Internet Marketing Strategies - Generating Traffic Before a Product Launch

Are you developing your own product? Will be using the internet for distribution? If so start putting together your marketing strategy together to drive traffic to your website when you are ready to launch your product. To generate traffic to your website you will not need an expert to make this work, or your own prospect list. You need to a pre-launch marketing strategy and action plan prior to your product launch.

Most companies, in every industry, will start out at the bottom, but it is possible to be successful. Perhaps you know someone in your industry niche, if not get to know someone. If your prospects do not know of your company or your products start growing your customer list before your product is ready to launch.

Develop your pre-launch strategy. Start getting the word out about your product by using blogs, message boards, email blasts and videos. YouTube is a great way to get your videos to thousands of consumers directing them to your product blog or website.

Once you have their attention, provide information about your product and invite them to comment. Ask for their feedback and ideas then take their suggestions to provide a product which will meet their requests. Thank them for their comments and start an interactive conversation. This type of interaction keeps the search engines directing traffic your way.

Provide a means for your prospects to opt-in on your blog or website so you can start building your prospect and customer list before your product launched or while it is still in production. Continue updating your blog and website and continue making new videos about the progress you are making and the feedback you have received from viewers. Perhaps you can make an announcement periodically thanking them for their suggestions and you're your prospects interest high. Keep making announcements to get viewed to your blog or website.

The key to successfully use pre-launch strategy is to get your prospects excited about your soon to be released product. Continue to interact with them on your blog and website encouraging feedback along the way. Your goal is to get people talking about your product on other blogs and websites. Creating this pre-launch community will generate traffic to your website and ultimately sales of your product.

As you can see any company can apply this internet marketing strategy to create interest in your product before the actual launch. Build your prospect list and get people excited so they will spread the word to others on the internet.

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Product Launch Blueprint

Product launch strategies to use. At the low end, you write a couple articles promoting your product, submit them to directories--and that's your product launch. You sell one, maybe two copies of your ebook--and phoosh--it's over. Not much of a product launch is it?

At the high end, you hook up with a couple dozen super-affiliates in your niche to do mailings for you on launch day, they each send out 20, 50, 100,000 emails and within 72 hours you've sold a few thousand units. That sounds like a better option doesn't it?

So how can you find these big dogs with the big lists to help you promote your product on launch day? You could look in the phone book but I doubt if they've taken out ads saying, "Major super-affiliate looking for products to promote."

A better way to search online for "joint venture forums" and see what you find. There are quite a few. You can learn about new product launches, especially in the IM niche, and sign up for their launch. You will get periodic updates on their launch and most of the big ones have contests offering prizes to the top-selling affiliates.

Within a day or two after the launch they will post a "leader board" which will list the top-selling dozen or so affiliates. These are the big cats with the big lists. These guys can move product. Copy down their names and find them online. Make contact and give them you pitch for promoting your product.

Make sure you've got a great affiliate page set up and that your sales page is top notch. If all is in order and you can get a few of these individuals to do a mailing or two for you--you'll have a great product launch.

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Top 7 Things to Guarantee You Will Have a Disastrous Product Launch As a Product Launch Manager

Working with clients during a launch can sometimes be a little stressful. Not all clients are equal, and some are much more preferred than others. Here are the top 7 things that a client does that will guarantee you have a disaster launch. As a Product Launch Manager, avoid them as much as possible to make sure you don't get a client that will cost you money and waste your time.

1. The Client Is Desperate - Having a desperate client is like having a rock tied around your neck. Desperate clients will allow any sort of deal from anyone during a launch. I've seen clients accept ridiculous offers from people who contact them just so they can have some sales. It is just a recipe for disaster. You want calm clients, and even if the launch doesn't go as planned, then they're in a position to regroup and relaunch, learning from the previous launch. Desperate clients will want every penny available, despite it not in their best interest, and also yours. When they're desperate, they will also doing things hastily which can mean that things are overlooked and major mistakes are made.

2. The Client Has Little Or NO List - Many people want to do a product launch, which a product that's just finished, or about to be finished, but don't have a list of any sort. They haven't even gone out to see if they can get access to other people's lists in their niche. They expect a Product Launch Manager to bring in Joint Venture Partners to sell their products, without any work on their behalf. Firstly, it's their product and their business. Any relationships that you bring in are for them. It's their responsibility to bring in those partners just as much it is their responsibility to provide a quality product with quality customer care. My recommendation to potential clients with no list is to find 10 people with 10 lists who will agree to mail for them. That way, they're going to have at least 1 person with a quality list who will generate some revenue for them.

3. The Client Doesn't Stick To Deadlines - Going through a launch takes up a lot of time, and if you're working remotely with a client, then when they don't have what they need to have done on time, then it's going to create a lot of problems. There are some people out there, no matter how good you manage them, they just don't get things done on time. Avoid them as much as possible. There's no point in you pulling an all nighter to get the site ready and the copy outstanding if they're not going to get the videos to you on time. If a client ever does that to me, I walk away from them. I finish the launch and tell them I can't work with them. For me, they're too much of a problem that definitely isn't needed during a launch.

4. Clients Lets Customers Pay The Price That Suits Them - I've seen clients take phone calls from people and the people on the phone told the client what they were going to pay. Not only that, but they accepted it! I couldn't believe it when I heard it. Needless to say, that launch wasn't a model to reproduce any time soon! Luckily I was drafted in to work on the launch with a colleague, so I was able to walk away. But it did leave me astounded when I found out the client did this. The client lost all authority with the customer then, and they'll more than likely never regain it. On their next launch, those same people will call them and tell them what they're going to pay, and they'll more than likely accept that too.

5. The Client Changes The Offer 1 Or More Times During The Launch - This goes on line with the previous point about accepting whatever the customer wants to pay them, and also with being desperate. If there is a time when there are no sales, a desperate client will want to change the offer before you know why the offer is not being taken up. It could simply be a case that the emails haven't been delivered yet, or that your target market isn't out of bed to read them yet. Sometimes the copy isn't compelling enough to get them to buy. Rarely is it the offer and some times you just have to wait to see what happens before you change the offer. But a desperate client will change the offer immediately before looking at the other elements in the equation and eliminating them first. Changing an offer DURING the launch means that those people who have already bought will want to get that better offer than the one they got before. Now, when I say changing the offer, I mean changing a split payment from 3 to 5 payments, or 5 to 6 maybe, rather than including extra products or services in the product. It's easy to include extra products for those who already bought, but changing the payments from 3 to 5 means issuing repayments to credit cards, changing the payment length and depending on your payment processor can mean lots of headaches. It also means annoyed customers too, who feel hard done by when you switch the offer.

6. The Client "Knows More Than You Do" - Working with a client who feels they know more than you do will always leave you in a bad position. It's OK to receive input from someone if they know what they're talking about. But if your client believes they can be doing a better job, then leave them to do it. Clients like this will always have you on the defensive making you account for what you're doing, no matter how much of an expert you are. They will dictate to you and you will have no authority with them. Make sure to establish who has the authority and whose job it is to do what you do. A launch is a benevolent dictatorship, not a democracy. As a Product Launch Manager, you are the leader, no one else!

7. The Client Doesn't Want To Delete Any Unprofitable Customers Or Prospects - Unprofitable customers or prospects cost the client money, and during a launch, they cost you money too. These people are rarely going to buy from you, no matter what the offer is. So you need to delete them from the list as quickly as possible so you can focus on the profitable customers and prospects. As a Product Launch Manager, you need to find the profitable people as quickly as possible so you can put all your efforts on converting them to the offer. Trying to convince people who aren't going to buy isn't your job and it's a total waste of time. Find those people who want to buy, and work with them. This makes your job a lot easier, and a lot more profitable. A client who doesn't want to eliminate those people who don't want to buy the product is a huge waste of time, and means you're working on something that isn't going to work. Get them to disqualify these people from the offer as quickly as possible and then sell to them. Deleting unprofitable people will boost their profits quickly and save a lot of time and effort.

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Product Launching 101 - More Questions to Consider Before Promoting a Launch

Who is the launch team? A launch is a team effort and so its success is heavily dependent on the team that is running it. Who is the project manager? Who is the launch architect? Who is the copywriter? We have seen more than one launch totally implode because of poor project management, poor launch architecture and weak JV support. All of these issues originate from a lack of experience by the launch team.

Has there been an internal launch and if so, what were the conversion stats? In many cases, a well known speaker will announce his product launch and based on his reputation, many other speakers will immediately support his launch...only to find that the offer doesn't convert and they have given away their best opt-ins to the product owner for next to nothing. Next time somebody asks you to promote, ask them if they have done an internal launch and if they are prepared to share those stats. If they are being evasive, then that's a red flag. On our launches, we have seen as high as a 30% conversion from a free CD offer ($19.97 postage and handling) to a $997 upsell. That's on the high side, but anything less than 10% indicates that it's a poorly constructed offer.

How compelling is the landing page? The initial offer starts at the landing page. If the visitor doesn't opt in, then he will never see all the follow up steps. Thus, if the landing page does not convert, then the launch will die before it has a chance to start. On a landing page that requests only the email, we have seen as high as an 85% opt-in rate (remember that this is not cold traffic: it is highly endorsed traffic from your JVs). Anything less than 50% is cause for concern. It either indicates that the landing page has not been properly architected or the quality of the JV's list is weak (you can isolate and compare each JV's list quality through the affiliate links generated by your shopping cart).

Are you expected to sell the big ticket item or do you have deliver only the initial opt-in? Broadly speaking, there are 2 types of launches: the one where you are expected to get your list members to opt-in and then the ones where you are expected to sell the big ticket item. As an affiliate, you will make far more money if the launch is structured such as that you only have to get your list members to opt-in and a proven, tested sales process converts your opt-ins. As a rule of thumb, if you're in the money making industry (real estate, stock investing, small business, etc.), expect to make 50 cents per list member (we have had a small handful of clients that have paid out $1 per JV list member).

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Product Launch Mistakes - Avoid These Or Risk Failure

The expense of launching products on the internet has recently created a lot of interest. There are many success stories of companies creating pre-launch excitement around their product making large amounts of money the day of their product launch. Many internet marketers are becoming more conscious about how to make successful product launches. Launching a product is a huge undertaking for any business and for a company providing products on the internet it is even more challenging. The reality is that there are more companies who fail at launching their products than those who succeed.

Most failed product launches stem from poor planning. Understanding the strategies and techniques of a successful product launch is important to any online marketing campaign. As a business you need to learn effective and successful methods for launching your products. Learn from those who have been successful. Listen to their strategies and apply them to your own product launch. Learn from your and other's mistakes and use them to implement improvements to your approach.

Learn to recognize where others have fallen short and attempt to avoid known mistakes and mitigate your risks for your product launch. Learning from other's mistakes can help you execute a cost-effective product launch. Take your time and properly plan, if you rush your product launch you could fail. Observe and research your market in attempts to avoid problems. Doing all this can help you prepare for worst case scenarios and avoid come common mistakes made by others.

Research of your target market's need and wants is vital when developing your product. Understanding essential information about your market and prospects will allow you to make modifications to your product prior to launch. This is where many companies fail. They fail to see the need for extensive market and prospect research or business planning. Once your product has been developed and is available for release you need to focus your efforts on your product launch techniques. Create a comprehensive plan and work that plan. Keep in mind that a unique message around your product can create a lot of attention.

Make sure your plan includes risks and mitigation to those risks. Emergencies will happen so you need to be prepared with a plan of action to reduce the effects of that emergency. Include extensive customer service in your plan so all your customers are satisfied with your product and anything related to obtaining your product. Include pre-launch communications in your plan to get pre-launch customers and excitement generated. If you focus and work your plan you will be successful at selling your product.

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Getting Ready For Your Launch

You need lots of planning before executing your launch. However, even before that, you should do one other key step: participate in as many launches as possible as an affiliate first. This means joining the launch as an affiliate and then promoting the product (make sure it's a fit first). In many cases, the product owner may require certain qualifications such as a minimum list size. In most markets, there's an unwritten "players club" and you have to be able to start showing up on the radar of these members. The fastest way to do so is sell their stuff, preferably lots of copies.

If your list is small, consider buying traffic or creating enormous packages to get the buyer from your affiliate link. You must be perceived as a player (or an up and coming player) in order to get the support of these JVs when it comes time to do your launch.

Additionally, just as you learn copywriting by studying proven marketing pieces and building a swipe file, you should do the same to build up your launch expertise. Each launch requires an enormous amount of promotional materials and you should study closely the marketing materials and sales process of these launches.

Here's an abbreviated checklist of what to observe from other launches to get ready for your launch:

What is the hook or big promise to the JV?

What is the hook or big promise to the JVs list members?

What is the sales process? What is the initial sale, the upsell, the downsell, the backup downsell, etc? Is there even a downsell?

Who is the launch team that is running the launch? Who is the project manager, the launch architect, the copywriter and the JV manager?

How do they communicate with their prospects? Email only or are there other channels such as phone and direct mail?

Be sure to opt-in yourself to the launch process and read the emails. Here's an insider secret: the successful launches are the ones that take the time to create different conversations, depending on how and when you've opted into the launch.

What is your launch host telling your subscribers? How might that impact what you tell your subscribers during your launch? It will also give you insight into how that host is going to treat your students that you send. Do you care? You definitely should.

How do subscribers communicate with the JVs?

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How to Add $1 Million to Your Business With a Successful Product Launch

The product launch is the rocket fuel that can be used to cost effectively and quickly grow your business, and we have seen many product owners leave millions of dollars on the table by not fully understanding this key concept.

Implement these strategies to add at least $1 million to your next product launch and your business.

Relaunch the same product: Amazingly enough, many product owners use an almost tissue-like mentality when it comes to launches: do one and then run to the next one and then repeat with a new one. This creates a hamster in a treadmill effect and can burn you out. Instead, polish your product and re-release it in 4-6 months. In the meantime, use these strategies to create post-launch income.

Launch another product: Having said that, you should have another product in the wing in case your product is seen as old and tired.

Launch into other markets: In many cases, with some tweaking, your product can do very well in other markets entirely, what are also known as blue ocean markets. In some cases, we have seen more money made in these markets than the original core target market. See the Blue Ocean textbook in the Resources section for more information.

Followup on the non-buyers via phone: Don't fall into the fantasy that all your buyers will come from email alone. Follow up with the non-buyers and convert them via the phone (you can outsource this step for a % of the sale, and explain to your affiliate that their commission will be adjusted by the commission of the phone staff).

Followup on the non-buyers via direct mail: Lastly, implement a direct mail strategy to follow-up with your non buyers as well. Most product owners hear about the 1% response rate and believe that it's too expensive to implement a direct mail campaign, but again, these are some of the hottest leads you can acquire. A 5% or higher response is more common when this list, and you can implement a 3 step postcard campaign, even in today's market, for about $1.

By implementing these simple steps, you can add 7 or even 8 figures to your business, as many of our clients have done.

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Preparing a Successful Product Launch Strategy

Generally speaking, don't expect to launch in less than 8 weeks and that assumes a top-notch dedicated team with a proven track record. Do this on the side, and you're looking at 6 months, at least to launch.

In today's fast moving market, your product will probably be irrelevant by that time.

Cover all of these issues and more to determine whether they are ready to launch and in what timeframe.

Compare the emails from as many launches as you can to see how many are being sent to the JV partners to send out. Each launch tends to take on its own personality and the main crux of this is the influence your launch host has.

Make sure you save the emails the launch owner asks you to send as it will provide insight to you on how you may ultimately communicate with your JV partner's lists during your launch.

How often do they communicate with their JVs? Is there a JV blog and how often are results posted?

Be very wary of launches that post only relative results without actual sales numbers. This is usually a red flag that the sales are weak.

Get actively involved with the interaction your launch host provides. Pay particular attention to the tactics they use to build hype, communicate results and most importantly motivate you.

Do they use different communication between the general list, the opt-in list and the buyers list?

How often do they communicate with their JVs and when do they communicate?

What is the style of communication? Short and to the point or more storytelling?

Is video used and if so, how is it used? Are the videos selling or are they teaching or both? How long are the videos?

What is the payment plan for the affiliates? Are residual commissions paid? Are backend sales paid as well?

Are there contests and prizes?

Ask yourself how inspired you are to push your list for both optins and sales?

Are the prizes being offered motivating? Exciting? What's the buzz about the prizes? You can use this to help you figure out how best to provide excitement and healthy competition in your launch.

The time to launch a product is when everybody's about to talk about your product. By the time everybody's talking about it and by the time you launch to take advantage of that buzz, it would already be too late.

In the words of hockey world champion Wayne Gretzsky: "I skate to where the puck will be, not where it is." You need to do the same.

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How Can I Get My Customer List to Get All Hot and Bothered Just Waiting For My Next Product Launch?

If you have a digital product, or any product for that matter, that you are trying to launch on-line, look no further. There is a fairly simple formula for getting a huge response out of your list. Read on to find out how you can make the most bang for your buck when launching your next product.

When you launch a product, the first thing you need is your own list. If you don't have your own list, start building one immediately and you can substitute this method by doing a joint venture with someone else's list, but your own list is always much better.

Product launches are a trickle-like process, slowly filling a bucket of anticipation one drop at a time. The more people anticipate something, the more they want it. If you give them the whole wad at once, they will be instantly turned off to the product and will slam their wallets shut.

Start by teasing your list and explain that you are working on a new project, giving them just a few details. Over the course of a few weeks, you slowly let out what you are offering, giving away one of the tips in your product, or explaining how it will help them.

As you get closer to launch time, you then tell your list that they will have a very small window (give them 24 hrs or less) in which they can purchase the new product for a substantial discount. You can even throw in a bunch of bonuses too. On the day of the launch, send multiple emails, giving the progress of the sales, telling them that they only have an hour left etc. People do not like to miss out on things that other people have and if you can work them into a frantic buying frenzy, you can make a ton of cash on launch day.

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