If there’s one buzzword you can’t escape in our industry, it’s “product launch”.
Unfortunately, there are some common misconceptions and myths around what most people believe a product launch actually is, and how it actually works.
Many of the guru’s out there continue to teach their million-dollar “paint-by-numbers” formulas, that make it sound so easy to create a product, and launch it.
The truth is that, in 2018, it’s actually never been harder to do a “million-dollar” launch, yet people continue to sell and buy these various “Million-dollar launch formulas”, and people continue to plan their entire business around a product launch because, well… Isn’t that just what you do to make money as an influencer or personal brand? I mean… all the big guys are doing it… right?
That’s where the biggest misconception lies.
Most people are only seeing the first half of the equation.
Most people new to the influencer space, plan their entire business around a product launch. Essentially they treat a product launch as their entire business model, when in fact, a product launch is only a marketing strategy.
A product launch is not a business model, it is a marketing promotion strategy.
Now, I’m NOT saying that a product launch is a bad strategy.
What I’m saying is, build a sound business model behind your product launch.
A business model behind your product launch is what actually makes a product launch lucrative.
And, actually, it’s the only thing that makes a product launch even worth doing altogether.
Let’s think about this…
What type of business makes $0 in revenue 50 weeks out of the year, and makes 100% of their revenue in 2 weeks?
- How do you build a team around that?
- How do you build a predictable revenue stream?
- How do you iterate, innovate and improve?
The answer is that you can’t do any of it quickly, effectively, and sustainably…
(Click here to read more about creating a predictable revenue stream.)
When you really think about it, product launches are high-risk, low reward.
High-Risk:
- Big time investment to create your product
- Upfront cost to hire and build out your site pages, course & cart before you make money
- Single point of failure with a small promotional window – little time to learn & optimize
- You depend on affiliates to send you traffic, most flake out last minute
Low Reward:
- 50% affiliate commissions right off the top
- Affiliate prizes to incentivize people to promote your stuff
- Ad spend costs on retargeting and cold traffic for the launch
- You have to pay a team to help you run your launch and fulfill on sales/customer service
- Don’t forget to pay your taxes…
- Bottom line… you really don’t make that much money… If you do some simple math… you’re MAYBE looking at 15% profit margin.
- Not to mention, launches are not easy. Long hours, and very stressful
Successful entrepreneurs are constantly looking for ways to minimize risk, and maximize reward.
It doesn’t add up, so…
Why are all these successful “guru’s” doing these crazy product launches then?
It’s because they can actually afford to earn virtually ZERO dollars on their product launch.
It sounds crazy, but it’s true.
They can net zero dollars in profit on their product launch because they have a business model that drives MASSIVE long-term revenue.
The product launch is a actually a marketing strategy for new customer acquisition for their business model.
In their eyes, the success of a product launch is based on customer acquisition, not revenue. They use the “million-dollar” launch figures as publicity fodder to capture attention and generate credibility.
Their actual goal is to inject their business model with 300, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000+ new customers. They know that, on average, each new customer will spend thousands more dollars with them over their lifetime.
They are running their personal brand like a business. They’re willing to invest time and money into acquiring new customers.
Over the next 3-5 years, that “Million-dollar launch” will actually generate 3x to 4x the initial launch revenue. And the kicker… they (usually) don’t have to pay affiliate commissions on any additional sales that take place 30-90 days after the initial launch sale.
So, that’s how (and why) a “million-dollar launch” actually works.
Not to mention, all the hype and PR of doing a “Million-dollar launch” brings more awareness, PR, attention, and more new customers.
I hope that we’ve set the record straight today…
A product launch is a marketing promotion strategy, not a business model.
So, instead of just mapping out your next product launch, make sure that you are designing a sound business plan and a solid business model behind your launch, too.
Your business model should have a few key things:
- A logical progression, or flow of products and/or services
- Cover various price points, low, mid, high, premium
- Create the ability to predictably generate sales
- Find ways to increase the lifetime value of a customer by at least 2-3x above the price of your main product
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