I RECENTLY DID A PROGRAM LAUNCH THAT WAS UNLIKE ANY OTHER LAUNCH I’D EVER DONE. I’M CALLING IT A QUICK & DIRTY LAUNCH!

I’d run the content before, that wasn’t new to me, but the way I was selling it (by email) and the way it was being delivered (recorded modules) was completely new to me.

If you’re in a similar place to where I was a couple of years ago, I know how helpful it is to see behind the scenes of another person’s business.

So in this post, I want to debrief you on why I did a launch like this, the things I did, and why I think it all worked so well.

Why I Launched Like This

Normally, my work involves a lot of one-on-one, both on the selling side of things and the coaching. It’s something I know how to do really well. Invite people on calls, book people on calls, and then coach them, either one-to-one or in a bigger group program like my Mastermind program or Retreats.

But this time, I had some pretty significant family events that had happened, and then I fell off a horse and I was stuck at home with a concussion.

Because of all this, I felt really limited in my capacity to take on any more one-to-one clients.

I met with my profit first advisor, and we were chatting about what I could do with the next few months from a revenue perspective. I wanted to do something where I could really maximize my input and my teachings. I want to scale my impact somehow without having to take on a lot of new one-to-one clients.

I wanted to do something different this time!

And I didn’t just want it – I needed it. Because of the concussion, my brain wanted to operate in an entirely different way.

So I got really strategic, and that’s the interesting thing about when you go through some big life event.

Things get really clear about what you want to do and what you don’t want to do.

I decided to use the simplest method possible

This was the first time I ever used an email sequence – a promo sequence – to sell a primarily video based program.

I had been wanting to do more email marketing for a long, long time. I’d actually wanted to do it in the spring for a different program, combined with a masterclass or a webinar.

But because there are so many moving parts with that, anytime I thought about it, it really shut me down, and I thought, “That’s too much.”

So I decided to focus only on the things that I really needed to sell this program, and dropped all the other things.

That day that I met with my profit advisor, I committed.

She said, “Okay, how about you launch in the next six weeks?”

I replied, “No, I think I can do it in three weeks.” And then I got to work.

From idea to launch to sales – I had a total of three weeks. (I’m a #7 on the ennergram and a high quick start, in case you’re wondering!)

I started by making a list of the things I needed:

I needed a sales page, I needed an email sequence, I needed a way to take payment, and that was basically it!

I thought to myself, “I’m not doing a masterclass, I’m not doing a webinar, I’m not doing sales calls. I’m not doing a ton of direct outreach.”

Those have all been really successful for me in the past. But this time I decided I was just going to email the people on my email list.

By the way, at the time of the launch, I had under 1000 subscribers – so my email list isn’t big.

I had a goal of how many people to bring into a program (12), because I know the numbers that work really well together for my business.

I was also not hugely revenue driven by this launch because the whole thing was new to me. I just knew I wanted to do this thing, but I wasn’t hugely financially motivated. Sometimes, I’m more focused on the numbers, and the revenue, and there’s more strategy involved.

This time, I just wanted to try this new thing, using the absolute minimum involved, because that’s what I was capable of.

That’s why I call this Quick & Dirty. We were back to basics.

3 Steps to Launch a Program the Quick & Dirty Way

What are the minimum things I needed to do to make this work? I already had the offer in my head, and I already knew my ideal client (which is SUPER important).

After that, I needed a sales page, and an email sequence.

1. Write the sales page

The very first thing I did was write the sales page.

Normally – I would consider outsourcing this to a copywriter, but the whole thing felt untested and new, so I didn;t wnat to invest a couple thousand dollars, before I had trialed it. So I wrote it myself.

I wrote the first draft in one day, and then took a second day to really finalize it.

Normally, I would start at the top and get really stuck on headlines and intro copy. But this time, I actually started at the bottom (something that I learned from one of my #girlcrush mentors, Tarzan Kay).

By writing the page from the bottom up, it helped me get really clear on what this program was and what this program wasn’t.

If you’ve ever worked with me or you ever work with me in the future, you’ll hear me say, “What is this and who is this for?”

Those are the two most powerful things that you need to have when you’re creating an offer. If that’s not clear to you, it’s not going to be clear to your ideal client, and they’re not going to know whether they should buy this thing or not.

By working from the bottom up of my sales page, like going through the FAQ, what’s the content outline, what they’re getting, what I’m promising, the different modules of the program, and slowly working my way up, I was able to really solidify the program in my mind before getting into the hook at the top.

This is the first time I’ve done that, and I will absolutely do that again.

2. Map out the email sequence

So I had my sales page, and I knew where I needed to get people in order to say yes to the program

That’s when I started mapping out the emails.

I’ve never written an email promo sequence before, but I have a collection of emails I’ve saved from entrepreneurs I admire, and I’ve also taken Tarzan Kay’s Email Stars program, which has different swipe files and templates, and walks you through what to put in each email.

I printed out a calendar for the month so I could see what emails I would send on ewhat days, when my crat would opne and close and the entire slaes journey.

I mapped out the different emails, what the focus of each email would be, and when they would land in my readers’ inboxes.

3. Speaking your ideal client’s language

Other than the sequence of your emails, the other important thing with the emails is using your ideal client’s language and talking directly to them.

I keep a running tally of things my clients and students ask me.

I made damn sure to use that language and weave it into the emails and sales page and throughout the messaging when I was talking about the program.

The beauty of doing this is that you are really speaking to your customer and client all of the time.

If you can get outside of your own head and what you want to say, and speak the language of your customer, you’re golden. You’re seriously golden.

I’ve been working with a really similar client for probably a solid two years now. Before that was a lot of experimentation. But now I know the things she asks again and again. I know where she gets stuck, I know what she needs help with.

That’s the kind of stuff that I was speaking to inside of my emails.

I also left space towards the end of the sequence to go in and edit and add things (another tip I learned from Tarzan).

As I was hearing questions from people during the launch, in email or DMs on Instagram, I’d take those questions and incorporate them into the later emails. That way, I could make sure I was addressing any concerns, objections that could potentially hold them back from this program.

Setting it all up & Going through the actual launch

Once the emails were all written, it was time to get everything set up and ready to go.

I do have a couple of team members, my business manager and an assistant, and they were the ones who actually set up the emails inside of ActiveCampaign.

Then we made a few edits, tested them, and they were ready to go.

Going through the actual launch that week was an experience all its own. I really tried to hold space for the launch, as opposed to all the other things inside my business.

I also let my family know “Guys, the next seven days are going to be crazy for me”.

While this was definitely primarily an email launch, of course I was also talking about this on social media while the cart was open, and I was getting lots of DMs and of course also emails. I made a point to be very responsive over email and on social media.

The funny thing is, everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.

There were multiple times that the buttons didn’t work. I tried to run Facebook ads, but they got shut down for some reason so they didn’t actually bring in any direct sales.

And in spite of all the technical stuff going wrong, and the new format of the launch for me, and my limited capacity, this launch was very successful.

12 gorgeous souls joined the program, with the majority of the sales coming in during the last couple of days of the launch.

The Real Reasons This Launch Worked So Well

What worked for me, may or may not work for you, in terms of the quick and dirty stuff above. You take any of those things that are going to work for you.

But there are some key things that I think are why this quick and dirty launch method was able to work so well for me, and the reason my next launch will be even more successful.

So now that we’ve gone over the specific things I did during this launch, let’s get into the deeper stuff that were contributing below the surface that I’ve been laying the foundation for for a long time.

1. You have to talk about your program

I’ve worked with a lot of women who were afraid to talk about their thing, or they’d talk about it once or twice on social media and say “I don’t want to bug people. I don’t want to push people. I don’t want to ask.”

Guys, we need to hear something 10 to 20 times at least before we’re exposed enough to it that we’re going to say yes.

And besides, people don’t always see it. If you talk about something 10 times, I might only hear of it twice out of all those 10 times.

I can’t tell you the number of women who purchased from me and, after the launch, said to me “The reason I signed up for your thing was because you kept talking about it, and you kept talking about it, and you kept talking about it.”

Keep in mind, whether you’re making someone a customer today, or in six months, or in a year, it’s all good. I have people who’ve been following me for a couple of years and this was the first time they bought from me.

It’s because I established that relationship with them over that time.

So don’t forget: Talk about your thing and nurture your peeps.

2. Hang out wherever your ideal client hangs out

Whether it’s online or offline, you have to put yourself wherever your ideal client (ICA) hangs out and go where they are.

If they’re on Facebook, you need to hang out on Facebook.

If they’re on Instagram, you need to hang out on Instagram.

If they’re on LinkedIn, go to LinkedIn.

Or a local event or things going on in your area – get yourself in front of your ICA as much as you can.

Also, pick the platforms that you’re comfortable with. I personally love Instagram, so I spend more time on Instagram than I do on Facebook, but my clients are in both places, so I definitely show up on both platforms.

The point is, put yourself in front of your customers so that they know you exist, so that they can hear you when you’re talking about your thing.

3. Show up consistently

Wherever it is that you decide you need to be hanging out, you need to show up consistently.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to show up every day.

Sometimes I go weeks without showing up on Instagram, but in general, I’m present, and I’m active, and I’m putting out content that’s helpful to my ICA on those platforms.

I try to post 3-5x/week on social media, I use IG stories during the day to keep engagement up, I’m active in the DMs (it’s like having conversations!) and I email my list regularly.

4. Create valuable content

There have been several times when someone has gotten on a discovery call with me and say something like “I’ve been following you for two years and I’ve watched all your videos” or “I just found you and I went back to the very beginning of your Facebook Page and I’ve read everything you ever posted.”

Whenever this happens, I’m always shocked, humbled, fascinated, interested, embarrassed, delighted.

But it also speaks to the importance of creating valuable content.

You want to give people a taste of what it’s like to work with you. People need to know what the vibe is of what it means to work with you.

They’re not going to just magically purchase your thing. They need to know who you are, like you, and trust you. That’s marketing 101.

Now, this doesn’t mean give everything away for free. It just means give some stuff away for free. Because without valuable free content to warm people up, it’s near impossible to turn them into paying clients.

5. Be 100% you

I fully believe the more you authentically show up as who you are, connected to your soul, aligned with your purpose, the more your ideal clients will show up.

If you show up with a mask on or as anybody else, with any fakeness or pretence, then you are going to attract someone who’s not connected to you and your beautiful offers. And that’s where things get wonky and don’t feel good.

Listen, whatever you can do to be connected to YOU, do it.

I often say things like, my role is to hold space for me, and to really be myself, to keep my energy and my vibe up, to be who I am.

I want to show up so authentically me. And that gives permission for my clients, my customers, my students to also do the same.

That’s for you, too.

I want you to show up as you are, however that is, whoever you are.

And if you’re not sure, and you’re not clear, then that’s a real indicator to take a step back and just take some time to sit and be quiet.

Sometimes this do do do go go go energy is not helpful. You need to pull back. If you’re not clear on yourself, take a break. Because showing up as you is just that important.

6. Do something that scares you

Writing a promo sequence was scary for me. I’d never written one before. Recording a course was terrifying to me. That was a first!

I know how to sell through sales calls.

I know how to sell through the DMS.

I know how to sell by reaching out to women that I’m interested in working with, who I think I might be able to support.

I know how to sell that way.

This email sequence strategy was unproven to me, untested, and it felt really effing scary to me.

Do something that scares you, okay? You want to succeed in a launch, in life, in your business, you have to play with your edge. You have to push yourself a little bit.

7. Meet yourself where you are

On the flip side of that coin, you also have to meet yourself where you are.

The next time around, I think I would definitely do some more video. I’d show up live on Facebook or maybe I would do a masterclass or a webinar. I’m not really sure. But this time around, I just didn’t have capacity. I didn’t have the bandwidth for it this time.

You’ve got to meet yourself where you are.

If you have a lot going on, and you only have limited capacity for something, then go with that.

Yes, push yourself. Yes, stretch yourself, but also meet yourself where you are, and honor whatever’s going on in your life, and what you feel like you have capacity for.

Balancing the Long-Term and the Now

You’ll notice that this launch strategy that I’ve outlined is both immediate and long-term.

Yes, things worked out in this promo because of the way I showed up for it and the quick and dirty things I did as part of it, but also because I have been consistently building up over time.

Everyone who experienced this launch had an idea of who I was and what working with me might be like, whether they follow me on Instagram, or they’d been on my email list for a little while. They’d had some touchpoint with me along the line.

You’ve got to balance both mindsets.

On the one hand, we get overwhelmed when we think way way way down the road. Yes, be connected to your vision, where you want to be, where you want to go eventually, but break that down, and build it step by step by step.

I honestly built my business that way. One person, one sale, one client at a time.

While you do that, also play the long-term game.

That’s what made this launch successful. That’s what made this quick and dirty launch strategy work: because I put in the time and work.

If you’re just starting out, and you’re thinking “Oh my god, what do I do?”

You start today. You put one foot in front of the other. You do that, and I promise you, you will get there. You will absolutely get there.

Have you ever done a quick and dirty launch like this? What’s been your experience with launching a course, program or service? Drop me a comment below! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this strategy.

And if you haven’t already, take my free quiz to get a unique custom game plan for your business. You’ll even get a downloadable workbook to go along with your results!