Improve the results of your digital product launch

When we have our first successful launch of a digital product, e-course or program we naturally can’t wait until the next one to improve on the results.

One mistake that I see many business owners make is that they assume that in order to improve on the results from their last launch that they need to do a complete new strategy the next time, and in many cases, this is a wrong assumption.

A client that I have worked with over the past 12 months on 3 launches of the exact same program is a perfect example of this and I would like to share the results with you to show you exactly what I mean.

Launch 1: The client used an online summit and live webinar as the lead magnet to lead potential customers through the sales journey to then offer them the program. We spent $5,000 on the total ad campaign, had 1900 people optin to the summit and/or webinar and had 50 sales of a $1200 program which was $60,000 gross sales.

Launch 2: This time around the client wanted to use a challenge as the lead magnet. $8,000 was spent on ads , 3900 opted in to the challenge and had 35 sales which was $42,000 gross sales.

Launch 3: The client went back to an online summit with a webinar for this launch. $5,900 was spent on ads, 1594 optins to the summit and/or webinar which resulted in 80 sales of the program which was $96,000 gross sales.

Of course the launch and campaigns were a lot more in-depth and this is just a brief overview. I have carried out a complete audit of all 3 launches, looked at all the stats and also looked at engagement and comments during all 3 campaigns.

All three launches still returned a nice profit for the client but the 2nd launch is the one that stands out as the one that didn’t perform the best. I strongly believe the reason is because a challenge was used as the initial lead magnet and this belief is backed by the data.

The challenge, on the surface, looked like a great lead magnet with 3,900 people opting in but after the optin the results declined drastically. Only a small percentage of those that opted in actually participated in the challenge, the engagement was very low and hence that was reflected in the number of final sales.

Now I am not saying that challenges don’t work. I have worked with other clients where we have had outstanding results with challenges however the target market for this particular client didn’t like the challenge concept and didn’t participate where as they did with the summit and webinar.

This particular client chose to try the challenge for the 2nd launch as she had heard the results that another business owner had had with using a challenge and thought she could duplicate those results. What she didn’t consider, was that her target market was completely different.

Take these learnings and keep them in mind for your next launch. Don’t try and replicate the success of another business unless you have examined all factors.

When deciding on your initial lead magnet to market to a cold audience as the beginning of the sales process for your next launch, here are some things to consider:

Does the lead magnet offer a solution to a problem that your target market is having now, before they would consider purchasing your program?
Is the lead magnet in a format that your target market will consume and get benefit from?
Is the lead magnet in a format that works for you?

If you have already had at least one successful launch of your own program and want to improve on those results for your next launch, look at all of your stats from your last launch. Number of people on your email database, open rates of emails, engagement rate and conversion rates on your landing pages (optin and sales pages) just for starters to get an overview of your data. How could you improve on that next time?

Here are some things to consider to improve those results:

Build up your warm audience in-between launches. Continue to grow your social media following and engagement on those platforms along with growing your email database. Don’t stop just because you aren’t in launch mode. The more engaged your warm audience is with you, the more likely they are to purchase from you the next time you launch. In my client case study above, the difference in results between the 1st and 3rd launch came down to her warm audience numbers for the 3rd launch.
Change your email subject lines in your actual launch sequence to improve open rates
Add in a couple more emails into your entire sequence to increase the chances of your entire list seeing at least a few of your emails. It is highly unlikely that everyone on your email database will open all of your emails.
Add in elements into your next launch that you didn’t have in your previous launch. This might include Messenger marketing, abandoned cart emails, client case studies from your last launch intake or video marketing just to name a few.
Add in other paid marketing channels or increase or actual ad budget. You could consider using Facebook & Instagram Ads, Google Ads, Twitter Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Pinterest Ads and/or YouTube Ads. However what you consider must make sense to your business and the audience you are trying to reach.

Wishing you every success in your next launch.

If you want someone on your team to audit, oversee or manage your next campaign please get in touch to see how you could work with Jayne and her team.