You’re so excited about your new project, you can’t sleep. Millions of ideas whirl in your head. Your little fingers can’t type fast enough to keep up with the brilliance spilling out of your brain. OMG this is going...
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Freaking out because no one is buying? Read this.
I get dozens of emails every week from business owners who are completely freaking out because their launch isn’t generating the sales they had hoped for.
They’re glued to their computer—panicking, obsessing over microscopic details, scrambling to make last-minute changes, and pleading for some advice.
It’s like the white walkers from Game of Thrones are descending and the entire world is flailing to an end.
“OMG, no one wants what I have!!! I’m such a loser. Everyone hates me forever. I think I need to change the last line on my sales page. No, wait! I need a brand new photo shoot so people will like my pictures and buy my stuff. Do you think I can get new photos done in time? Should I do one more webinar? Buy some Facebook ads? I have two days left in my launch and time is running outttt!!!!”
If you’re finding yourself in this frenzied state, take a deeeep breath.
Then, turn your focus away from the microscopic details of your launch, and back towards your customers.
The entire point of a “launch” – aka: an interval of time where you’re trying to drum up purchases or sign ups for a new product or service – is to connect with the people in your audience, build deeper relationships and build excitement for your work, and gracefully invite people to take part in your offer.
If you are worrying about tiny details, all of that stress is taking you farther and farther away from what you’re actually trying to do—connect and invite.
It’s kind of like throwing a brunch for friends, but then weeping in the corner because there’s a tiny chip on one of your coffee mugs, and meanwhile, your guests are like, “So…are you going to be serving food at some point? Because we’re kinda starving. Also, uh, are you okay?”
Weepy, stress-ball hostess? You’re missing the whole point of the party. You’re a hot mess. Your guests aren’t having any fun, either, and they’re feeling pretty ignored. Do you think they’re going to take you up on your offer to “come back next week for another brunch” or join your “new book club” or whatever else you’re hoping they’ll do with you? Uh…no thanks. They’re already heading for the door. It’s exactly the same scenario when it comes to your biz.
So, the next time you’re feeling completely freaked out about a launch that is not going the way you’d hoped or planned, raise your gaze from the small stuff and re-focus on what really matters.
Instead of spending forty-seven hours writing and re-writing and re-writing and re-writing that one final line on your sales page until it is “perfect”…
Contact 10 people in your business community who would be perfect for your new offer.
Send each of them a personal email. Tell each person why he or she rocks and why you think your offer would be an awesome fit for them. Invite each person to learn more by directing them over to a webpage with details. Invite them to personally chat with you about it further, too.
I’ve had huge success with this “personalized invitation” approach. The secret to making it work? RELEASE YOUR EXPECTATIONS. You’re reaching out with a lovely invitation, not a pressure-filled, guilt-trippy demand.
Also? This approach works best if you’re reaching out to people that you already have some kind of relationship with: past clients, past customers, people you’ve chatted with on social media. There’s got to be some kind of genuine, pre-existing connection. If you’re writing to a total stranger to say, “I loooove you and I created this offering with YOU in mind, superstar!” they’re going to see right through your fabrication and sense…only desperation.
Instead of slashing your prices in a last-ditch effort to get people to purchase your thing (FINAL CHANCE! 90% off if you buy RIGHT NOW!!)…
Hold firm with your pricing and avoid the temptation to second-guess yourself or go all used-car-salesman-y in the final hour.
In fact? Shut off your computer and back…away…slowly.
Pour yourself a glass of champagne and celebrate the fact that you’ve just done something that millions of people dream about but never even attempt:
Bringing a creative project from “idea” to “finished reality.”
You MADE a THING that is DONE and your thing is going to inspire, inform, enchant, and/or entertain the lucky people who choose to purchase it, whether it’s 10 people or 100 or 1,000. That’s a big freaking deal.
Toast to your success, regardless of the specific financial outcome of this particular launch. Toast to the fact that you are a DOER, not just a dreamer or planner.
Then, as you’re cruising into a more grateful, abundant state of mind, create a mini-survey to collect ideas and feedback from the people in your business community. Something you could send off in a few weeks time, once the dust from your launch simmers down.
In your survey, ask people questions like, “What are you struggling with most right now?” or “What’s something you’ve always wanted to ask me?” or “What feels ‘blah’ about your life right now that I might be able to help with?”
Collect stories, pleas for help, and confessions and use your new “market research” to develop even more enticing products and services in the near future.
The people in your business audience will feel seen, heard, and appreciated.
And your future sales will only go up as a result.
Final reminders:
Yes, marketing strategies do matter.
Yes, subtle details do matter.
Yes, sure, maybe changing the color of your banner from red to turquoise will result in a microscopically higher sales conversation rate.
But you can drive yourself INSANE obsessing over that kind of minutia, all the while losing touch with the real reasons you chose to become an entrepreneur in the first place:
To have fun.
To feel liberated and free.
To make a difference in people’s lives.
Remember that when it comes to running a successful business launch…
It’s about people, not details.
If you’re stressed about selling, simply turn your attention back to your customers. Reconnect with their wants and needs. Find ways to make individual people in your community feel seen and appreciated. Shine the spotlight outward, not inward.
This works wonders, and often? It’s the only “strategic change” you really need to make.
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