The Weekly Sharpener #138

How to do a 1 million dollar product launch: a step-by-step guide

👋 Hey fam!

I'm really excited to share this 👊 Wednesday roundup with you! Hope everyone had a peaceful 4th!

No new Add Creative this week - but we are coming back strong soon! We have an amazing guest post from Helen Guo, who breaks down how she has driven $1M+ product launches with no paid ads. She gives you her step-by-step playbook. You need to read this.

We also have some amazing content from our experts for you.

Also, if you haven’t yet - watch the Arnold documentary on Netflix, you’ll thank me!

Hope your ads are scaling and LTV is 📈!

Cheers,

Chase

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Guest Content 👑 🐐

By Helen Guo (Co-Founder of Schoolyard Snacks - Acquired & now investing at D/H)

How to do a $1M+ Product Launch (without paid ads)

My exact step-by-step strategy for a $1MM+ product launch (without paid ads): I used this exact strategy to launch my last company Schoolyard Snacks:

1) Message 1000 niche influencers in your space on Instagram to see if they'd be willing to be a tester ahead of your launch. People love exclusive access.

This is an easy yes.

Be warned though, this is a manual process that takes time.

2) Once they receive your product, ask for real feedback.

If they have positive feedback, ask them if they'd be willing to shout you out on their Instagram by asking their followers to join your waitlist ahead of your launch.

3) Update your link in bio to "Join the waitlist ahead of our launch--> [insert link to landing page]"

This should lead to a simple landing page highlighting what the product is. Collect e-mail + SMS on this page.

P.S. I collected over 25,000 emails/phone numbers this way.

4) Send weekly updates to these folks. Show photos of what's happening behind the scenes.

Talk about why you're starting the company.

Make them feel like they're part of the journey.

5) 1 week before the launch, start hyping it up. Send at least 3 emails and 2 text messages.

Tell them to add the event to their calendars and set alarms for the exact time of your launch.

At this point, it's all about getting people to engage with your emails and SMS.

6) On the day of the launch, send out 2 emails and 2 SMS, one early in the day, and one reminder later.

Keep these simple.

These are warm people that are ready to buy.

7) Send another email/SMS the following day to the stragglers. T

hen, send an email/SMS 3-5 days later after customers have started receiving your product showcasing testimonials.

Now you're getting the folks that needed some social proof.

Why this matters: You might be thinking, WHY WOULD YOU BE ENDORSING HOW TO LAUNCH WITHOUT PAID ADS?

Ads are fuel, they are not the fire. They can’t fix a business that doesn’t have momentum or an amazing offer. So, why not run this system on your next product launch to get the momentum started?

Once it’s moving then you can get your paid ads taking all that momentum and turning it into massive impact.

How? Leverage the content that has been created for social-proof ads. BOOM.

Expert Strategy + Learnings

Some amazing learnings from thought leaders in DTC.

Dylan's CRO Tips 🙌

Tests that boost AOV are just as, if not more effective than tests that are geared towards increasing conversion rate.

That shift alone will improve your CRO campaigns so much.

Don't sleep on that sweet sweet AOV!

For more 🔥 follow Dylan Ander.

Rahul's Paid Media Learnings 🤘

Document these creative results in your tracker and create next steps. Find ways you can iterate on this to increase the shelf life of the assets you are using.

Ideas:

  • New hook with messaging

  • Different creators

  • Different voiceover

  • Mashup top performers

It’s all about creative diversification.

Follow Rahul and reach out to Reach Digital to work with him 🧠

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