—ugh, it's not easy. Somehow, over the past fifteen years, I've now done more launches than I can keep track of. After hundreds of courses, products, programs, offerings, books, mini-books, and more, I am comfortable with one thing:
You never fully know how it's going to go.
No matter how many launches I’ve done, products I’ve offered, courses I’ve tried—there are so many variables that can shift all the time. Launching new things is not easy. (Predicting the future is also not easy.)
It’s important, however, to know that there is so much more to a launch than the number of people who buy from you. Sometimes when you launch, it’s the first time people are paying attention to you.
They’re watching and learning and listening and waiting. Putting into the calendar for next time to join when you do it again. Listening, reading, learning. Finding out about you for the first time. Deciding and debating, hesitating.
Sometimes when you launch, it’s the first time people are paying attention to you.
One data point—your first launch—is not enough data to make a decision. It’s only the start of an exploration.
Your next steps?
Email your group, your list, your friends. Ask them for feedback.
Write to them:
“Hey! If you didn’t sign up, but you were interested, hit reply. I’m curious if folks want me to run another program later this year—and I need to hear from you if so!”
Get on the phone with your customers. Ask them if the product is for them. Talk to them about what they would change. Use the phrase, “If you’re being honest…” because it opens up people’s responses and allows them to shift into saying things that maybe they were hesitating to say.
“If you’re being completely honest, what held you back from buying this program?”
Adjust, readjust. Launch again, softly. Give yourself more space to ramp up into the program, more time to talk about it. People need to hear about things 4-7 times before they’re even aware that it exists and comfortable taking action. Most people don’t buy something the first time they hear about it.
Most people don’t buy something the first time they hear about it.
In all likelihood, your launch was a great first step: you told the world what you have to offer. People are listening and watching, but they aren't ready to take action yet.
Quitting after your first launch is quitting way too soon.
It's okay to tell people about what you do multiple times. Use stories to share how it works; share case studies of what it's helped people do; describe the story of you making the project; share the failures of launching it; share your hopes and dreams; describe the change you seek to make in the people you want to serve.
Use the first launch as the first teaching point, not the end point. You told people about your THING. Now keep telling them about it!
Prepare for a launch with this key insight: never launch once.
If you pin all of your hopes and dreams on one single launch, the risk is insanely high. You need to plan ahead to launch a product or a program multiple times. Launch in beta if you need to, then launch an early bird program, and then prepare to run it several times. With this mindset of multiple launches, you'll release some of the pressure of needing to launch perfectly, and instead you'll tap into the world of iteration and experimentation.
That's where you need to live as a business owner.
Use each launch as a chance to learn. Use each iteration as a chance to experiment.
Plus, how often do we get anything right on the first try?
The first launch is to learn.
You can test which channels seem to bring in the most interest. You’ll see exactly how many people buy, and when they buy. You’ll get feedback from customers. You might get a lot of questions.
This is all valuable information.
When you view all of this as a larger collection of insight and see a launch as work in progress, you’ll maintain more sanity (and energy) for the long haul.
Don’t drop out because the first try didn’t work. Learn from it. You might be a few tweaks away from a brilliant product, you just don’t know it yet.
Keep going.
— Sarah Peck
CEO & Founder
Startup Parent
"Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." — Ralph Waldo Emerson
So helpful. Life right now feels in a great conspiracy against my book launch. BUT NO LAUNCH IS PROMISED. And! I can launch again! Later! Whyever not?!
I used to tell folks that you had to commit to selling something three times before you knew if it was a success or not. Because one great launch isn't enough to know if your idea works either! There are always those people who buy whatever new thing you might offer. But to know if you have purchase (pun slightly intended) with a less enthusiastic segment of your market, you've got to offer it at least 2 more times. Great insight as always, Sarah!