Alright, let’s talk about launching and the things that you need to be aware of when you are going to launch your online course. First up launching is all about connection. It’s about establishing that know like, and trust with your target audience so that they feel that connection with you. And they want to actively get more of what you’ve got. So your knowledge and also access to the way in which you deliver your information. If you don’t have an audience that you have any connection to, or you don’t have access to an audience that you can develop a connection to, you absolutely need to do that step before you can consider launching to them.

There are three phases to any launch doesn’t matter how you dress it up, it doesn’t matter what bells and whistles you add on to it, there are always three phases to a launch. And the first phase is the pre launch. And this is where you start announcing that there’s going to be something coming, there’s going to be something available, you might just talk about having your online course available for people and it’s coming on a specific date, that is perfectly acceptable as a pre launch. But what a lot of people do will use a pre launch to talk about a free product or service that they’re offering. And then at the actual launch of that, they then pitch that online course.

So it might be a series of videos, a series of webinars, a workshop, anything of those will do in your pre launch, you talk about that you get people interested in that. And then you launch your online course, actually at the workshop or the final video, that kind of thing. And I will go through how to do that in the How To part of this lesson. The third and final part of the launch is the nudge, which is either to say that the cart is closing. So a little bit of jargon there for you. But to say that the window in which people can buy your online course is closing, or giving them a reminder periodically, that your online course is still there.

You can also consider what I call launch power ups. And these are a couple of ways that you can really add some spice to your launching work. And that would be through the use of affiliates where you have people who are specifically in the business of helping you to sell more online courses in return for a commission for every one that is sold through their specific link. And then the other type of powerup is something called a joint venture. And this is where you partner with somebody who perhaps offers some kind of complimentary either course or service or something that is complementary to what you’re doing to your target audience, and you work with them to reach more people to launch your online course to.

Last but not least in the launching section, I have a little bit of information for you about launching to corporates and how that is different to launching to individuals. When I say corporates, this is kind of a catch all term for selling into organizations as opposed to selling to individual people one at a time. And the sorts of things you need to think about when you’re launching to corporates is whether or not you want to go through the whole pitch process. You absolutely can. But sometimes there are a few little shortcuts that you can take advantage of. And you can think about just launching your course in a slightly different way.

Okay, so that’s an overview of what launching is. And obviously it’s important from the point of view of creating that initial hype and momentum for people being interested in your online course and naturally making some sales for it. If you want to know more about those then come on into the How To videos in this lesson. But if you’re set on launching whether you’ve decided to not decided to and you know what you’re doing no worries there. I will see you in the next lesson.

Okay, welcome to this the first of three videos in the How To section of this lesson all about launching. And this first video is all about your pre launch activity. And your pre launch activity is all about creating excitement and buzz. That’s what you’re going for. And this isn’t necessarily excitement around your product, your online course it’s excitement and buzz around something that you would deliver to people for free, at which you then pitch your paid product. So when you are looking at creating excitement and buzz, what you’re trying to do is get into the nurture stage with your audience.

And what I mean by this is you are trying to get them more used to seeing you as a position of authority as someone with expertise. And as somebody who has got some information that’s worth listening to. You can do this through email. So if you have an email list of your target audience, that’s great. You can use social media. So you might have a very active group or page or followers or something along those lines. And what you’re doing is announcing that you are going to be giving some kind of knowledge exchange in the form of either usually a single webinar or a series of videos. And it can be either of these things. And there are ways in which you would do both of them.

Normally, it’s three videos of anybody that has followed the launch strategy of profit, profit launch formula, Product Launch Formula, yes, Jeff Walker Product Launch Formula is it’s three videos and then pitch. And this is not an uncommon strategy to be used. So a single webinar with a pitch at the end, or three videos, and I’ll go through the three video method because it’s about creating something called Knowledge loops. But effectively, what you’re doing with either the webinar or the three video approach is you are delivering some information to get your audience at a level of understanding that they want more from you. So they want to hear more from you. And there are four main ways in which you can deliver that sort of information. First up is something called a prequel.

And this is about delivering the sort of information that is kind of foundational. So it’s making sure that everybody in your target audience is brought up to the same level, which is where your online course starts. So it could be a sort of foundational information. For our perfect toast course, for example, we might want to make sure that people are aware of the importance of snacking and why you would snack and have something to eat outside of mealtimes, for example. So it’s whatever is relevant for your particular subject matter. And also making sure that it is the bit that gets everybody right up to the point of and now they can start your online course.

Your second option is to do something called a complementary webinar or set of videos. And this is where you deliver information that is complementary to the content within your online course. So if people are interested in this information, there is a very good chance that they’re going to be interested in the information that’s contained within your paid product within your online course. So for our perfect toast example, for example, we would perhaps offer something like how to make the perfect cuppa, because a perfect cuppa and perfect toast again very well together. Or it might even be something like how to make soup, we had soup and toast as a good example of a nice light snack or a light meal.

So that’s complementary. The next one you will already be familiar with in this course, even though I’m not using it as a freebie webinar, and that is the two sides of the triangle. And this is working on the principle that in order to train people, you need to deliver the What the Why, and the How. And in the two sides of the triangle, what you’re delivering is the What and the Why so you give people the information about what they need to do and why it’s important but the How is the stuff that’s contained in your paid product, okay, this is one of my favorites to use. It’s a formula that I use quite a lot as you’ve seen throughout this course. And then last but not least, you might choose to deliver a taster session. And this is perhaps suited to those of you that have a subject matter that falls nice and neatly into a set of steps.

So you might deliver the first or the first two steps in a 10 or 12 or 15 step process. And the idea is to give people a flavor of how you are progressing them on their journey from where they are to where they want to be, and that they will be so excited about the prospect, so comfortable about the prospect of learning with you they will absolutely sign up to get the rest of the journey with you. Alright. So those are the four different types of information you can deliver through webinars or through the three video technique.

Now, there is clearly more to the three video technique than I’m able to give you in this program, because there’s a whole program built around it, alright, but the general principle is that you use what’s called Knowledge loops. So your first thing that you do with a three video program, is you invite people to watch a video that answers a particular question that they might have. And it could be something like how do they get through a particular obstacle or limiting belief that they feel they have, with regard to your specific subject matter? Now, it needs to be something that is connected to but not necessarily entirely contained within your online course.

So what you’re not doing is delivering your online course here, what you are doing is picking another obstacle, maybe a lesser obstacle, one that you haven’t specifically zeroed in on. And what you’re doing is you are asking them, do they want the answer to that question? You’re answering that question within that video, and then you’re creating a knowledge loop by then asking another question that you know they’ll want the answer to, which you then promised to deliver in video two, and that creates the knowledge loop.

And then you do the same thing again, they have that question, you answer that question. But you then create the knowledge loop oops, nearly a square, you then create a knowledge loop that goes in to the next video. And then you answer that and you pitch in your final video. So answer the question, create a knowledge loop, answer the next question create a knowledge loop, answer that question, then you position as okay, of course, if you want to get to whatever your outcome is, then need to buy the online course. So it’s a third video that contains the pitch as a general rule.

Alright, so hopefully, that’s given you a flavor of the sort of pre launch information that pre launch information? Pre launch activity that you would need to undertake in order to lead up to this bit contained here, which is actually this bit, which is the pitch of your launch, and I’ll talk all about that in the next How To lesson next How To video in this lesson.

Okay, now we’re going to talk about the actual process of launching itself. And so this is often known as cart open, which I think I’ve already mentioned. And that basically just means that it’s available for people to click a button and to buy your course. So you are doing really a pitch. That’s how you launch your course. But if pitch is a word that you feel a bit uncomfortable with, just think of it as otherwise making an offer. And that’s really all that you’re doing, you are not responsible for anything other than talking about what you know, and making an offer for people. And then after that, it’s entirely up to them. So launching is all about making an offer.

And there is a simple pitch process that you can follow to lead into that pitch at the end of either your third video or the end of your webinar. And you’re very welcome, obviously, to use this or use anything else that you’ve found that works well for you. But if this is the first time you’re doing it, then this will give you a bit of structure to think about. So the first thing you want to talk about is something called desired state, which again, you have all of this information that you have already prepared if you’ve been through the prep part of this course. So go back and look at Section One, if you don’t have this information, but the desired state is all about asking them to imagine being in a place where they’ve already been through the course. And they have come out the other side, and they’ve got the things they want. S

o again, this is looking at the motivations that you have already thought about when thinking about the reasons why your online course customers might buy your course. So that’s where you want to be with your desired state. And you can start it with something just as simple as imagine what life would be like, if so you really are asking them to imagine if and to put themselves in a place of already being in the future, having already encountered and beaten the obstacles that they believe is in their way.

From here, you then go into the biggest frustrations. So this is not talking about the frustrations from the point of view of this is how you get rid of them, because obviously that’s your course. But this is talking about them from the point of view of describing them much in the same way that you do on your sales page. So that they then think, oh yeah, this person really knows what they’re talking about. They understand what those biggest frustrations are. And it’s it’s very similar to the way that you would build the villain up on your sales page. So it could be a person, it could be a belief, it could be a circumstance. And with the biggest frustration, what you’re trying to do is to remind them about their perceived reality. So there we are, got over the hook the tricky e i conundrum there.

So you’re asking them to to think about their perceived reality. So they’ve gone from imagining what life would be like, then they’re bringing, you’re bringing them back down to earth. And then you’re saying, Oh, but there’s an answer. So this is what I want. This is what’s in my way. But here’s the solution. And this is where you introduce your course. Alright, so you’re saying,

Don’t worry, if these frustrations are things that you identify with. Because there is a solution. There’s my course all about whatever your course is about, okay. And the course introduction is where you start talking about the benefits that are in your course. So it’s very benefit heavy at this point, in terms of it will help you to achieve these things which you have already identified are things that they want to achieve.

Once you’ve loosely talked about benefits here, then you talk about the big benefits. And this is where you really go to town on the big things that they want to achieve out of wherever it is your court is going to get to get them to. So the big benefits are the really big ticket items, their secret aspirations or secret hopes, that sort of thing. So you know, just by taking this course, you will be able to achieve the job of your dreams or partner of your dreams or whatever it might be make a load of money overnight.

Please don’t create a course that says that. But you know, this is where you really go to town on that. So you’re introducing the course and linking it to the benefits and then you’re going to town on the benefits that they really desire their biggest desires here. So it’s all building on everything that you have previously talked about. So you talk about their motivations. Imagine if life was amazing, wonderful, blah, blah, blah. But this thing is standing in your way there is a solution because it can help you counter this. So these benefits on linking back to the frustrations that you’ve talked about. Then you go on and elaborate and really go deep on the benefits of having had your course then you move into the specifics of what your course covers, and any bonuses if you have them.

So the specifics are is much more about the curriculum if you like. So rather than the what’s in it for me, it’s talking about the specific things that they will learn about. Plus, obviously, any bonuses, if you have them, if you don’t have them, don’t worry about it, you don’t need to include those there, then you can talk about price. And in much the same way that we did on the sales page, you can do any rationalizations any context here that you need to shun-a-lise. Haven’t had to do spelling on the fly for quite some time. Context, rationalize anything else that you want to put in there to help them understand and put put the price at a level that they want.

Then you want to talk about, okay, who is this course perfect for and not for. And when we say not for, you can have a little bit of fun for that. But you can also play on the things that they obviously wouldn’t be. So what I mean by that is it, it’s the perfect toast course is perfect for people who want to enjoy a delicious snack at any time, even if they’re currently blahdy blahdy blah, it’s not perfect for those people who turn their nose up at toast or don’t like snacking, or can’t imagine ever eating bread, that kind of thing. So that’s your perfect for not for. So you’re asking them to identify with the perfect for.

So there’s a little bit of psychology going in here, because people want to identify what they perceive to be the good, as opposed to the bad. So when you’re saying oh, it’s perfect for you if they want to actually identify with the perfect for that side of things. And if you’ve done a good job in finding the right people to come to your pitch or webinar in the first place, then they will absolutely do that, then you want to go through the risk free guarantee. And the way that you would do this is you would say something, oh hold on – guaran-tee huh! Got that one quicker than I thought. So what you would say is that you totally understand that, you know, they’ve probably heard how something is the answer to all their dreams before and you know, it’s understandable, nobody wants to lose face, etc, etc, etc.

However, with this course, there’s absolutely no risk to them because if they find for whatever reason, they’re not able to have stunning results within 14 days, 30 days, whatever your refund period is, then absolutely they can apply for a full refund, no problem, no bother. And the fact that you are saying that to them on camera, or at least your voice if you’re not on camera for this point, if it’s behind video footage, that kind of thing that’s your choice, then at least there is more connection and there is more credibility, given to the weight of the guarantee, because they’re hearing you say it, as opposed to just seeing it written down. And then you go into the full offer, which is where you would list whoops, absolutely everything that they get. So you’re repeating the specifics.

And you are linking the specifics to the benefits here. So you would talk about the specifics and link them to the benefits that you have promised, you would give the full bonuses, price, context and rationalization. And at this point, you would also introduce any payment plan that you might have for them, or anything else that is important information for them to have, including any genuine urgency markers. So if there is any kind of genuine urgency here, then that’s what you would include. You might have, for example, a bonus that is only available to the first 100 people or a bonus that is only available for a specified amount of time, that kind of thing. And that’s what you put in there. So that’s a very basic pitch sequence. There are lots of other ways that you can do it and lots of additional things that can go in there. And at some point, I will do a longer course on this. But for the moment, this is plenty for you to be thinking about and really and truly it’s a bit like getting confident on camera. The more you do it, the more comfortable you will be with it.

Alright, I’ll see in the next lesson.

Okay, so now we’re at the final part of the launch process, which is the nudge stage. And lots of people neglect this stage because they think well, once I’ve told people that my course is out well out there, then it’s up to them, whether or not they buy it. And to a certain extent, yes, it absolutely is. But lots of people rely on the nudge to just sort of gently coax them towards a decision that they’ve already made, they just haven’t pressed the buy button yet. And the point about the nudge is that it lets people know about when your cart is closing. And if you’re intending to make your course evergreen, then this won’t count, of course, but what you might have are some disappearing bonuses.

Or you might be doing something that means that for whatever reason, they won’t be able to buy after you have closed your cart at the moment. Now, you might not wait until a full year is up like I’ve been talking about previously, to open it again. But you will probably want to remind people, if you have anything that is going away that they’re going to lose if they don’t buy before the deadline. If you haven’t got a deadline at all, then the only thing that you need to do is keep reminding people that your course is there.

And you need to do that a lot more than you think you do. But if we’re going for the cart close, and we’re going for the nudge in that sequence, then what you need to do you need to remind people probably 12, 6, 3, 1 hour before the cart closes, and 30 minutes, trust me, yes, there will be people and you might be one of them going, Oh God, so many emails, uh nuh uh nuh uh and it works. There’s reason why people keep doing all of this number of emails, somebody that is not interested is not going to be interested full stop, you can give them the option to unsubscribe from the nudge reminders if you want to if you have an email automate automation system that does that.

But for people who are really kind of waiting until the last minute, for whatever reason, and there are all sorts of reasons that people do this. They rely on these nudges to go hmm, yeah, I was going to do that. Oh, yeah, I was going to do that. Because life gets in the way. Okay. Anybody that’s annoyed by it isn’t going to be your buyer anyway. Anybody that’s a true fan of yours, but isn’t buying for whatever reason, on this occasion, won’t mind they’ll just delete the emails, and anybody who is on the fence, or who is secretly a buyer, they just don’t know it yet this will work, I promise you. But you must use it across all of your channels. So all of the channels that you used to create the excitement, the hype and the buzz in the first place, it all needs to be coordinated for the nudge part of when your cart is closing.

As I said, if your cart isn’t closing, but you’re having an evergreen product, then you do need to keep reminding people about it. So I think I’ve already mentioned that one of the biggest reasons that people don’t sell more online courses is that they forget to tell people about it. So every now and again, you want to send out a nudge email to remind people did you know I have this online course? Because for a lot of people, for whatever reason, the timing might not be right when you first launch the course. But then they will need reminding every three months, every six months, whatever it might be. And as long as you are bringing people good content and you’re not just sending them emails, asking them to buy something all the time, then they absolutely won’t mind getting an email saying hey, did you know there’s this course that I’ve got for you and it delivers all of these benefits.

Alright, there we are. That is very, very quick compared to the other two, but it is an important phase in the launch process. I’ll see you in the next lesson.