The Number One Thing You Need To Know When Launching – Podcast Episode 355

Hey there, my friend, welcome to episode 355 of the Small Business Made Simple Podcast.

Thanks for leading me your ears right now – I know you have lots of other things you could be doing or listening to – so I appreciate you.

Today I’m sharing the best launch advice I can with you – whether you are launching a new product, a new business, a new podcast, a new book – whatever you are launching – I have the best advice ever for you … lean in my friend, lean in!

But some announcements first – did you listen to last week’s two episodes! Katrina McCarter was on episode 354 talking about her Marketing With No Money keynote that she is doing at the 2025 Social Media and Marketing Conference – https://www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au/conference and the other episode 353 was about the fact that your Instagram posts are not findable on Google – if you want them too!

So, did you tune in?  If not, when you finish her, tune in to them!

Speaking of the 2025 Social Media and Marketing Conference – do you have your ticket as yet? You can get tickets here – https://www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au/conference and check out where to stay, the speakers, schedule, ability to get more involved by getting into the goodie bags and so much more – just on one webpage!

Love to spend the day with you! You might learn even more than you do listening to me every week!

Okay, let’s get into the best advice I can give you if you are launching.

Like I said, launching can mean launching a new product, a new service, a podcast, a book, a course – anything really but it’s a launch – it’s something that you want people to buy or listen to or take notice of.

The advice – DO NOT turn up with it DONE already!  Take your community along for the ride.

Turning up in your marketing saying, “buy my new product”, “listen to my new podcast” or “invest in my new offering” will NEVER work as well as if you had been talking about it for weeks or months and FINALLY people can buy it!

Appreciate your community. Trust your community. Involve your community.

If anyone remembers the launch of my book – Small Town Big Impact – you might remember that many knew about it before I’d even written the second chapter!

I told people, my community, that I was writing a book. I told them how that made my nervous, how I had feelings of imposter syndrome. I asked them which cover they liked best, I shared with them how many words I had written and how many I still had to write …. I shared and shared.

So, when it FINALLY (and it felt like a FINALLY moment) went to print and I could offer “pre-sales” and “waitlists” I’d sold over half my stock coming before I’d even seen the finished product.

My community had been waiting for months and months to buy a copy, they’d waited months and months for the opportunity to get their hands on this bloody book they’d heard so much about!

I know, absolutely know, with all my marketing might, that had I turned up on social media and in my emails one day with “I wrote a book” and no one saw that coming – sales would have been so much slower.

I’ve been speaking to some of my coaching clients this week and we have been talking about just this – a launch plan. The importance of a launch plan and what a launch plan looks like.

I like to think of it as a runway – you know the runway before the plane takes off.

Sometimes your runway is months, sometimes weeks, possibly hardly ever days though!

So, what does a launch strategy look like in general? Let’s take a new service offering as an example:

Launch Strategy Example – New Service Offering

6–8 Weeks Before Launch (Build Awareness and Hype)

• Start teasing the idea with curiosity-building posts like “something new is coming…”
• Share behind-the-scenes content such as brainstorming sessions or early drafts
• Talk about the problem your new service solves without revealing the full solution yet
• Use social media polls or questions to involve your audience and collect insights
• Mention the upcoming service casually in emails, blog posts, or live videos to seed the idea

4 Weeks Before Launch (Involve and Educate)

• Reveal the name or a rough outline of the new service
• Share results or feedback from similar past offers to build credibility
• Open a waitlist or early interest sign-up with an incentive (discount, bonus, or exclusive access)
• Ask your audience to help make small decisions like choosing a cover image, format, or slogan

2 Weeks Before Launch (Create Urgency and Excitement)

• Post client stories, wins, or testimonials that align with the new service
• Answer common questions via posts, videos, or Stories
• Explain how the service works and who it’s for through value-based content
• Announce a launch date and give people a clear reason to be ready

Launch Week (Show Up and Sell)

• Announce the new service publicly and confidently across all platforms
• Email your waitlist first with any special offers or early bird pricing
• Share consistent content about the offer’s benefits, your excitement, and the transformation it brings
• Use urgency and scarcity – remind people when the offer will close or that limited spots are available

Post-Launch (Follow Up and Reflect)

• Celebrate the launch and thank your community for their support
• Follow up with non-buyers – offer to answer questions or invite a discovery call
• Collect and share testimonials or early feedback
• Reflect on what worked well and what could be improved for the next launch

Can you see how invested your community will be after six weeks of hearing about your new service offering? And frankly you can adapt most of this to any launch of anything!

When did you hear about my conference? If you’re a long time listening of the podcast – it was LONG before tickets went on sale. I had a waitlist, and I talked about it often. I asked my community what topics they’d like to hear on the day and involved them in lots of decisions along the journey.

I hope this helps – or will help when you next launch something. All I really want is for you to not turn up with something brilliant and find it hard to sell because the first people know of it is when it appears!

Your community knows, likes and trusts you – give them the opportunity to be involved in your community and in your business development – especially if you want them to buy it, after all!

Any thoughts or ideas or concerns, you know how to reach me! And make sure you’ve joined the Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group – you are very welcome! https://www.facebook.com/groups/LikeMindedBusinessOwners

Before I go – another plug for my conference – The link to get your ticket is https://www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au/conference – Early Bird Tickets for $199 won’t be on sale for much longer. So, get your ticket today!

PS – if you want to do a payment plan for the $199 – that’s 100% fine – just get in touch and we can arrange that for sure.

Thanks for tuning in.

If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode and share this with a friend.  And maybe leave me a rating and a review wherever you listen in.  Those things are like gold for podcasters like me!  PS – you can leave more than one rating and review – just saying!

If we aren’t hanging out on social media then let’s get social on social – you’ll find me on Instagram, Facebook, and my fav LinkedIn.

But whatever you do,

…….. remember small business peep, as my opening song says, there’s no point in dreaming small!

People Also Ask:

Q: What’s the most important thing to do before launching a product or service?
A: Build anticipation. Involve your audience weeks ahead of your launch by teasing, sharing behind-the-scenes, and building a waitlist.

Q: How long should a business launch runway be?
A: Ideally 6–8 weeks. This gives you time to educate, create buzz, and build trust before your official launch date.

Q: What’s a common mistake small businesses make when launching?
A: Launching in silence – showing up on social media saying “I’ve launched!” without any lead-up or community involvement.

Q: Can I use this launch strategy for services as well as products?
A: Absolutely. The runway approach applies to anything new – services, courses, podcasts, memberships and beyond.