5 Things You DON’T Need for a Successful Course Launch in Your Business
As a launch copywriter and strategist that’s been in the game for nearly two decades, I’ve seen a LOT – the good, the bad, and the ugly.
And over the years I’ve also seen people in the industry try to convince their audience of certain things they “need” in order to have a successful launch.
It’s your classic “if you want X result, you have to do Y.”
If I’m being completely honest with you though, I disagree with a lot of the noise out there. And no, it’s not just for the sake of me having unpopular opinions.
It’s because I TRULY believe that you don’t have to follow anyone else’s playbook to get the results you really want. You don’t have to follow any specific launch “rules.” And quite frankly, you don’t have to make it as complicated as many people make it seem.
I unfortunately see so many people procrastinating launching a new course or program in their business because it feels daunting and overwhelming. And the reason it typically feels like that is because you’ve been sold this idea that launching is intense, grueling, and maybe even anxiety inducing.
But I’m here to say that there is no one “secret” to a successful launch and many of the elements that you think you need are actually optional. In fact, focusing too much on these can distract you from what really matters, which is delivering true value to your audience.
So, in this blog post I’m debunking some common launch myths that you might’ve heard so you can feel more confident and less stressed about taking action on the launch idea that’s been swirling in your head.
5 Things You Don’t Need For A Successful Course Launch
- A huge following
One of the biggest misconceptions that I see people believing is that they have to have a HUGE audience before they ever launch their course or program.
But the truth is that it’s really not about quantity at all – it’s about QUALITY.
I know many people who have thousands of followers, but only a fraction of those followers are actually engaged with their content and what they’re doing.
When it comes to launching a program in your business, a smaller, more engaged audience is shown to be more powerful than a massive, indifferent one.
Instead of obsessing over growing your following before launching your course or program, focus on building genuine relationships and providing value to your existing followers. When you do this, your message will resonate more deeply, and word-of-mouth can be incredibly effective.
- Paid ads
Can paid ads help you reach more people during your program launch? Absolutely! Are they required to see massive results during your launch? NOPE!
In fact, I always advise my students to focus on organic marketing strategies FIRST, such as content marketing, social media engagement, and leveraging your existing network, in order to prove your offer before ever moving into the paid advertising world.
Without having a proven offer and knowing that people are interested, you’re essentially flushing money down the Meta drain and can be left more defeated than when you started.
- A finished course or program
This one might sound a little crazy, but it’s truly one of my favorite things to tell people…
Your course or program does NOT have to be finished in order for you to sell and launch it.
This is the very reason that I hosted the Studio Audience Advantage Workshop because I hear all the time that people have an idea for something they want to launch, but they can’t find the time to sit down and record the content.
I hear you because I AM you!
So much so that I once let a new program sit in my Google Doc drafts for an entire year before doing anything with it. 🙈
What I’ve found overtime is that many people spend 80% of their effort on creating the program – i.e. drafting the course in Google Docs, creating slides for it, creating the backend portal, etc. – and only 20% on launching it.
But the problem with that is the creation doesn’t bring in the sales. Actually LAUNCHING it does.
Which is why I encourage people to stop obsessing over the creation of the course and instead implement what I like to call the “Studio Audience Method” and deliver the program live. After that, you can use that recording to sell the course or program again in the future!
- Fancy tech
We live in a world where we’re very easily made to feel like success = fancy things.
Fancy cars, fancy hand bags, fancy jewelry, fancy homes.
And this definitely overflows into the business world, with fancy tech being one of those things that might make you feel behind if you don’t have it.
But guess what? I’ve personally had 6 and 7-figure launches using my basic computer camera, an external microphone, and Zoom.
And so have my clients!
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to record something in a fancy studio one day and I’m all for the tech equipment out there that can level up a video.
But it’s not a REQUIREMENT to have a successful launch in your business. Like anything in life or business, start with what you have and refine later.
- An irresistible offer
An “irresistible” offer is one of those things that you hear people say all the time when they’re talking about launching something to your audience.
But I disagree. By definition, irresistible means “too attractive, tempting, powerful, or convincing to be resisted.”
So essentially, it means that NO ONE can say “no” to what you’re offering.
But you and I both know that’s not really how life or business works. It’s impossible that every single person, even if they are all an ideal client, is going to buy what you’re selling.
With that in mind, trying to create an irresistible offer in order to have a successful launch doesn’t actually make any sense.
Because regardless of how amazing it is, what problem it solves, what it costs, or what it promises, there will 100% be people who are going to resist it.
There will without a doubt be someone with an objection.
“It’s too expensive. Now isn’t the right time. I don’t think this is for me.”
You will most likely hear those common hesitations from someone during the selling promise.
And you know what I say to all of those? GOOD! That might sound weird coming from someone who is also a business owner selling offers, but the reason that objections are a good thing is because you haven’t created something that feels controlling or overly persuasive.
You aren’t creating something that makes people fall under your “spell.”
Instead, you’re creating an offer that IS helpful and IS valuable and WILL help the right people that truly need it.
You’re creating something that offers a very specific solution for a very specific problem that allows people the ability to make the right choice for them.
THAT is the kind of offer that I’m much more interested in.
Resources For Your Next Launch
Overall, launching a course, program, or any type of new offer in your business really doesn’t require all of the things that you might be hearing out there.
Sure, those things can be helpful and you can shift your focus to them eventually, but the FIRST step is simply getting your program out there so you can deliver value to your audience and receive feedback along the way.
Remember, the heart of a successful launch lies in understanding your audience’s needs and providing genuine solutions. Don’t let the pressure of perfection or the myths of needing certain things hold you back.
And if you aren’t sure how to start with this whole launch thing, I’ve got you covered!
- The LaunchFlow™ Roadmap – this roadmap was created to help you learn the 5 flows of fun and repeatable big money launches. 💸
- 4 Keys to Successful, Repeatable, and Sustainable Launches – this blog post walks you through the 4 things you need to have in place when planning your next launch
- How To Know What Type of Launch Is Right For You – this blog post leads you through 4 questions to ask yourself when deciding what type of launch to run
Take what you need and connect here for more launch strategy and copywriting tips!