Launching a new product can be an exciting and nerve-wracking time for any business. There are a million things to do, and it’s hard to know where to start. But with some careful planning, you can launch your product successfully. Proper planning is essential to any successful launch, so take the time to develop a solid strategy.
There are many factors to consider from setting clear objectives to identifying affiliates and your target audience. Here’s what you need to do to plan for a successful product launch.
4 Months Out: Start by Identifying Your Affiliates
One of the first things you need to do is identify potential affiliates who could help promote your product. These could be bloggers, social media influencers, and other businesses in your industry or complementary businesses whose audiences overlap with yours.
Once you’ve identified a few potential affiliates, reach out and see if they’re interested in partnering with you for your product launch. The more well-known and respected the affiliate, the better. Not only will they have a larger audience, but they’ll also be more likely to generate quality leads.
To find potential affiliates, start by searching Google and social media using relevant keywords. You can also contact industry associations or look for websites that list affiliate programs. Once you’ve compiled a list of potential affiliates, reach out and introduce yourself.
Explain what your product is and why you think it would be a good fit for their audience. If they’re interested, provide them with additional information, such as marketing materials and promo codes.
3 Months Out: Get Product Affiliates, Prepare Email Campaign and Social Content, Create Graphic Banners
Now that you’ve lined up some affiliates, it’s time to start getting the word out about your product launch. Prepare an email campaign detailing the features and benefits of your product and send it out to your mailing list (if you don’t have one, now’s a great time to start building one!).
The goal here is to build relationships and get them excited about promoting your product. One way to do this is by working with them on joint email campaigns or social media content. For example, you could co-host a webinar or create an infographic together.
This type of content will not only introduce your product to their audience but will also position you as an authority in your industry. You should also start preparing your own email campaign and social media content at this stage.
This way, when launching your product, you’ll already have a library of high-quality content to draw from. Finally, don’t forget to create graphic banners for your affiliates to use in their promotions. These should be eye-catching and reflective of your brand identity.
2 Months Before The Product Launch
Start Teasing on Social That a New Product Will Launch
It’s a good idea to begin teasing the upcoming release on social media. Post images or videos of the product in development, or share quotes from early reviewers. This will help generate interest and excitement in the lead-up to the launch.
You can also use social media to conduct surveys or polls about what features customers would like to see and expect in the product. This is a great way to get feedback that you can use to improve the product before launch. Just make sure to keep the surveys short, as people are more likely to respond to something that’s quick and easy.
Setup Email Signup
You can also start collecting email addresses at this stage by setting up a signup form on your website or social media page. This way, you can notify interested parties as soon as the product is available for purchase. This is one of the best ways to capture leads and start building a marketing list.
Build Out Product Page
Take the time to build out a comprehensive product page with all the necessary information for potential customers. This includes not just product specifications and pricing, but also how the product will benefit them and steps for purchasing.
1 Month Before The Product Launch
Make an official announcement about your upcoming product launch. This could be done through a press release, website announcement, or blog post. This is also the time when you’ll want to start taking pre-orders for your product.
By giving customers the opportunity to pre-order, you’ll not only generate buzz and excitement but also get a sense of how much demand there is for your product. Plus, it’ll give you a chance to iron out any issues with fulfillment before the official launch date.
3 Weeks Out
Start Publishing Affiliate/Influencer Content
If you want to know how to plan for a successful product launch, you need to start building hype at least 3 weeks in advance. One of the best ways to do this is by working with affiliates and influencers who can help spread the word about your upcoming product.
If you’re working with affiliates or influencers, this is the time to start getting their content published. You want potential customers to start seeing your product in as many places as possible, and having influencers talk about it is a great way to generate buzz.
Make sure that you stagger the release of this content so that there’s a steady stream of it in the weeks leading up to your launch. You don’t want all of it coming out at once and then dying down too quickly.
2 Weeks Out
Change Website Banners to Indicate New Launch Coming
One of the most effective ways to generate hype for your upcoming product launch is to change your website banners. This will let visitors know that something new is coming and pique their curiosity. You can also include a countdown timer to build anticipation or add a pop-up to let visitors know that a new product is on its way.
1 Week Out
You’ve worked hard on your product, and you’re about to launch it to the world. But before you launch, there are some final preparations you need to take care of to ensure a successful launch.
Here’s a quick checklist of things you need to do in the week leading up to your product launch.
Send a reminder email to anyone who requested updates.
If you’ve been collecting email addresses of people who are interested in your product, now is the time to reach out and remind them that your launch is just around the corner. This is just a polite way of giving them a heads-up.
Send them a short email with all the pertinent details:
- Date
- Time
- Website URL
Encourage them to spread the word to their friends and family. The more people you can get interested in your product before it launches, the better chance you have of having a successful launch.
Make sure you have enough inventory on hand
Nothing would be worse than launching your product only to find out that you’re already sold out! Make sure you have enough products on hand so that everyone who wants one can get one. Depending on the size of your launch, this could mean ordering hundreds or even thousands of units. But better too many than too few!
Prepare your customer service team
If you have a customer service team, now is the time to ensure they’re prepared to deal with any issues that might arise during the launch.
This includes preparing FAQs, setting up an email address or live chat specifically for the launch, and ensuring everyone on the team knows what’s happening and their roles. By doing this ahead of time, you can avoid any customer service disasters down the road.
Day Before The Product Launch
A product launch can be a make-or-break moment for a business. Get it right, and you’ll see a surge in sales that can sustain your business for months or even years to come. One day before your product launch, send out a reminder email to your list of subscribers. This email should serve as a final reminder of what your product is, what it does, and why they need it.
Be sure to include links back to your website or landing page so that people can easily find your product when it goes live. You should also consider running a few paid ads, it enables you to specifically target your audience with messaging about your product.
You can control how often they see your ad, what time of day they see it, and even where they see it. Paid ads are an extremely effective way to generate interest and anticipation for your product launch.
Launch Day
A product launch is a big day for any business. It’s the moment when all your hard work planning, designing, and developing a new product or service comes to fruition. And while it’s certainly an exciting time, it’s also a very hectic one.
There are a lot of moving parts and people involved, which means things can quickly get overwhelming. To help you ensure your product launch goes off without a hitch, here are the two most important things you need to do.
Send an Email Announcement
When it comes to announcing your product launch, email is still one of the most effective channels. That’s because it allows you to reach a large number of people with your message quickly and easily. Plus, it gives you the ability to track who opens and clicks through your email, so you can gauge interest levels and follow up accordingly.
When crafting your email announcement, keep the following tips in mind:
- Keep it short and sweet – No one wants to read a long novel about your new product or service. Get to the point and make sure your email is easy to scan.
- Use strong visuals – A picture is worth a thousand words, so make sure your email contains compelling imagery that accurately represents your product or service.
- Use an attention-grabbing subject line – Since most people decide whether or not to open an email based on the subject line alone, it’s important to make yours count. Avoid using generic phrases like “new product announcement” and be creative and concise instead.
- Personalize the message – Generic emails are less likely to be opened and read than those that feel personal and relevant to the recipient. So take the time to segment your list and tailor your message accordingly.
- Have a clear call-to-action – What do you want people to do after reading your email? Make sure your call-to-action is clear, direct, and easy to follow.
Conduct a Live Stream Countdown Event
A live-stream countdown event is a great way to generate excitement leading up to your product launch. It creates a sense of urgency and anticipation and allows you to interact directly with your audience and give them an inside look at what’s coming their way.
To pull off a successful live stream event, there are a few key things you’ll need:
- A well-equipped space – Find a quiet location with good lighting and minimal background noise where you can set up for the live stream comfortably.
- The right camera – If you’re streaming from a laptop or desktop computer, you’ll need an external webcam. For smartphone or tablet streaming, simply propping up the device, so the camera has a clear view should suffice.
- An engaging personality – The whole point of hosting a live stream is to interact with viewers in real-time, so make sure you have someone on camera who knows how to hold attention and keep things interesting.
By following these steps and paying close attention to detail, you can set yourself up for a successful product launch. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the idea of launching a new product or optimizing your conversion rate, the Jlouis team is here to help.
We make the process seamless for you, let us take the burden off your shoulders and allow us to use our expertise to help grow your business. Contact us today!
