Product Launch Strategies - How to Do It Properly?

Hey Desmond

I think it would help the discussion if you list out what you know you got wrong.

Cheers,

Neil

Have you been actively seeking and successively securing Joint Ventures?

No competition then

Could that be the problem - you need to focus on less cometitive niches. More bang for your buck, and all that.

you either need a list, or access to some one elses list (JV's).

otherwise, you have nobody to launch to..

Getting in touch with them directly is the most useful advice I cxan give you.

Make the whole process simple for them (as in do the majority of work for them that they would need to do to promote you, write emails etc) offer to promote them and just contact 100 of these potential partners. Do that and some one is going to say yes. Maybe even offer free content for their lists. Really push yourself and your promotion.

Make sure your salespage is converting, so do a test first and give the potential jv's and affiliates some solid figures to work with.

FRANK KERN - Do research on that guy. He has a pretty good formula.

As others have already said, you'll need a list or a JV partner/affiliates. If your product/sales page looks good -- then sign up for a potential partner's list, then get a few of their newsletters. Now that you are on their list -- it makes it easier to get recognized.

Only try to do Jvs if your product DOES not compete with theirs. I could be wrong -- but I don't know that many JVs that will promote, and work with competing products. Offer a high commission basis, JVs need to be taken care of -- and in the end they take care of you.

You can also -- start an affiliate program on CB, recruit affiliates and earn some nice income as well.

Cheers,
Magic

I'd kill for a "product launch cheat sheet"! A fluff free step-by-step breakdown of what needs to be done and in what order! Anyone got one? Everytime I buy a new IM course I make my own as I go though it, but I haven't got Jeff Walker's or Frank Kern's courses yet, so haven't had an opportunity to create one for this strategy!

Yes, JVNotifyPro is a must for IM related materials. And before you go in begging for JV partners I would suggest promoting products of others as you see their launch announcements. The best way to introduce yourself to a super-affiliate is to prove to them that you have promoted their products in the past.

Just a couple of quickies. For your dating product I would definitely visit every competing site I could find. Sign up for their newsletter or mini-course. Many autoresponder services require that a mailing address for the sender be included at the botton of the outgoing emails sent. Doing this you can get actual physical mailing addresses of the key players who have lists themselves.

I highly recommend sending proposals to key players by conventional snail mail, and using Priority Mail or something that stands out. It is much more likely to get opened especially if they don't know you by name.

One other thing. I wouldn't hesitate for a minute contacting people with competing products. For one thing, they can only send out so many emails to their list saying, "My product is the best in the world, please buy it."

If the vendor uses say 5, 6, or 7 sequential follow up emails to his leads, he will reach a point where many of the people just plain and simply are not going to buy his dating product. If he were wise he would eventually hit them with another person's product, like yours, and try to convert them on that.

Look at the gurus in the IM niche. Unless their product is in a launch phase, rarely do they promote their own product. Their emails are almost always filled with affiliate links to other IM related products.

Also, go to ezinearticles and find expert authors with many hundreds or a thousand (hopefully) articles in your niche. These people will have created sizeable lists as a result of their articles. Hit them with a JV proposal. Very few people try this, but I have got some pretty well known names to do mailings for me that I have found this way.

Look, I don't pretend to be Jeff Walker or Frank Kern, but if you want a 5-6 page flow-sheet showing how I've launched some stuff PM me and I'll get it to you.

Good luck bud!

I got Jeff Walker's product launch formula, I know this is kind of off topic, but I want to throw this end, just in casepeople did not know about it. It is a very good product, although I don't know if it is still for sale.

Sean (IM Reporter) is dead on. There's no way to understand what's truly involved in a massive product launch until you've been through one.

I just got through doing all the strategy and copywriting for a launch that involved over 104 affiliates. Many others have done far bigger launches - but this one was an absolute beast.

Just the management, motivation and communication with all the affiliates was a massive undertaking unto itself.

Take the advice Sean gave in his post above:

ONE OF THE BEST THINGS you can do is sign up for an upcoming launch for someone who has proven success. Even if you do not plan on promoting the product.

Ken

P.S. My next project is a huge rolling launch in the real estate industry... I think having it not all take place within a 2-3 week period will help my sanity greatly.