Launches always disappoint.
Maybe it's me and the launches I've been a part of. But I feel launches routinely leave me dissatisfied. No matter what I do, it rarely reaches my expectations.
About a month and a half ago, we launched our software (MyTalentPlanner). Sure, we celebrated and acknowledged our work over the past two years, but the launch was not as spectacular as we had dreamt. No one was lining up outside our offices.
So, how do you avoid having a launch flop?
The solution is not to avoid expectations.
I believe the way to overcome a lousy launch is to view it differently.
Rather than seeing the launch as the final step to getting people to engage, view it as the first small step of many.
When you approach a launch with a long-term mindset, you realize it doesn't matter how well the launch goes. Instead, what matters is if you follow through with your marketing next week and next month.
Anyone can post on launch day or weeks before, but do you continue with that same energy once it's out? Most don't.
An example of this is the last book we published, Stop The Vanilla In Your Career and Life. We had a solid 6-week marketing plan for the book, but our marketing for it since has been nonexistent.
Sure, you could easily blame me. I'm the marketing guy, so I should keep marketing it. But a lot has changed since then, and the book doesn't fit our current marketing efforts for the software.
Regardless, we viewed the launch as a static and final thing. Rather than realizing it's adjustable and never-ending.
This time with MyTalentPlanner, we see the launch as a set of activities rather than a one-time event.
Of course, the launch was a huge milestone, but we have other milestones that we plan to reach to continue growing the product.
That's how you overcome a lousy launch: Have launch points for the first year to two where you can keep working toward and avoid the hard fall off.
How do you ensure your launches are as successful as they could be?
🧠 + ❤️ // JO