Here’s the thing: a launch is not a one night stand.
YES, it’s full of excitement and lust. It’s passionate. And when it’s all over, you kind of can’t believe how exciting it was and why you don’t do it more often.
Yes, you had to put a lot of effort into wooing the other party. In getting them to trip googley-eyed over their own feet for you, and to buy what you’re selling so to speak. (Or, you know, literally BUY what you’re selling since we’re talking about business launches and all.)
BUT A LAUNCH IS NOT A ONE NIGHT STAND
And YOU need to be the one who sends the f*king text the next morning.
Because like sex, the excitement of a launch… especially a launch that’s interesting and exciting… releases feel-good chemicals in the brain. Chemicals that make you feel attached to another person, and like you need them around.
These chemicals get you feeling “used” to having that person around and craving their presence again. No matter how short of a time they were actually around for. (Or how much you actually don’t need them in reality.)
And when you execute a launch you put your heart and soul into, you need to remember this.
Because unlike an actual one night stand, you DO want your audience to stick around and keep liking you.
THEY CAN’T DO THAT IF THEY DON’T HEAR FROM YOU.
You can’t just disappear on them and then pop back into their lives when you want… erm… something… from them again.
It doesn’t work like that.
You have to BUILD THE RELATIONSHIP.
Fortunately, building a relationship with interested readers is A LOT easier after the excitement of a launch than it is to build something romantic after a quick hookup.
LAUNCHES ARE LIKE AN ELABORATE FIRST DATE
Because when you put in the work to pull off a launch, you don’t want it to be a one-and-done thing.
No. You want it to be the impetus of long-term business success. A solid foundation to BUILD upon. Not something that has to be re-built, over and over again.
And to do that for yourself, you need to think beyond the cart close and have a content plan ready to go.
Because just because people don’t buy from you in your initial launch doesn’t mean they never will.
I saw it with my own first launch: LOTS of people who were really interested didn’t end up buying. But because I stayed in touch with them, kept providing value, and showed them that I still cared even though they didn’t “give me what I wanted” the first time around, they warmed up to me. They eventually bought my course. And it only took a few more months.
SHOW THEM YOU GIVE A SHIT
Now, to be clear, I’m not talking about “convincing” people by wearing them down under the assumption that EVERYONE wants something from you. That’s a shitty strategy and one that I do not endorse.
What I AM talking about is keeping the conversation going around the topic of your launch.
And when you do that, you have to actually give a shit about the content you’re producing and genuinely want to help people… whether they end up buying from you or not.
People are smart, and they can tell a difference.
Just like all my ladies reading this know the difference from a guy who just wants to unbutton their pants, and a guy who actually cares about the conversation he’s having with them.
I launched a copywriting course, for example, so I kept talking about copywriting and writing better websites.
If you launch a course on dating, keeping talking about dating.
If you launch a book about overcoming anxiety, KEEP talking about overcoming anxiety. Even after your book gets the “best seller” label on Amazon.
If you launched a new design business, don’t just do the launch and then expect $10,000 project queries to show up in your inbox. KEEP TALKING about design, keep showing up, and keep providing value. THAT’S the way you’ll get clients.
AND FOR THE LOVE OF PUPPIES, MAKE SURE YOU GET A SECOND DATE
So when you’re planning your launch copy, plan your launch copy. Absolutely make that your first priority.
But have at least one or two topics for blog posts or email newsletters ready to go so that when the launch burnout hits you, you’ve got something to fall back on. You’ll have ideas that are easy for you to produce, AND that are in line with your launch message.
It’ll be good for your business, and it will be what your audience wants.
But for the love of puppies, don’t just abandon people.