I have a client who I’ll call Clayton that’s about to launch his first online program and right now he’s knee-deep in launch fear.
With upwards of 40 launches under my belt, I know the feeling. Clayton has worked hard to turn his expertise into a valuable, actionable program for his audience. He’s been on a tight tech learning curve, and now it’s time to shout from the rooftop, “Hey World! I made this thing that I”m really proud of. It’ll help you solve a problem and I’d like you to pay me money for it.”
What an opportunity to work out some of your stuff, right?
Though a fair amount of fear is bound to join you on the launch roller coaster, you can manage it more gracefully by taking two actions.
1. YOUR PLAN IS YOUR LIFERAFT
First, have a solid plan to guide you through the ins-and-outs of your launch. I’ve covered that one for you with my 10-Step Launch Roadmap, which you can download right here.
2: USE YOUR LAUNCH AS A TOOL FOR GROWTH
Every launch as an exercise in personal development. So, set goals for yourself above and beyond revenue. That way, no matter how lucrative a launch is, you’ll have other methods to measure its success.
I launch a program about four times each year. And every time I do, I set new business and personal goals. This helps me focus on how much I’m growing (inside and out) rather than simply on how many people buy my stuff.
Here’s my list of goal categories. Think about how they might apply to your next launch.
My Revenue Goal
I asked myself: How much profit do I want to generate from this launch? I take all the income and subtract my costs (advertising, affiliates, team) to find out if I met that goal at the end of the launch. If I prepared well and did all my homework, it works out great.
My List-Building Goal
For the list-building goal, I looked at how many subscribers I wanted to add to my list. I don’t focus at all on getting new subscribers to purchase from me – I want those people to simply have a great first experience with my business.
My Service Goal
Sometimes giving back looks like donating 10% of the gross profits to hurricane relief, offering scholarships to people who can’t afford my program, or simply helping the people on my list take an action step in the direction of their dreams. It varies from launch to launch.
My Administrative Goal
My administrative goals are always something like this: “Let’s see if my customer service VA can answer every question that comes in without having to check with me.” If she can, that means my terms of service is really clear and I’ve empowered her to trust her own judgment. I’m happy to say that we accomplished this goal in my most recent launch.
My Personal Goal
Here’s how I measured my personal growth in this launch: I thought, “If I don’t cry during the launch, it’s a sign that my self-trust is expanding. If I don’t check my inbox over the weekend, my trust in my team is expanding. If it feels more fun than fearful, it’s a sign I’m expanding.”
When I set goals beyond my revenue goal, I feel confident that the launch is about more than just getting my message out there into the world and generating income. Now it serves to inform me, makes me better for the next time around and also reflects back to me how much I’m growing.
Are you planning a launch? Nab my free 10 Step Program Launch Road Map by clicking HERE. It’s a step-by-step guide built on all of my launch experience – the good, the bad, AND the ugly.
