Episode 69: How Long Does It Take to Launch? Thinking About Your Launch Plan.

How Long Does It Take to Launch? Thinking About Your Launch Plan

How long does it take to prepare for the launch of a new product or service? It really depends on what you are launching. In Episode 69 of Just One Simple Thing, I’ll give you some rough guidelines so you can start thinking about your launch plan.


If you are planning to launch something in the Fall, it’s time to start thinking about your plan now.

Your launch will be as unique as you are … a combination of your personality, experience, and resources. I like to compare a launch to the last instructions Jesus gave his followers in Acts 1:6. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,and to the ends of the earth.”

Amazing things can happen when you surrender your message, gifts, and skills to the power of the Holy Spirit. But there is also an orderly, logical process for spreading that message and using those gifts.

So to figure out how long you need to launch a product or service, we’ll work our way backwards from your launch date.

Let’s start with how long the cart should stay open. For a standalone low-or medium-cost course or product, the cart is usually open 5 –7 days.

Before the cart or registration opens, you want to be preparing your audience for your offer. This could include blog posts, podcast episodes, emails, or social media content that highlights a specific pain point and helps your audience envision what life would look like if this problem was solved. You want to share this kind of content for 2–4 weeks before your offer is open.

Another common launch strategy is to build your email list prior to your launch by offering a subscriber freebie related to the content of your offer. This should be done 4 –6 weeks before your open cart, because you want time for those new people to get the freebie, then get through your welcome sequence and establish a relationship with you before your launch.

If you are planning to work with affiliates who will earn a percentage of sales they refer to you, you should start lining those up around 6 weeks before the launch.

And before you can do any of those things, you need a clear marketing message for your offer, so the first draft of your sales page copy should be done about 8 weeks before your launch.

You certainly don’t need to do allllll of those things and these are just rough guidelines, but when you add it all up ….
2 – 3 weeks of pre-launch content
2 – 4 weeks of list building
2 weeks of messaging and copy writing

That’s about 8 weeks! It is definitely not too soon to be thinking about your fall launch.

ACTION STEP:
My friend Esther Littlefield and I created an assessment to help you decide if your business or ministry is ready to launch something new. Take the assessment here, and then let me know what your results are. You can tag me or message me at @doanewthing on FB or IG.

RESOURCES:
Episode 85 of the Christian Woman Business Podcast –All About Launching!
Sales Copy Shortcut –My favorite resource for quickly creating powerful sales copy.

The Honor Circle
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The Honor Circle is a membership for Christian Women who have a big dream but little time, to honor all of the work God has given us to do. Registration for the second quarter cohort is open now. Click below for details and to get signed up!

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