Ep# 107: Stress Free Launches with Tasha Booth

Notebooks out, folks! This episode is going to simultaneously destress you and help you figure out how to earn more money! I think that’s something that is going to appeal to everyone in this audience.

Tasha Booth teaches about a concept that used to be totally foreign to me: how to have a STRESS-FREE launch. Those words together basically form an oxymoron. But it’s a real thing! And Tasha is here to blow all of our minds with this today.

We’re breaking down Tasha’s framework for launching: how much time to give yourself, where you need to show up, your content strategy, if you should hire a team, how to maximize cart open, and she spills the beans on what you’re probably not doing that you should be doing after your cart closes that will ultimately lead to a bigger growth in your business.

This episode is GOLD. You’re going to love it.

In this episode, we chat about:

The most common struggles business owners have during a launch:

Not giving themselves enough time to prepare:

Launches take a lot of time and effort, and many people don’t realize that the first time around. If you don’t give yourself enough time to get all of the pieces ready before you launch, you’ll end up stressed out, your team will be stressed out, you’ll be behind on content, staying up late writing emails that have to go out the next day… it won’t be enjoyable for anyone, even if it’s a profitable launch.

Not warming their audience up before the launch:

Everyone has that one friend or family member who only ever shows up when they need something, usually money. Don’t be that person to your audience! No one likes that person. You need to nurture your audience throughout the year by providing free value and resources consistently.

The importance of a launch project plan

Start by figuring out your launch project plan wayyyy ahead of time -- 12 weeks at a minimum, preferably 16 weeks. This plan needs to be laid out clearly in a system like Trello or Asana. Lay out your big pieces first, like Webinar, Email, Social Media, etc. And then figure out all of the smaller details that need to go into each big pieces, like Webinar dates, Email topics, Social Media posting frequency, etc. It might take you a couple of weeks to get the whole plan figured out. When you think you’re done, step away for a few days and then come back to it again; you probably forget something!

How to seed your launch ahead of time

The weeks leading up to your launch are your Launch Runway. Think about the questions that your ideal audience needs answered before your offer is an absolute YES from them, and then answer them!

Let your audience know what’s coming! The die-hards can get on the waitlist. This also gives people time to get their pocket books ready -- your offer will be an investment for them, and most people need to prepare before making an investment.

The best places to market your offer before the launch

The short answer is: everywhere!

The longer answer is: wherever you feel confident showing up. When you feel good about yourself and your value, your audience will too.

Your social media should be a mix of value and marketing. Again, don’t just sell. Your posts that are geared toward marketing (2-3/week) should have a strong call to action that leads your audience to an opt-in. Your focus before you launch should be on building a brand awareness and growing your email list.

Are webinars necessary?

It’s an option. A great option. Webinars allow people to get to know you and your unique take on the content of your offer. There’s nothing truly new anymore, it’s all about how you uniquely understand and teach something. So is a webinar absolutely necessary? No. But is a webinar helpful in having a successful launch? Yes!

Do you need to run paid ads?

Ads are going to amplify what’s already going well and the work that you’ve already done. So you don’t have to run ads for your first launch; make your first launch as lean as you can and learn as much as possible. After your first launch, paid ads can be very helpful when done correctly.

During your off season when you aren’t launching, you can be running engagement ads to opt-ins to grow your list and warm your audience. Once someone takes a step toward getting to know you, like reading a blog post or listening to a podcast episode, they become a warm lead. A warm lead is much more likely to sign up for your webinar and convert into a paying customer during your launch.

Do you need a team for a successful launch?

When it’s your first launch, I suggest doing it on a shoe-string budget if you can.

But, that being said, I’ve seen so many entrepreneurs with an amazing first offer sit on it for years because they can’t get over one of the humps. So my suggestion would be: your first hire needs to be in the area of whatever your personal deficit is, whatever you struggle with the most, whatever is preventing you from moving forward.

You made it to cart open!! ...Now what?

This is where the stress free part comes in! Everything should be D.O.N.E., scheduled, and tested before you actually open the doors to your launch.

Your only job during your actual launch phase is to show up in your amazingness every single day of the launch. Get a good night’s sleep, eat breakfast, and show up for your audience really well and fully. You don’t have to think about anything else. That’s what it should feel like during a launch. It doesn’t have to be hectic.

What should you be doing after the cart closes?

So many people forget to CELEBRATE. It doesn’t matter if one person bought or 100 people bought, you put it out there and you deserve to celebrate that.

You should schedule in time to rest too, whether that means taking the whole week off or just making your schedule that week as light as possible.

Don’t forget about the people that didn’t buy!! Send an email and thank them for still being a part of your list after the launch, whether they bought or didn’t.

Do a launch debrief with your team within the first 10 days post launch: what went well? What didn’t go well? Look at ALL the stats and figure out what you should do again next time and what you should change for the next launch.