5 Things You DO Need for a Successful Course Launch in Your Business
Over the years as a launch copywriter and strategist, I’ve seen a lot of people in the industry try to convince their audience of certain things they “need” in order to have a successful launch.
“You need the perfect lead magnet.”
“You need a large following.”
“You need to run ads.”
“You need to host a webinar.”
“You need to film your course with fancy tech.”
The list goes on.
And honestly, I disagree with a lot of the things I see! And no, it’s just for the sake of me having unpopular opinions or wanting to partake in hot take marketing.
It’s because I believe that you don’t *need* a lot of the things that are being thrown your way in the online business world in order to truly have a successful launch.
It’s so easy to fall victim to the idea that there’s just one “secret sauce” for launching and it’s tempting to try to follow someone else’s playbook when you’ve seen them be successful.
But if there’s one thing I know to be true about launching, it’s that it’s a UNIQUE process. Which means that just because one thing works for one person doesn’t mean it will work for you.
Sure, some of the things people say you “need” can be helpful, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a requirement.
In fact, I believe that you really only NEED 5 things for a successful launch in your business. And these things are less about strict “rules” or specific strategies and are way more about tried and true sales and business principles that have been around forever.
That’s why you won’t find me teaching trendy launch tactics or trying to convince you to try a strategy that might not actually fit for you. Instead, I’m more interested in helping you learn the principles that don’t change so that you can CHOOSE whatever launch method that you want.
In this blog post, I’m diving into what these 5 things are so you can ditch the common advice that you might be hearing elsewhere and FINALLY launch in a way that you enjoy.
5 Things You Need For A Successful Launch In Your Business
- A proven offer that your audience truly wants or needs
A huge part of launching in your business revolves around the actual thing you’re selling – your offer. Whether it’s a course, program, mastermind, etc. this is the part of the launch planning process that needs a good bit of your attention!
The tricky part about designing your offer, however, is that many people get caught up in the tangible things that people GET when they buy.
Things like carefully curated PDF’s, video lessons, bonus trainings, etc.
And while sure, sometimes adding a cool bonus or including a bunch of extra things in a purchase can be great, the main thing you want to focus on when designing your offer is what you REALLY need to include so that people receive the transformation that they’re ultimately looking for.
- Qualified, ideal leads
You DON’T need a large following in order to have a successful launch in your business, but you DO need to have qualified, ideal leads in your pipeline.
Prior to a launch, it’s important for you to promote pre-launch content that draws in the right people so that when you do launch, they’re lined up at your virtual door interested in what you’re promoting and hopefully ready to buy.
And remember, attracting your ideal audience has less to do with knowing their coffee order and their favorite music genre.
Instead, it means knowing their struggles and challenges very specifically and speaking to those in everything that you do, so it’s clear that you know them, understand them, and ultimately have a solution that can help them.
- A launch method that you love
It’s no secret that there are a number of different ways you can launch – there’s a workshop, challenge, summit, PDF download, masterclass, video series, etc.
The options are truly endless and if you choose the most trendy option because that’s what everyone else is doing and you think “if it worked for them, it’ll work for me” you could be setting yourself up for defeat from the beginning.
ALL of these options can work (I’ve personally seen it done), but finding success in the one you choose really comes down to:
- your strengths and what you enjoy (NO, you don’t have to do something you hate – permission given!)
- what your audience actually needs and will respond to (are you doing an interactive workshop because your audience enjoys that or because your business bestie told you to?)
- the way your business is designed (I’ll say it again: what works for them might not work for you and that is OKAY!)
For a deeper dive into knowing what type of launch is right for you, CLICK HERE!
- A strategic launch process that’s specific to YOU
One of the key pieces of a launch that I think is so neglected is a strategic work flow that ensures you have the right processes, systems, timing, and support in place.
I’ve seen this scenario many times in my career and it goes like this:
Business owner decides they want to launch their course.
They choose a date without considering what exactly needs to be done for said launch.
They attempt to write a sales page, sales emails, create a masterclass, create promo content for social media, and create ads to generate new leads in a matter of two weeks.
Launch week comes and they are exhausted from the time and energy they’ve just put in.
They present their masterclass, few people show up, and even fewer people purchase the course. They’re left drained, defeated, and wondering why the launch didn’t work.
Why didn’t it work? The work flow was off.
A successful launch requires proper planning and a timeline that actually GIVES you energy instead of draining it, thus allowing you to show up to sell with confidence while also knowing that every other piece of the launch puzzle (like your backend systems, for example) are taken care of, too!
- Sustainable energy
This one might sound weird and a little woo woo, but I’m not talking about that kind of energy.
I’m talking about REAL energy that allows you to show up in a way that lets you enjoy the launch process instead of feeling burnt out throughout the entire thing.
Because I’ve experienced both:
- Launches where I’m hustling so hard, staying up late, writing emails last minute, taking an insane amount of sales calls, etc. to the point where I resent the whole thing and never want to do it again
- Launches where I’ve planned strategically, given myself plenty of time to get everything set up and ready, gave myself realistic limits and deadlines, and didn’t sacrifice my sleep, health or wellbeing
Which version do you want to experience? (I think I know the answer!)
Unfortunately, what you often see is people proudly wearing a “busy badge” during launch season which includes staying up past midnight, glamorizing the hustle, and claiming that it’s just what you “have to do” in a season like this.
But I’m here to say that it doesn’t have to be that way!
Is a lot of work required for a successful launch? Of course! But that doesn’t mean you have to burn yourself out throughout the process.
Your audience can tell when you’re stretching yourself too thin and it can actually turn them away from your launch altogether.
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.
Instead, it simply requires a few basic sales and marketing principles to help you put together a launch that feels fun, easy, and even leaves you wanting to do it again and again.
I like to call these principles “LaunchFlows” and I spend a big portion of my time helping people make sure these flows are aligned through my free LaunchFlow workshops!
In addition to the workshops, the blog is packed full of helpful resources to help you crush your next launch. If you’re not sure where to start, I suggest:
- How To Avoid Overwhelm While Planning Your Launch
- How To Make Writing Launch Copy Faster and Easier
- The 3 Key Launch Ingredients So People Actually Buy
Take what you need and connect here for more launch strategy and copywriting tips!