Hey there, course creator! 

If you’re got a course to sell (or membership, coaching program, digital product, the works!), you’ve probably got a launch coming up, like soon. Like, sooner than you think 👀

But that’s ok! We know that you’ve got this! You’ve got the willpower, the know-how, and the brains to get the launch off the ground and to the moon! 🚀

And we at The Launch Guild want to do everything we can to make sure we support you. That’s why we want to give you an inside scoop on something we use to boost our launch profitability BEFORE we even get into the actual launch set up.

We want clients busting down your virtual doors by the time you get to launch day. Imagine it now… having people who can’t wait to pay you for your awesome program! (It’s real, we promise) 🤑

You do that by building through your marketing strategy momentum. You want your community to be PUMPED to sign up for your new course. But to do that, you have to also have to authentically engage with them. 

That’s where a Launch Runway comes in. Let’s take a look at what a Launch Runway is and what it isn’t. 

What is a Launch Runway?

A launch runway is a 4-6 week plan, sometimes longer, that’s meant to nurture your audience and prepare them for your new course. It’s basically everything that the audience sees to promote your new course.

Now that you know what a Launch Runway is, let’s take a look at why you need one. A Launch Runway nurtures two things- your audience and yourself. 

As you get ready to launch, you need to remind your audience why you’re great at what you do. There are four key elements you want to be thinking about as you develop your Runway strategy and action plan to see it through. 

These four elements include: 

• Your Audience
• Your Authority 
• Your Visibility 
• Your Value Delivery

As you’re creating your launch plan, you should strive to hit every one of these at least once to ensure you’ve nurtured your community enough to buy from you. 

Your Audience 

We use a ✨Launch Runway✨ to keep our audience at the edge of their seats. How do we do that? By putting the best and brightest pieces of content (related to your new offer) in front of them. This helps your audience to better understand all of the value in your product and why it’s EXACTLY what they need. If they’re already receiving aha’s, education, and good vibes from your corner of the internet, they’ll be far more ready to take action on open cart day to secure a spot to work with you. 

Here are some examples of some audience engaging events you can put on your pre-launch calendar: 

1. Create and share an opt-in freebie with content related to your paid program. How can you help people to take the first step(s) toward their desired result without asking for a dime in return?
   
2. Post weekly content that slowly helps your audience solve micro-issues and gets them interested in learning more because every time they hear from you, they know you’ll share something that can help them on their journey.
   
3. Go live once a week to give your audience some value, like a 10-minute lesson that highlights your expertise. Bonus points if you can tie it in with your freebie so viewers can join your email list. Showing up on video (or audio if you like to record podcasts) gives your audience the opportunity for more personal and human connection beyond written word. 

Each of these events allows your audience to know exactly what you’re selling, why, and why they need it. By planning it out in advance, you’re keeping yourself committed to a successfully proven marketing strategy. That way you’re not scrambling to remember to go Live at the last minute begging people to buy. Instead, you’re as cool and calm as a cucumber 😎

Your Authority 

Nurturing your authority as a creator is more than a flex. Ok, you can flex, go ahead and do that too 💪🏽  Just remember to back up your words with actions. 

As an educator, a course creator, and a business owner, you have so much knowledge stored in that big brain of yours that others want to know. People flock to you because they want to be taught by you. So do what you do best and teach! 

Provide value in your content. Give your audience something worth watching all the way through, instead of scrolling past. 

Because people are fickle! Your algorithm is fickle! Even your best supporters can scroll away if they already know what you’re going to say. So bring something new to the table. 

But don’t give it all away! 

Take a look at your courses. If you could reel people in with one sentence, what would that sentence be? 

Write that down, and then expand on it. Reel your audience in just enough to be undeniably curious, then leave them wanting more. Let them learn and want to learn more. That way they show up for your Lives, your webinars, and your open cart day. 

Your Visibility 

Let’s address the elephant in the room- if you’ve got no eyes, you’ve got no buyers. 

You need people to see that you’ve got a launch coming up. You can do that by putting out content on your platforms. 

Here are the platforms you can hit to make sure you reach as many members of your community as possible: 

• Newsletters 
• Social media posts
• Lives
• Podcast episodes

But this isn’t meaningless content you’re posting. As part of your Launch Runway, you’d intentionally create content that connects you with your audience and highlights your areas of expertise. 

And you don’t even have to use just your platforms! 

Having a Launch Runway means you’re thinking weeks-months in the future. That gives you time to book an appearance on someone else’s platform to flex your genius and promote your new course. 

Take a podcast for example. If your course teaches people about business strategies for female entrepreneurs, reach out to women-owned business podcasts. Because these women-owned business podcasters already have their audience. As a guest, you are providing your unique expertise in exchange for access to their audience. All of a sudden, you have hundreds, if not thousands of new people who know your name and are interested in your work. 

Being a guest on someone’s favorite podcast makes you trustworthy. If that person trusts you, they can trust you enough to follow you, learn from you, watch your Live stream, and possibly buy your next course on launch day. 

This trust ties in with our next marketing strategy segment. 

Your Value Delivery 

Ok so you know you’re not a scammer, and I know you’re not a scammer, but the rest of the world needs to know that. 

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been burned by an online scammer 🙋🏽‍♀️

Pretty much everyone. 

And no one wants to go through that again. You need to let your audience know that they can trust you. You can build that trust into your marketing strategy by consistently focusing on being helpful and delivering consistent value. Can your audience get closer to reaching their goals WITHOUT ever buying from you? Is your content helping them to get wins for FREE?

If the answer is “YES!”, then you’re on the right track! If the answer is “no”, then you may have to dig deeper and revisit how you can create results for your ideal customer before they’re a customer at all! 

By going Live to teach, posting juicy written content, offering a helpful freebie, or hosting a value-packed, actionable webinar, you are giving your audience the chance to say “yes” multiple different times during your launch and feel satisfaction from the service and results they see from you. All these micro-yes’s eventually make the big yes of purchasing your high ticket offer a lot easier! 

Put It All Together To Set Your Launch Up for Success

Having a well-thought out, intentional runway is KEY to preparing your audience for your new program and one of our most powerful tools to having a wildly successful launch. Plan your launch in advance can seem daunting (some would even say it’s “unnecessary”), but if you want to set yourself up to have your best launch ever, a Launch Runway is one of the gamechangers to get you there.

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Whether this is your 1st launch or your 100th, we want to make sure you don’t make any all too common mistakes. That’s why I’ve made this video detailing the most common mistakes I’ve seen first-time launchers make 

“4 Mistakes Coaches and Course Creators Make as They Scale their Launches”

This FREE video is more than a few tips and tricks. These are structural changes you can make during your launch so you’re not scrambling to clean up after any preventable mistakes. 

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The Launch Guild is all about making course creators like you feel good about your launches while amplifying your impact. 

If you’d like to book one of our launch services for your next launch, schedule your complimentary consultation!