Not hitting your launch goals can make you feel like a failure. It can make you question your business, your skills and everything you’re doing. But a “failed” launch doesn’t mean you don’t know what you’re doing. Launching can be hard and with the online industry shifting constantly, it’s hard to keep up.

I prefer to look at every launch as an experiment. Yes, there are things you can do and strategies you can implement to improve your chances of success. But success is never guaranteed, no matter how much work you put into it or how much money you throw at it (though it sure helps). That doesn’t mean it’s dead, or not working… it means you need to play the game.

Here are 5 common mistakes people make with their live launches and how to avoid them:

1. You Ghosted Your Audience Between Launches

This is a big one. If you only show up and make contact with your audience when you’re in a heavy promo period and they don’t hear from you for months, you’re never going to get the same results as when people hear from you regularly. Even if it’s just 1x a month. The more the better but I usually advise a weekly email as a minimum to remain top of mind.

Sales is a contact sport. *Shout out to Jereshia Hawk for that gem.*

The more contact you have with your audience, the more likely they are to trust you and buy from you. Don’t ghost your audience. Show up and support them, give them value, let them get to know you.

2. You Skipped the Pre-Launch

So many people spend more time agonizing over the sales promotion, rather than making sure their audience are ready for the thing they’re launching. The sales process is so much longer than it used to be - people need time to prepare for a purchase. They’re being bombarded by offers left, right and centre, and they need to make sure that your thing is right for them. They also may need to plan financially.

By being strategic and sharing relevant content prior to your cart opening, you can help your audience overcome any objections they might have before the cart opens. So when it’s open, they’re ready and already know your offer is the thing they need.

3. You Didn’t Grow Your Audience Between Launches

Not everyone in your audience will buy from you, full stop. So if you launched already and you’re planning another launch, there are (hopefully) already people in your audience that have bought from you. This means the pool of people who’ll buy from you in this launch has got smaller.

To increase your chances of beating your sales numbers, you want to have fresh people hearing about your offer and new people in your audience. Ideally on your email list as more people are likely to see your content (buh bye, algorithm) but wherever you make most of your sales during your launches.

4. You Used ‘Copy + Paste’ Templates and Strategies

Sure, there are formulas for launches that work for a lot of people. And templates can get you so far, cutting your creation time. But by following templates and someone else’s formula, you’re not basing your strategy on what your own audience actually need, or what works for YOU. And it’s your business, so shouldn’t it feel good to you too?

By following the same launch formula and using the same templates as everyone else, you’re limiting your opportunities to stand out, grab more attention and make more sales.

If you have the means to, outsource to a copywriter and strategist who can plan your launch for maximum success.

5. You Had Unrealistic Launch Goals

Going into a live launch can feel daunting. Especially if you’ve planned your year around the revenue you’re hoping to generate from it. But it’s much worse if you go in with high expectations and come out the other side feeling sapped of energy and with ⅓ of the Stripe notifications you were hoping for.

Your launch shouldn’t be stressful. And if you’re not setting realistic goals, you’re setting yourself up for a stressful and very un-fun launch.

So how can you set realistic launch goals that you can hit with more ease and less stress?

By knowing your numbers.

It’s not a sexy answer but it’s honestly the best way to start planning a launch. Yes, there’s a lot of strategies that go into a launch but, at its core, it’s a numbers game.

The average conversion rate for course or digital product sales is 1-3%, which means of all the people in your audience, 1-3% of them are likely to buy from you during your launch.

To create better goals, you need to know:

• How many people are in your audience (I usually recommend focusing on your email list for this)

• Your average conversion rate (and if you’re not sure, aim for 1%)

• The price of your course or product (on average, including any payment plans)

Want your next live launch to be more predictable? 👇

Use this handy Launch Goal Calculator to see your expected revenue and sales from your next launch.