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prelaunch workflow blog post

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Date:
June 4, 2021

Author:
Ashlyn Carter

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Business Tips

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Reading time: 9 min.

Your Pre Launch Workflow is nearly as important as the launch itself! Whether you’re searching for how to do a product launch or how to service launch, you need to have a pre-launch strategy to keep things running smoothly. Today, we’re going to dive into my pre-launch workflow and pre-launch tips to make your life easier and your launch more successful!

 

3 Things I Do Before Every Launch | Ashlyn Writes

 

This time of year’s giving me *all* the nostalgic feels. Every year since 2016, this is the time period where I have launched my signature Copywriting for Creatives™ program. Butttt I’m launching a human this spring & having a baby, so I’m putting family first and pulled that launch off the docket. But I thought I’d go ahead and share with you what I would be doing otherwise. 😉

Essentially, I want to tell you everything that I would be doing the week before I move into a launch. I know I’ve talked about launching so much here on my channel. Basically, it is a fancy word for a marketing campaign or period in your creative small business. So from tactical funnel checklist-y things, all the way to mindset stuff and things around the house, this is how I stay sane,.

That said, let’s go!

Ps—if you haven’t yet, also click here or down below and grab my FREE launch copy and content checklist. Thousands of you have grabbed this, this is a free guide that’s gonna tell you all the different pieces that you need to have written and in copy before you go into a launch mode. 👇👇


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Pre launch Workflow: Step No. 1 |The Nitty Gritty

First up,the more nitty-gritty things. We had a launch copy client recently that said: “How do you hype yourself up for essentially talking about the same thing over, and over again for so many days in your business?”

Here is my two cents—if you’re launching right, then you’re gonna feel like a broken record during your open cart period, it’s gonna happen. You’re spending five, seven, maybe 10 days pushing and talking about the same offer over and over again ~a lot~ of different ways. This is absolutely exhausting.  Comment below, heck yes, if you’ve ever felt like that when you are pitching or positioning something—that’s normal. That means you NEED to have a plan and work the plan when you are moving into your launch week itself.

Here’s my ~biggest~ tip: Go into your launch week with everything DONE.

Even if you are dripping out content or teaching along the way, if you’re launching a course, have absolutely as much done in other capacities. Every bonus, every PDF, every social media post, at least the draft of it written. Every funnel asset, every graphic—everything DONE.

aw prelaunch workflow blog

I have launched somewhere between 10-15 times in my business. Usually, by and large, I’ve not had this done and it is 100% not fun. It’s way more fun to move into a launch when you can actually focus that week on selling and talking to other human beings. Set yourself up for success so that you’re able to go into that launch week with time set aside to just get in the weeds with people and talk to your customers or your potential clients. Make sure that you’re able to have time set aside to troubleshoot with them and help them understand if this offer is for them or not.

I highly recommend cleaning up that week so you’re able to spend the time selling and talking to other human beings. It’s not only wayyy more enjoyable but likely more profitable as well.

So in a nutshell, if it wasn’t already obvious, during a launch week or promo campaign itself, I am online way more than I ever am in my business. I’m checking DMS, I’m in the inbox. I’m talking back and forth to people on video. I don’t wanna spend any time in backstage creation mode or trying to be creative and come up with stuff, I just wanna be front stage, actually talking to people and helping them.

Here’s another tip: when it comes to pre-scheduled copy like your social media posts that you’re using to market things or the email copy, I absolutely have drafts written and most of that ready to go. BUT I want to ride a little bit of the excitement and the adrenaline rush. So I’m not going to schedule every single thing to go out and automate because I wanna get in there and make sure that I’m responding to real-time. I want to know how people feel and what the vibe is that I’m getting, what’s going on in the world, etc.

So again, everything is written and ready to go but I’m gonna riff a little bit during the week. Which also ends up being fun.:)

Related: How to Pre Launch on Instagram: My 4 Part Instagram Content Calendar Plan


Pre launch Workflow: Step No. 2| Mindset

Okay, next up, I wanna talk about mindset. Comment below if this has ever happened to you, but launching, going into a promo campaign where you’re talking up one offer for days at a time, it can be a *total* mind game. Not only are you online more than usual and talking to people about their problems—that you can hopefully help them solve—but you’re talking what feels like ad-nauseum about something that you love and created. This is like the perfect storm for imposter syndrome to creep in, right?! Here’s how I fight that in prelaunch. 👇

There’s a theory called grand gestures.  You may have heard before how J K Rowling rented out a hotel room and she would go there to finish out her Harry Potter projects. If you’ve ever rewarded yourself with something after finishing a big task, that’s another example of a grand gesture.

So mentally, there are a few things that I have found that I like to do to get myself in the game.

#1 One thing I’ll do, (this is the weirdest,but I’m gonna throw it out there in case it helps you), I will buy an expensive-ish or nice candle from Anthropologie or whatever, and I’ll have it on my desk. I’m only allowed to burn it when I am working that week—I can’t take it out of the office. I expense it, the goal is to use it during that week. I’ve also gotten fun, new pens before too. Those kinds of things can help me form a mindset of, okay, when my butt is in my chair and I am selling and talking about this offer, I’ve got these things going and I am in the zone. Maybe that’s a weird tip—I’m not the only one, right?! 😉

AW Prelaunch Workflow

#2 Another thing I’ve done is put sticky notes on the wall for every sale or order that I need to make for my goals. I’ve done a video in the past about launch metrics—you need to set your goals before you go into a campaign period. At this point, the week before launch, those goals are set and now and I have a visual representation of the number of humans I would actually like to serve with this offer. As each order comes in, I’ll write their name on one of those sticky notes. It’s just a great way to actually see, these are human beings that you’re getting to help and serve.

Related: How to STOP Making Excuses & Launch a Website, Product, or New Service

#3 Another essential mindset tool for me has been prayer. If you have a spouse that is involved with your business or a business best friend or a teammate, while you’re praying for energy and wisdom to be able to show up and lead during this period, I’ve also found that so helpful to pray that the right people purchase this offer or come into this program or whatever it is that you’re shilling, praying over the number that you know you need for this to be a success, but also praying for each slot that you have and that the right booties get in the seats. Also praying over your audience that’s not going to purchase, that they at least learn something in the process of hearing you sell for these number of days.

I always want anybody that watches one of my webinars or workshops, no matter if they purchase or not, to be able to walk away from it with things and tools that they can implement. So be praying for that as well.

#4 Finally, and this is a big mindset tip, absolutely set yourself up with some time to read past testimonials and success stories and case studies so you can remember that you are good at what you do and it does see results for people. Maybe it’s just me, but the imposter syndrome can be real. So it was really helpful for me before I move into a launch to recenter and go back and remember what it is about this offer that has worked, how it’s helped people. And that puts me in a place to be able to go out there and sell it with confidence. This is also why having a testimonial database like I’ve shown in the past few videos, has been very helpful for me ’cause I can quickly go in and tab over and pull them, read them, give a mojo, go in and keep going along.

Related: Planning to Launch Soon? Here’s What You NEED to Know


Pre launch Workflow Step No. 3 | Household

Okay, last up, household things. So I used to go into launch weeks and my husband Wes would probably just batten down the hatches. Hurricane Ashlyn—the Royal B word—would come out during a launch week ’cause they’re just stressful. 😉

So over time, I’ve learned during prelaunch I need to make sure two big things are done and out of the way. First up, food, of course. I need to get not just my food and sustenance and fuel ready, but if you’re the meal planner or the food provider in your family, making sure that people are handled, either outsource meal planning or hand it off to somebody else, put in those Instacart orders, getting your rations there and in the house during prelaunch before you go into a launch week I promise, it just is important.

During a launch I’ve found I need a lot of snacks on hand, grab and go because your time pockets can be weird. I also want to make sure I’m plenty hydrated. Will probably throw a bottle of wine on the list. I’m telling you, there’s nothing like going live or going into a webinar or whatever when you’re hungry and starving, it’s just not gonna be your best work or you get off of some sort of live call and there’s nothing to eat in the fridge. Then you’re just more stressed. Take my word for it, have food ready.

Ashlyn Writes-Pre launch Workflow Blog Post

And again, that second point I mentioned is communicating to your friends and your family that you’re gonna be in a little bit of a high-stress week in your business. This way, sure, they can support you but they’re aware of what’s going on. I’ve joked before that even my dad doesn’t really quite understand what it is that I do, but it’s been fun over the years when I’m in a launch, for him to at least say, I know you’re working on something really hard over there, keep it up.

You may also be less likely during a big hands-on launch period to get back to people as quickly as you usually can. So just over-communicating can be helpful.

Random, somewhat related, Wes and I have had some same page meetings weekly this year that we’ve never done before and that’s been helpful. I’m gonna put up over the side some of the questions that we’ve checked in on each other with, this is just a helpful hint.


Okay, like I said, I was a little all over the place here. I talked about some nitty-gritty stuff, mindset as well as household things to focus on during pre launch. Mostly because when I am in a launch campaign mode, I just want to be able to focus on selling and talking to human beings. I want every other piece of the funnel completed so I can hone in and focus on that one thing.

If you need a list of all the copy and the content that you need written before you head into a launch mode, then be sure to click here or look below and grab that free link to that download PDF you can grab.

And now you know, all about my prelaunch workflow and how I love workflows in general. So let’s talk about another side of your business where you may need some cleaning and tweaking of your systems and processes. Be sure to watch this video on my YouTube channel next—I’m taking you behind the scenes of how to hold an agency immersion retreat in your business to clean up the service provider side of your business. Here’s to working from a place of more rest, less hustle, even when you’re in the crazy shenanigans of a launch week. And I’ll see you in the next one.


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3 Things I Do Before Every Launch | Ashlyn Writes

Reading Time: 9 Minutes Reading time: 9 min. Your Pre Launch Workflow is nearly as important as the launch itself! Whether you’re searching for how to do a product launch or how to service launch, you need to have a pre-launch strategy to keep things running smoothly. Today, we’re going to dive into my pre-launch workflow and pre-launch tips […]

6/04/21

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