Launch

by Jeff Walker

  Your Prelaunch Sequence

  Your Prelaunch Sequence will generally have three pieces of Prelaunch Content (which I abbreviate to PLC). Think of it as a three-act play with a beginning, middle, and end. Each piece of Prelaunch Content has a specific job. Each one needs to stand alone, but all three tie together into one big story arc. You want to avoid just throwing out three pieces of unrelated content, because you’re just not going to get the results you want that way.

  The framework for the overall story arc is that you start off teaching people about the opportunity for change or transformation. Then you follow that up with some solid teaching, and you show that transformation or change. Finally, you give the “ownership experience.” This is where you start to pivot to talking about your product and the impact it will make on your prospective client.

  Throughout this entire sequence you are layering in all the mental triggers we covered in Chapter 5. Since you’re giving out great free content, you naturally will hit the Reciprocity trigger. And by showing your knowledge of the topic and your ability to give great content away for free, you hit the Authority trigger. As you move through the launch, you’ll naturally start to build Trust. And as you gather comments and create a conversation about your Prelaunch Content, you’ll start to build Community. And since you’re taking your prospects through this entire sequence together, it becomes a shared experience that hits the Events and Ritual trigger. Then, as you get closer to your launch date, the Anticipation will start to build. In fact, you’ll find that your Prelaunch Sequence will naturally trip trigger after trigger, because the process is designed to do that. When you do this right, you end up in a supremely influential position, without having to resort to a bunch of sales tactics that feel like they belong on the used-car lot. Instead, you’re building influence in the exact same way humans have always built influence. You’re just doing it in a hyper-accelerated way.

  Now it’s important for you to understand that the magic is in the process. Success doesn’t depend on you being a gifted copywriter or master salesperson. Of course, it doesn’t hurt if you bring either of those talents to the table, but at the end of the day, the Product Launch Formula is something of an equalizer in the marketing world. It’s the process that allows people who aren’t ninja marketers to put together a super-effective sales process. And at the end of your prelaunch, if you do this correctly, you will have garnered a list of prospects who can’t wait for the moment when they can finally buy your product.

  A quick word about formats: You’ll find that this is a very flexible process. Your PLC can be delivered via email or as blog posts or as PDF reports or audio. But most of my Product Launch Formula Owners have been using video for the last few years. Video has a number of advantages. Our society has clearly become one where most people spend more time watching video than they do reading. And it’s often easier to craft a compelling video than to sit down and write a meaty PDF report. And, unless you’re a truly gifted writer, it’s a lot easier for your potential clients to get to know you and feel like they have a relationship with you via video. Finally, video content often has a higher perceived value than other types of content.

  Without getting too technical, I need to mention that there are two primary types of video: screen-capture video and full-motion video. Screen capture is a video recording of a computer screen with a voice talking over it. You can record a PowerPoint-style presentation or record a demonstration of a web site or some software. Full-motion video is like the video you see on TV; it’s shot with a camera. Neither one of these types of video is better or worse; each one has its strengths and weaknesses. For instance, some people prefer screen-capture video because they don’t feel comfortable appearing on camera. Others prefer full-motion because there’s often less prep work involved—if you know your material and you have a rough outline, you could just turn on the camera and start recording.

  Since video has become the predominant format for Prelaunch Content, for the rest of this chapter I’m going to assume that you will be using video for your Prelaunch Content. Please remember, however, that you don’t need to do video. I’ve done plenty of great launches using nothing more sophisticated than email.

  Okay, let’s take a closer look at each step of your Prelaunch Sequence . . .

  PLC #1: The Opportunity (or the Journey)

  Your first piece of Prelaunch Content (PLC #1) is critical. It has to grab your prospects’ attention and draw them in, so it has to be compelling. And it must answer the all-important question “Why?”

  Why should your prospect care? Why should they spend their precious time paying attention to you? Why should they listen to you? What can you do for them?

  So how do you answer those questions? How do you get your prospects to sit up and listen? How do you get them to care?

  Let me give you the short answer. At the heart of every product, every offer, there is some opportunity for transformation or change. If you’re selling a training product that will help golfers take five strokes off their golf score, you’re offering a transformation. If you’re selling a product that will help people meet the love of their life, you’re offering a transformation. If you’re selling a machine that helps people open the mail coming into their office 380% more efficiently, you’re offering transformation.

  Some people just don’t like the word “transformation” or they don’t see it in their offer. That’s fine—you can use the word “change” if you want or even “impact.” The bottom line is you need to focus on the end benefit that your product will create for your prospect. At the most basic level, you are either taking away some pain from your client . . . or you’re delivering some pleasure.

  And that’s not just true for your launches—that’s true in any situation where you’re selling anything. There’s an old adage among direct marketing copywriters that if you have a hardware store and you’re selling drills, you’re not really selling drills—you’re selling “holes in wood.” People want to buy an end result. Doesn’t matter what you’re selling. People aren’t so interested in the actual tool. The tool is just a means to get that result. And that’s what you want to sell them.

  Here’s another way to think about it. If you want to travel to your favorite beach resort, you’re interested in getting there quickly, efficiently, safely, comfortably—and for a lot of people, as inexpensively as possible. You probably don’t really care exactly what means of transportation you’re going to use. Whatever gets you there fulfilling those requirements is fine. If all those factors were equal, it wouldn’t matter if you flew on a plane or rode on a train or drove a car. You’re buying the destination, not the means of transportation.

  Now if you look at why people don’t buy from you, the first and most common reason is that they’re not interested in what you’re selling. For instance, you might have the greatest wheelchair in the world—the most comfortable, efficient, reliable, flexible design in existence. It might even be priced lower than any other wheelchairs in its class. However, if you’re trying to sell that wheelchair to someone who doesn’t need a wheelchair, then you’re not going to make the sale.

  The second reason people don’t buy is that they don’t have the money. They just simply do not have it, and they have no means to get it. That reason is a deal-breaker as well.

  The third reason people don’t buy is that they don’t believe you. You’re telling them how great your product is, but they’re not convinced. They either flat out don’t think you’re telling the truth or they think you’re mistaken. In other words, they don’t trust either your ethics or your competence.

  A fourth reason is that they believe you and they believe you’re right about the product and that it actually does work. However, they don’t believe the product will work for them. Let’s say, for example, you’re selling some way for people to quit smoking, and your prospect completely believes you and believes your method has worked for lots of other people. But in the back of their head they�
��re thinking, “I know it works for everyone else, but I’ve tried 15 other ways to quit smoking, and none of them worked for me.”

  Product Launch Formula isn’t going to help you with either of the first two reasons that people don’t buy (they don’t want what you’ve got or they flat-out don’t have the money), but if you do this right, then it will handle the third and fourth reasons. They’re going to believe you. And the first piece of Prelaunch Content is the critical first step.

  So here’s a general recipe that works well for PLC #1:

  1. Show the opportunity. Show/tell how their life is going to change with your product.

  2. Position. Show/tell why they should listen to you.

  3. Teach. It’s important not to just go on and on about the opportunity; you have to deliver value.

  4. Raise objections and either answer them or promise to answer them in upcoming videos. No matter what your offer is, there will be objections. You need to face them head on.

  5. Foreshadow PLC #2. Let them know there’s another video coming, and spark their desire by revealing some of the really cool stuff that they’re going to learn in PLC #2.

  6. Call to action. Ask for a comment on your launch blog or in social media.

  PLC #2: The Transformation

  If PLC #1 was all about the “Why,” your second piece of Prelaunch Content is all about the “What”—what is this transformation or opportunity and how is it going to change or transform your prospects’ lives? PLC #2 is more about teaching; you want to teach some type of tip or trick that is truly valuable.

  What can you teach in five to ten minutes that will make an impact on your prospect? How can you start to change their life right now or at least create a shift in the way they look at their life? It doesn’t have to be a huge change or huge impact—just get them moving.

  For instance, in one of my launches for Product Launch Formula, my PLC #2 was all about the Seed Launch. (You’ll learn about the Seed Launch in Chapter 9—it’s a way for someone to do a super-quick launch even when they’re starting without a list or a product.)

  So in PLC #2 I actually teach how to do the Seed Launch. Of course, since that prelaunch video is only about 18 minutes long, I can’t teach it as deeply as I do in the actual Product Launch Formula Coaching Program, but I go as deep as I can in that amount of time. And I’ve had people successfully do a Seed Launch based on that video alone.

  Of course, most of my viewers don’t immediately go out and do a Seed Launch after they see that video, but I want to give them enough training so that they can at least see themselves doing one. And that’s key: If PLC #2 can get your prospect to see themselves having the transformation that you promised in PLC #1, then you’ve done your job.

  Here’s the general recipe for a strong PLC #2:

  1. Thanks and recap. Thank people for their comments and questions from PLC #1, and then give a quick recap of PLC #1.

  2. Recap the opportunity. You won’t spend as much time as you did in PLC #1, but you need to quickly recap the opportunity. Don’t ever assume that your prospect has seen or paid attention to or remembered PLC #1. Remember, they’ve got busy lives and your launch isn’t nearly as important to them as it is to you.

  3. Recap your positioning. You need to remind them who you are and why they should listen to you. But don’t take too long with this—do it quickly.

  4. Present a Case Study or do some real teaching. You need to deliver some real value for your viewer. Teach them one (or more) cool things that they can put to use quickly.

  5. Objection crushing. Talk about the top two or three objections and answer them. You want to go after your prospects’ big objections to the change or transformation that you’re promising.

  6. Foreshadow PLC #3. You need to let them know you have another video coming soon. Build some anticipation for it by telling them a little about what you’re going to teach in that video.

  7. Call to action. Ask for a comment on your launch blog or in social media.

  PLC #3: The Ownership Experience

  So PLC #1 was the “why” and PLC #2 was the “what.” Now in PLC #3 you will start to answer the “how” question.

  In other words, you’ve shown the potential transformation or change—whether it’s being able to play the piano or having a greener lawn or learning to meditate. But usually they still don’t see how they’re really going to have that change in their lives. Well, the ultimate answer is to buy your product, and by the end of PLC #3, they’re going to see that answer. But first you need to continue to build value.

  One of the important things you need to do throughout your Prelaunch Sequence is to build the excitement and tension. Think of it like a movie or a novel. As you move through the story you have the “rising action,” to use a term from your high school creative writing class. That means that the story is clearly building and moving toward a climax. You want your product launch story to do the same thing. As you move through each piece of PLC, you want to keep building your level of pacing and excitement.

  So here’s the recipe for PLC #3:

  1. Express thanks and excitement. Thank your viewers for their comments and questions from PLC #2. Tell them how excited you are and how excited all your viewers are. (And if you did a good job in PLC #1 and #2, then your viewers WILL be getting excited.)

  2. Quickly recap the opportunity and your positioning. Don’t assume they remember (or even saw) your first two videos—briefly describe the opportunity, and remind them who you are and why they should listen to you. Don’t take too long with this—move through it quickly.

  3. Possibly present a short Case Study.

  4. Answer the top questions you’ve been getting. In other words, you’re going to answer the top objections. You want to do this even if you’ve already raised and answered those objections in your earlier PLC. People raise the same objections in different ways by asking different questions. So go ahead and answer those questions that keep popping up in the comments on your blog.

  5. Explain the big view and how to make it happen. This is where you step back and look at what’s really possible. What’s the ultimate transformation or change that your prospect can have in their life if they buy your product? Look at it from all angles and project out into their future.

  6. Pivot to your offer and create a soft landing. Do this in the last 25% of your PLC #3. By now your prospects have fallen in love with you, because you’ve given them huge value. And it’s time for you to start preparing them for the offer—that’s the “soft landing.” You don’t want to go from being their best friend in one video to a used-car salesman in the next. So you have to tell them that in your next video you’re going to have an offer for them, and they need to watch if they’re ready to take their transformation to the next level.

  7. Seed the scarcity of your launch offer. You will want to have some type of scarcity in your launch offer, and near the end of PLC #3 you want to make some mention of that scarcity. You’re not looking to hit them over the head with it, because they still haven’t seen your offer. But this is a good time to mention that they should be on the lookout for your next email, because this is going to be a limited offer.

  8. Call to action. Ask for a comment on your launch blog or in social media.

  So that’s your three-part Prelaunch Sequence. When you do this right, you will build a warm relationship with your prospects, you’ll demonstrate massive authority, and you’ll create all kinds of reciprocity. And, of course, you’ll deliver massive value in every step of the process.

  You’ll also create a “launch conversation” as your prospects leave comments on your blog. And that launch conversation will create something of an instant community as people start to read each others’ comments (and even start to converse back and forth). That launch conversation will also give you some strong insights into your prospects’ big objections, and it will give you a way to gauge whether your Prelaunch Content is striking a nerve with your prospects.<
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  Case Study Caution

  There is one thing I have to mention here about Case Studies and the law. But before we go any further, I have to clarify that I am most definitely not a lawyer. Nor do I play one on TV. So what I’m about to say is a lay-person’s understanding, and you should definitely get an expert’s opinion. In addition, as I type this, the latest rules, regulations, and laws are far from clear, and they’re still being interpreted.

  But the bottom line is that a few years ago, the United States Federal Trade Commission published new guidelines about the use of testimonials—specifically testimonials that have any results-based claims.

  In the past, a seller could include a disclaimer that “results were not typical” when publishing any results from their products. That disclaimer is no longer enough. I don’t want to go any further in my explanation here, because . . . well, I’m not a lawyer. And there’s still plenty of murkiness around this topic.

  I bring this up only because I mentioned using Case Studies in your PLC. Where Case Studies fall with regards to results-based testimonials is still unclear as I write this. So if you’re in doubt about some part of your sales process or your PLC and you plan to sell in the U.S., you should consult an attorney to see if you’re in compliance with the FTC regulations and guidelines.

  Your Prelaunch Timing

  And now the all-important question on the timing of your Prelaunch Sequence: How long should it be? How long between each PLC? The answer, unfortunately, is that it depends.

  I’ve personally had prelaunches that lasted anywhere from three days all the way up to 27 days. But I wouldn’t recommend either of those extremes for your first few launches. I think a good starting point is seven to ten days. And that time is measured from when you release your first piece of PLC up until you actually launch and start taking orders, which we call “Open Cart.”